Williamson Art Gallery

As I went back home to Yorkshire during the two week break, I unfortunately missed a few of the student exhibitions that I was hoping to see; although I am glad to say that I am able to visit the remaining shows which have been organised for the upcoming week.

However today after a browse for galleries on the Internet, I went on a visit to the 'Williamson Art Gallery and Museum' in Wirral. Although on entering the building I was disappointed to see that the majority of the rooms containing the newer, 'more exciting' collection of works were closed off due to construction and so the selection of works I could actually see was limited. This was disappointing but I took this opportunity to look more into the older collection of works which if I’m honest, I would usually walk straight past as they don't tend to be particularly eye catching....for me anyway. 

 But I am nicely surprised to say that I found a number of the paintings intriguing to say the least. A piece that immediately caught my attention was a sculpture titled 'Liverpool Sky dancer' by an artist named Emma Rodgers. She is an internationally successful sculptor whose work explores the dynamic relationship between form and movement. This piece kept me fascinated and intrigued for some time; I simply love how it appears so unyielding and solid because of the solid, stone and metal like material used yet to me it still seemed so delicate, most probably due to the pose and subtle markings applied onto the surface of the sculpture.

Another artist I found particularly interesting was Philip Wilson Steer; an artist from the 1800's whose collection of paintings were held in an entire room of the gallery. The works were painted almost perfectly and the majority of these were of a huge scale,  

 immediately drawing you nearer to the intricate detail. There was a different quality to these paintings as the age of the pieces have taken effect; cracking slightly throughout the paint. I found this artist alone very interesting, for what reason I do not know and so I purchased the Phillip Wilson Steer catalogue from the gallery 'A very english impressionist' which contains the collection of works that is exhibited at the gallery alongside many others. I may refer back to this collection further along in my blog research.