Scarborough Art Gallery has had a fascinating history; this Italianate villa is the finest building situated in Scarborough’s beautiful Crescent gardens. The Crescent was designed in 1823 as part of the massive building programme in Victorian Scarborough. The Art Gallery was built in the late 1840s by the Uppleby family; neighbours included Lord and Lady Londesborough at Londesborough Lodge and Sir George Sitwell and family at Woodend who used these houses as holiday homes. Later it was known as ‘Broxholme’ and had a number of owners. When solicitor Henry Donner bought it in 1924 he renamed it ‘Crescent House’. Scarborough Corporation acquired the building after his death in 1942, and in 1947 it opened as the Art Gallery.
The gallery houses our permanent collection which has been built up over sixty years through gifts, bequests and purchases to reflect the eclectic mix of the community and the cultural heritage of Scarborough.
The galleries on the ground floor house our permanent collection; an exciting mixture of treasures including paintings gifted by famous hotelier Tom Laughton over 20 years. Our own collections are changed regularly however firm favourites by Atkinson Grimshaw, John Jackson R.A and Sir Matthew Smith are always on display.
On the first floor we offer both home grown and national touring exhibitions. We have a biennial East Coast Open exhibition attracting both professional and amateur artists and the gallery is used extensively by schools and colleges across Yorkshire.
Our attic store tours provide a great resource to students and lovers of Art with 147 works on paper by Sir Frank Brangwyn, R.A. and our modern print collection which includes work by John Piper, Elizabeth Blackadder, Ossip Zadkine and Kenneth Rowntree. These are complemented by an archive of contemporary prints generously gifted in 1992 by the Print Makers Council.
From attic to basement we seek to inspire; as well as having close links with contemporary artists in Crescent Arts’ basement studios, on our ground floor we have a lively family gallery, a shop and coffee Lounge where we host temporary exhibitions to celebrate the many creative professionals based locally.
