A Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of £127,200 has helped the Victoria Art Gallery to acquire an original oil painting from one of the most celebrated members of the Bath Academy of Art.
It will be the first William Scott oil painting to enter a public collection in his home county of Somerset.
William Scott RA (1913-89), who lived at Hallatrow and Coleford for most of his working life, taught at the Bath Academy of Art for 10 years as Senior Painting Master during its most influential period while it was in residence at Corsham Court, near Bath.
His oil painting ‘Bottle and Fish Slice’ from 1949/50 was one of a group given by the artist to his sons James and Robert Scott in April 1982. They later donated the painting to the William Scott Foundation Ltd in April 2011.
Jon Benington, Manager of the Victoria Art Gallery, said: “This painting is from a key date in terms of William Scott’s relevance to Bath. It was painted in Scott’s studio-cum-home in the village of Hallatrow, 10 miles from Bath, while he was working as Senior Painting Master at the Bath Academy of Art. This period can be seen retrospectively as the Academy’s most significant period, acting as the seeding ground of a truly progressive force in the British art world.
“‘Bottle and Fish Slice’ is a typical example of Scott’s work at this time, when he became obsessed with depicting humble kitchen utensils and food stuffs. These not only echoed his working class upbringing, their simple shapes also aligned with his preference for abstract design. As he painted and market gardened at Hallatrow his reputation grew rapidly, to the point where he was favoured with a visit from the world-famous American abstract painter, Mark Rothko, in 1959.”
The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will also support an associated programme of learning activities planned by the Victoria Art Gallery including the making of a film about William Scott by Year 12 art and media students from Chew Valley School. The culmination of the project will be timed to coincide with the centenary of the artist’s birth on 15 February 2013.
Councillor Cherry Beath (Lib-Dem, Combe Down), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council is grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for enabling us to acquire this painting. Scott was previously represented in the Victoria Art Gallery with a collage and two limited edition prints, but by securing this oil painting we can truly celebrate his unique contribution to progressive British art, and the vital transitional link his work provides between post war Britain, Europe and America.
“Such is Scott’s national and international reputation, he will also draw an audience to the Victoria Art Gallery who might not be aware of his local links and may subsequently discover the wider circle of artists linked to the Bath Academy of Art, who are already represented in the Gallery’s permanent collection.”
The Victoria Art Gallery, near Pulteney Bridge in Bath, is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sundays 1.30pm to 5pm and closed on Mondays. Admission is free. For more details call 01225 477233 or visit the Gallery’s website www.victoriagal.org.uk.
