A treasure trove of iconic railway posters, paintings and 19th century prints will be celebrated at the Victoria Art Gallery in a new exhibition being held at the gallery this winter.
‘Bath and the Great Western Railway’, which runs from 23rd November until 2nd February 2014, tells the story of how our public transport system was radically changed for ever.
Brunel’s Great Western Railway (GWR) opened in the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign. It transformed southern England, making travel quicker and easier. Railway travel broadened the horizons of the whole of society, giving people opportunities to travel for pleasure in a way that would have been unimaginable in Georgian times.
Alongside fascinating 19th century prints and watercolours of the railway in Bath, visitors will see a wonderful array of iconic GWR railway posters from the early 20th century, urging people to journey to “the Georgian City” with the slogan “it’s quicker by rail”.
Councillor Ben Stevens (Lib-Dem, Widcombe), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council is proud to honour this piece of the area’s rich heritage as we aim to offer a wide variety of culture to everyone. The exhibition looks at the GWR’s impact on Bath; celebrates the railway’s engineering marvels and examines the changes it made to the Georgian city. ‘Bath and the Great Western Railway’ is a must-see for lovers of Bath and railway enthusiasts alike.”
The show also offers the opportunity to see William Powell Frith’s epic panorama of Victorian life, ‘The Railway Station’ – which depicts dozens of passengers from all walks of life boarding a train at Paddington.
This famous painting is only occasionally on public display, and has been borrowed by the Victoria Art Gallery especially for this exhibition. Frith’s iconic work was so popular when it was first unveiled to the public in 1862, that the police were brought in to control the crowds so desperate to see it.
The humorous side of railway life is also covered with works by quirky cartoonist William Heath Robinson who was commissioned by the GWR to produce ‘Railway Ribaldry’, a book of wacky cartoons celebrating the railway’s centenary in 1935.
The exhibition contains over 60 exhibits, many from the Victoria Art Gallery collection as well as loans from the Museum of Bath at Work and Royal Holloway, University of London.
There will also be a series of free lunchtime talks at The Guildhall, Bath, 1.10-1.45pm:
- Tuesday 26th November – ‘Railway posters of the GWR’ with Ed Bartholomew from the National Railway Museum
- Tuesday 3rd December – ‘GWR: the Bath to Bristol line’ with railway historian Colin Maggs MBE
- Tuesday 10th December – ‘GWR: a general history’ with Tim Bryan, transport historian.
Also on display in the Victoria Art Gallery’s small gallery will be an exhibition by Bath artist, Ione Parkin: Primal Matter. A member of the Royal West of England Academy, all Ione’s works will be for sale.
