| Barber Institute of Fine Arts | |
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| Established | 1932 |
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| Location | Edgbaston, Birmingham |
| Director | Ann Sumner |
| Website | http://www.barber.org.uk |
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham.
The Grade II listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert Atkinson in the 1930s and opened in 1939 by Queen Mary. The layout of the museum is centred around a central concert hall which is surrounded by lecture halls, offices and libraries on the ground floor and art galleries on the first floor. In the 2005 Penguin Books publication Britain's Best Museums and Galleries, the Barber Institute was one of only five galleries outside London to receive five stars for having "Outstanding collections of international significance" (the others were the National Gallery of Scotland, Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum, Cambridge University's Fitzwilliam Museum and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool).[1]
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Location and history
The Institute is located 5 km southwest of the city centre at the East Gate of the university campus and has one of the most outstanding collections of art assembled in Britain in the 20th century, including works by Gwen John, André Derain, Fernand Léger, René Magritte and Egon Schiele. It was set up by Dame Martha Constance Hattie Barber in memory of her husband William Henry Barber, a wealthy property developer and solicitor who made his fortune expanding Birmingham's sprawling suburbs. By his mid-thirties the couple had retired but their connections with the city remained strong. In 1924 William Henry Barber received a baronetcy for 'Political Services to Birmingham'. He died three years later. Lady Barber decided to make a permanent contribution to the city in his memory. In 1932 the Barber Institute of Fine Arts was established, and was bequeathed to the University 'for the study and encouragement of art and music'. Lady Barber died 4 months later leaving all of her assets to the trustees of the Institute. This money was used to expand the collection and fund the construction of a new building. In order to ensure that only artworks of the highest quality were bought for the Barber Institute, its founding trust deed stipulated that all purchases should be 'of that standard of quality as required by the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection'.
Collections
The collection is full of famous works by artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin, Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt, displayed in spatious and elegant galleries on the first floor of the Institute. The Renaissance is represented by masterpieces by Giovanni Bellini, Veronese and Simone Martini (e.g. his St John the Evangelist of 1320), the 17th century by Rubens, Van Dyck, Poussin and Murillo.
The collections of French impressionism and post-impressionism include artworks by Degas, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and Gauguin. Among the British artists represented are Aubrey Beardsley, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Rossetti and Turner. There is also a fine collection of sculpture (including works by Rodin and Degas) and of portrait miniatures and objets d'art. Standing at the entrance is an equestrian statue of George I, the oldest public sculpture in Birmingham. The institute also has one of the world's largest coin collections, especially of Roman and Byzantine coins. This outstanding collection was supplemented in 1967 with 15,000 coins, from Phillip Whitting and Geoffrey Haines. Many concerts take place at the Barber throughout the year, as well as a music festival which is held in June.
References
- ^ Fisher, Mark Britain's Best Museums and Galleries: From the Greatest Collections to the Smallest Curiosities, Penguin Books, 2005 ISBN 0141019603
External links
- Official website
- Your Icons Highlights from the Barber Institute collection
