KENDAL.- This Autumn, Abbot Hall Art Gallery stages one of its largest shows in the last ten years with over seventy works, by forty-eight artists. The gallery has gained a national reputation for showing work of the highest quality particularly focusing upon work from British artists working in the twentieth century. Building on this reputation the LAND | SEA | LIFE exhibition highlights the very best of twentieth century art from The Ingram Collection of Modern British Art. Chris Ingram, a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist, began collecting in 2002, and quickly created one of this country’s most significant collections of Modern British Art. Ingram has been described as, “one of the most active and thoughtful collectors of Modern British Art today.” (Stephen Deuchar, Director, The Art Fund.)

The exhibition explores a broad range of themes, representing what the artists were engaging with in terms of subject and developments in artistic practice. Featuring paintings, sculptures and works on paper, visitors are taken on an individual journey of discovery from Henry Moore’s Reclining Figures to Laura Knight’s breath-taking Sea & Rocks.

The diverse selection of subjects covered in the exhibition include Landscape featuring atmospheric scenes by Alan Reynolds and Edward Burra, and urban landscapes by Keith Vaughan, Frank Auerbach and Carel Weight. Works by Dame Laura Knight, John Piper, Terry Frost and Patrick Heron focus upon Boats and the Sea. The final subject of Life brings together several sub themes including Still Life and the Figure displaying work by significant artists from the period such as Dame Barbara Hepworth, David Bomberg, Henry Moore, Eduardo Paolozzi, Ben Nicholson, Bryan Winter, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Eric Gill and Christopher Wood.

The exhibition investigates the notion of collecting, comparing the personal motives of Chris Ingram with the Gallery Collection and exploring why we collect? Ingram himself has given advice on collecting, “The golden rule is only buy what you like and enjoy. Regardless of what people tell you and whatʼs fashionable. Always start with what you like. As in any walk of life you need to study and learn – practice makes perfect! So build up a bit of expertise. Of course you can have an eclectic collection, but if you focus in you become more of an expert, you learn the ins and outs more. It really becomes a collection then.” Abbot Hall Art Gallery further explores this notion encouraging visitors to share their experiences of collecting, or to discover their own collections they never realised they had.

Helen Watson, Director of Programming, Lakeland Arts said, “Abbot Hall Art Gallery is delighted to be working in partnership with The Ingram Collection, to present a unique opportunity to see work by leading artists from the twentieth century. With over seventy pieces and featuring work by artists never shown at the gallery, there really is something for everyone.”

Jo Baring, Director of the Ingram Collection said, “We are thrilled to bring the Ingram Collection to Cumbria this October and see the collection presented in an entirely new way. Last year we lent over 400 works from the collection to be shown publicly, and we are delighted to ensure that the collection remains as accessible as possible.”