Building on the Russell-Cotes legacy

East Cliff Hall and its contents were given to the people of Bournemouth in 1908 and four art galleries were added between 1916 and 1926.  The first curator, Richard Quick, was appointed in 1921 and Art Gallery and Museum became fully open to the public in 1922 following the deaths of its founders.  The couple’s son, Herbert, added various works to the collections, including Aurora Triumphans.  Since then, the collections have continuously grown, thanks to the efforts of succeding generations of curators and the generosity of donors, art collectors, funders and artists and their families.  Acquisitions during the 1930s and 1940s continued with an emphasis on contemporary paintings including animals, children and portraits.  This period coincided with the rise of Bournemouth Art School and Bournemouth Arts Club, and work from this local talent pool made its way into the Gallery’s collections.  Some of it was locally-inspired like Leslie Ward’s stylised ’A Dorset Landscape’ (BORGM: 02213), which owes much to the Bloomsbury Group.

After World War II, the War Artists’ Advisory Commission distributed the works of art in its care and a number of works came to the Museum.  The most notable acquisition of this period was Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Venus Verticordia (BORGM: 01897, dated 1864-1868), which was purchased with the assistance of the National Art Collections Fund (now the Art Fund) and Percival Allam in 1946.  The collection continued to expand in the twentieth century through some key bequests and gifts from numerous individuals and organisations including Walter Child Clark (1929), Emmeline Young (1940), Mrs Ploos van Amstel (1943), the Contemporary Art Society, the Downton Trust, Phyllis Lee-Duncan (1998), the granddaughter of the Russell-Cotes, and Mrs Heading (1995).  The Museum’s active exhibition programme has meant that atists see the Museum as a lively venue for contemporary art and frequently give works to add to the collection.  Thanks to the vision and generosity of these donors, artists and funders, the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum today holds a truly remarkable collection.