Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool

The Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool is a Grade II listed Edwardian gem that has been at the heart of the town’s cultural life since 1911. Commissioned by Blackpool Council and funded through a bequest from local artists John and Cuthbert Grundy, the gallery shares its stately baroque home-designed by Cullen, Lockhead and Brown-with the adjoining Central Library.

From the beginning, the Grundy has housed an eclectic mix of fine and decorative arts. Its founding collection of 33 works has since grown to over 2,300 pieces, including Victorian oils, watercolors, ceramics, oriental ivories, contemporary jewelry, video art, and ephemera relating to Blackpool’s cultural history. Highlights of the collection include works by Augustus John, Paul Nash, Eric Ravilious, and Lucy Kemp-Welch, as well as pieces by other British artists like Laura Knight, Henry Scott Tuke, and Stanhope Forbes.

The Grundy plays a vital role in Blackpool’s cultural landscape. It is also Museums Accredited and offers a robust program of rotating exhibitions featuring local and international artists. Notable past shows have included Grayson Perry: The Vanity of Small Differences (2018), Roy Lichtenstein (2019), Louise Bourgeois (2023), and Bloomberg New Contemporaries (2023). The gallery also gained national attention when Harold Knight’s A Girl Writing at a Desk was used as the cover for Oxford University Press editions of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own and Three Guineas.

In 2008, Mary Wilson of The Supremes even brought a touch of Motown glamour with a display of the group's iconic gowns. With curator Paulette Brien at the helm since 2018, the Grundy continues to blend tradition with innovation-bridging Edwardian grandeur and contemporary experimentation.