Fine Art
Collections The fine art collection at Worthing Museum & Art Gallery was established when the museum opened in 1908 and comprises watercolours, oils, acrylic paintings, prints, and drawings.
Bianca 1869 by William Holman Hunt 1827 1910
An insight into the collection
Before 1970, the museum had no strict collecting policy for its fine art collection; however, since then, the aim has been for the collection to be representative of the main British art movements since 1800. The Romantic, Pre-Raphaelite, and particularly the Modern British movements are well represented in the oil painting collection, as are landscapes, portraits, local views, still life, and figurative works. The museum has a few abstract or contemporary paintings, although it is acquiring more. The local influence is prevalent throughout the collections, and many paintings depict a Sussex subject or are created by an artist with a connection to Sussex.
The Camden Town Group is well represented, and the collection includes works by Harold Gilman, Spencer Gore, Charles Ginner, Lucien Pissarro, and Walter Sickert. The ‘jewel in the crown’ of the collection is Bianca, a rare Shakespearian-inspired portrait of 1869 by William Holman Hunt, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
