LIFESTYLE - SUMMER 2017

HAWORTH ART GALLERY

by Yvonne Robins, Gallery Manager

H

aworth Art Gallery was originally known as ‘Hollins Hill’. The house is an Arts and Cras buildingwhich was designed and built byWalter Brierley for brother and sister,Williamand Anne Haworth in 1909. WilliamHaworth died in 1913, followed by his sister in 1920. On Anne’s death and upon thewishes of her brother, she bequeathed the house, a collection of paintings and antiquities, plus a sumof money for the building’s upkeep to the people of Accrington. Nowadays, Haworth Art Gallery hosts a varied programme of temporary art exhibitions ranging from its Annual Open every autumn to national touring photographic displays from the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain through toModern History. There is also a purpose-designed Education room for children’s activities andworkshops, the fabulous ‘Gallery Kitchen’ tearoomand bistro and, of course, theworld-famous Tiffany Glass Collection. Recently the gallery launched a very popular programme of livemusic performances on Sunday aernoons as well as a series of Family Fun Days duringmajor holiday periods. Haworth Art Gallery also hosts beautiful, intimateweddings andwedding vow renewal ceremonies, as well as the fantastic new araction for all our visitors, Haworth Stables andMotor House Art Studios and Heritage Centre. Largest Public Collection of Tiffany Glass in Europe The first floor of Haworth Art Gallery houses Accrington’s world-famous collection of Tiffany Glass. A local Accrington bornman called Joseph Briggs gave theTiffany Glass collection to the people of Accrington in 1933, aer the closure of Tiffany Studios in America. Louis Comfort Tiffany was the son of Charles LewisTiffany, the famous jeweller and silversmith. Louis Comfort Tiffany became interested in the decorative possibilities of glass in the 1870’s and developed new techniques where different colours of glass were blended together in the molten statewhich he named Favrile glass aer Old English word ‘fabrile’, meaning "handwrought". During 1890 and 1914 the use of nature to influence designs became known as Art Nouveau, whichmeans ‘NewArt’. Tiffany extended his work in Favrile glass and began to design glassmosaics for interiors. He directed his artists to cut glass into shapes that conformed to specific elements and organic shapes such as flowers and feathers in his design rather than uniformsquares. In this way they were able to achievemore naturalistic effects, reflecting the Art Nouveaumovement. Accrington’s Joseph Briggs went to seek his fortune in America in 1891 when hewas only 17. In 1893 he began towork for Louis Comfort Tiffany, the leading American exponent of ‘Art Nouveau’ style in glass. Joseph worked his way up in theTiffany Glass Company and remainedwith it until its closure in 1933when the fashion for Art Nouveau hadwaned. Before all

Weddings Haworth Art Gallery offers an ideal location for all weather conditions, set in nine acres of parklandwith beautiful views across the Pennine hills. Inside, the Arts and Cras gallery oozes Edwardian charmwith oak panelled rooms and amagnificent staircase. The interior of the Haworth and the grounds are available for wedding photographs, andwedding cars can be driven directly to the front door. Wedding roomhire starts at just £350, for more details please see the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/WeddingsAtTheHaworth Entrance Hall Shop Haworth Art Gallery shop stocks an excellent range of greetings cards and glass objects and animals. It also represents local artists from jewellerymakers towood turners which offer unique, one-off gis andmementos.We are currently collaboratingwith internationally renowned fashion company Deni-Deni. They are a local, fine leather goods, family business andwe areworkingwith them to develop a range of beautiful bespoke items reflecting the splendour of Haworth Art Gallery and itsTiffany Glass Collection. Items will include notebooks, aprons and bags andwill be available early summer. Haworth Stables and Motor House A new araction has also opened at the Haworth in the shape of the Stables andMotor House Artist Studios. Thanks to National Loery Funding, via the Heritage Loery Fund (HLF), the vacant and semi-derelict former Stables andMotor House at Haworth Art Gallery have been transformed into artist studios by Hyndburn Borough Council. This rare, grade 2 listed building used to house horses and carriages as well as earlymotorcars and the complex includes its own above-ground petrol store, one of two surviving buildings in the country. These buildings have nowbeen converted into beautiful Artist Studios which retain their original features and are home to a variety of Artists and Cras people. The studios and are open to the public every weekend and in addition, the petrol storewill be transformed into a small heritage centre focusing on the history of the Haworth family. Throughout the year there are a variety of activities and family fun days based at the Stables andMotor House for everyone to enjoy as well as visiting Haworth Art Gallery itself! The Stables andMotor House Studios were officially opened in June by theMayor andMayoress of Hyndburn, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Manchester, Martin Ainscough, plus Haworth Patrons, International Wildlife Artist Pollyanna Pickering andTVpresenter Eric Knowles.

Temporary Exhibitions and Events Haworth Art Gallery hosts a range of temporary exhibitions throughout the year, providing opportunities for local and national artists to exhibit their work. Visitors can enjoy a wide range of art frompaintings to 3D objects as well as local history and photography. Free family and children’s workshops are held every alternate Sunday aernoon with the gallery’s very own ‘MrsMaker’, Susan Watson. Theworkshops suit children of all ages and there is no need to book – you can just drop in – please see the gallery Facebook page for details. In addition, there is also a free livemusic programme held on alternate Sundays ranging from Irish sing-a-long to classical guitar. These concerts are proving to be very popular and early arrival is recommended to secure a seat! Again, details can be found on the gallery Facebook page, or you can contact the gallery on 01254 233782 and ask to have your email address to be put onto the event mailing list. The Gallery Kitchen Opened in June 2015, The Gallery Kitchen is the fabulousTea Room and Bistro situatedwithin Haworth Art Gallery.With beautiful surroundings and very high-quality food, this is a very popular destination for all our visitors. The Gallery Kitchen offers everything frommorning coffee, light lunches and aernoon tea to evening meals and sumptuous Sunday Dinner. Booking is advisable direct to the Gallery Kitchen on 01254 491660. They have now introduced special Gala Nights which include a 3 coursemeal and livemusic entertainment, please check their Facebook page for details : www.facebook.com/Haworthartgallerykitchen

the remaining glasswork could be sold offor destroyed, Joseph sent a shipment of vases, tiles andmosaic samples to Accringtonwhere over 140 pieces were given to the local museumat the time at Oak Hill Park. The glass was put into store duringWorldWar Two and in 1951 it was permanently transferred to Haworth Art Gallery when it was decided that it would be too expensive to refurbish Oak Hill ParkMuseum. Today, theTiffany collection is displayed on the first floor of the gallery. Amongst its treasures is the pictorial mosaic, the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and the PeacockVase. Many pieces feature the art ofMillefiori whichmeans ‘thousands of flowers’ and is the technique of decorating a piece of glass with slithers of paerned glass rod applied to a hot vase or tile creating a paern of scaered flowers. GroupVisits and tours can be arranged, please contact the gallery on 01254 233782 for an information pack or visit the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ HaworthArtGalleryAccrington

Rooms full of pleasant surprises!

Top: TiffanyLustreVase. Above: HaworthArtGallery. OppositeTopLeft: Gallery KitchenTeaRoom. OppositeTopRight: Music andWeddingRoom. OppositeBottomLeft: StablesStudios. OverPage: SulphurCrested CockatoosMosaic.

The Gallery Kitchen Opening Times: Tuesday to Sunday 11:00am to 4.30pm • Friday and Saturday 5.30pm to 10:00pm

Art Gallery Opening Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday -12.00noon to 4.45 pm • Saturday and Sunday -12.00noon to 4.15pm Mondays and Bank Holidays - Closed

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