Recording Britain, curated by V&A Senior Curator Gill Saunders, opened recently at The Higgins Bedford. Next stop on its UK tour will be the Millenium Gallery in Sheffield, opening on 2 April.
What is Recording Britain?
The Recording Britain collection, held by the V&A, is the result of a unique documentary project initiated by Sir Kenneth Clark and funded by the Pilgrim Trust at the start of the Second World War. More than 90 artists – young and old, men and women, renowned professionals and gifted amateurs – were commissioned to make ‘sympathetic records’ of vulnerable buildings, landscapes and lifestyles.
Compiled as the country faced not only the potentially devastating impact of bombardment and invasion, but also the more insidious but equally damaging effects of ‘progress’ and development, the Recording Britain collection of drawings and watercolours has survived as a remarkable visual record of lives and landscapes under threat.
Where next?
Millennium Gallery, Sheffield | 2 April – 2 November 2014
The Herbert Gallery & Museum, Coventry | 30 January – 26 April 2015
The Atkinson, Southport | 9 May – 9 August 2015
I was impressed by the ‘Recording Britain’ exhibition at The Herbert Gallery, the pictures, layout and environment were superb. However there were no printed written lists & explanations of pictures on display. Although I purchased the ‘Recording Artists’ book available in the Herbert bookshop, it wasn’t strictly relevant to the exhibition. I wrote about the ‘Recording Artists’ for my B.A. (Hons) Fine Arts dissertation & would really appreciate a list of artists & pictures relevant to this particular exhibition so I can complete my B.A. with a fully comprehensive assessment of this visit. Is there any possibility of a list being sent to me via E mail – obviously I have noted some artists but a full list would be really appreciated and I would be willing to pay for this if necessary.
Read article in Times today ; so disappointed to see exhibition is not coming anywhere near here. As I live in Gloucestershire I was hoping somewhere like Cheltenham Art Gallery/Oxford or Bristol. Will it be touring again in 2017?