Watts Gallery

Watts Gallery - Dates for your diary

Explore Pre-Raphaelite works of art in a profoundly new way with a visit to Scented Visions: Smell in Art 1850 – 1915. This exhibition offers a unique opportunity to discover Victorian art through a multi-sensory lens and features three bespoke scents created by Puig in collaboration with Artphilia.
Watts Contemporary Gallery is hosting Lasting Impressions, an exhibition by the Richmond Printmakers. Opening on Thursday 5 June, the works span the abstract to the figurative using a variety of printmaking techniques. On display until Sunday 6 July.
Develop your sketchbook pages in our Saturday sketch workshop on 14 June, led by artist Mags Orson. This month, explore abstraction and impressionism inspired by the landscape, focusing on responding to your five senses. Experiment with mark making, colours and form.
To celebrate the Scented Visions exhibition, join Head Gardener Chris Sharples for ‘A Scented Landscape’; an immersive guided nature walk exploring scent across the Watts Gallery grounds, followed by a delightful Silent Pool Gin Tasting on Saturday 14 June.
Discover a fantastic array of pottery workshops and courses throughout June, led by resident potter, Bahareh Khomeiry. Choose between weekly taster sessions and longer courses, as well as pottery in practice, a regular workshop exploring different pottery techniques. Looking for a crafty weekend activity for the kids? Head to Clay Club!
Learn tips and tricks to bring your sketchbook pages to life at our monthly Saturday sketch workshop.
DON’T FORGET, COMPTON RESIDENTS GET 50% OFF ADMISSION! VALID WITH A PROOF OF ADDRESS.
www.wattsgallery.org.uk.

Mary Watts was mentioned in BBC podcast You’re Dead To Me: The Arts and Crafts Movement: William Morris and his circle. The episode of the comedy-history podcast, hosted by Greg Jenner, is well worth a listen for anyone who wants to learn more about this movement and the artists at its forefront. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00274qh.

Nestled in the beautiful Surrey Hills, Watts Gallery first opened its doors to the public in 1904. It is unique in the UK being the only purpose-built art gallery created for the display of works by a single artist, the great Victorian artist G.F. Watts (1817-1904). Over one hundred paintings and sculptures are on permanent display; spanning a period of 70 years, they include portraits, landscapes and major symbolic works.

Perched on a hillside, overlooking the Gallery sits Limnerslease, the Autumn and Winter home and studio of G.F. and Mary Watts, originally built in the Arts & Crafts style. Limnerslease recently underwent a major restoration project. Don’t miss the chance to join a guided tour and glimpse the start of this nationally important project.

To this day, the legacy of G.F. and Mary Watts lives on, with artists working onsite and a contemporary gallery selling artwork by local and national artists. Watts Gallery also runs an extensive events programme for families, adults and young people, offering the opportunity to improve your art skills, attend a lecture, or meet one of the artists in residence.

George Frederic Watts 1817 - 1904

The English symbolist painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts lived in Compton during the latter years of his life.

George Frederic Watts occupies a unique place in the history of British painting. Famous in his day as a painter and sculptor, he gained the nickname of ‘England’s Michelangelo’. His aim was to re-invent British history painting in a grand manner, making images that were both uplifting and thought provoking. He believed art should also be accessible to everyone, not just the rich, so he gave many of his pictures to public galleries, helping to found the Tate Gallery in 1897.

Watts was a serious individual, so it may therefore come as no surprise that his marriage to the teenage actress Ellen Terry, was short lived. In later life, he married Mary Fraser-Tytler (1886) who was 36 years his junior. Mary devoted the rest of her life to her husband, both during his life and after his death.

In 1891 Watts made Limnerslease his winter retreat and it remained so until his death in 1904. Mary Watts, the inspiration behind the move to Compton and the Chapel, continued to live there until she died in 1938.

Shortly before his death in 1904, G.F. Watts saw the opening of the first and main portion of 'Watts Picture Gallery'.

Cicely Robinson is Curator.

G.F. Watts - Lion & Tiger Fighting. 1830. Aged 13

Watts Chapel

Watts Gallery