These are the newest paintings coming to York Art Gallery

Four new works of art have just been acquired by York Art Gallery.

These paintings are by 20th-century artists

• Prunella Clough (1919-1999)
• Margaret Mellis (1914-2009)
• Marion Grace Hocken (1922-1987)
• and Daphne Fedarb (1912-1992).

They were acquired following a successful application to the Derbyshire School Library Service, which closed its doors in 2018.  

After closing, 315 of its artworks were offered to other galleries across the country, to ensure they were kept in public collections for visitors to enjoy.

This was made possible thanks to funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund. The four new works will go on display at York Art Gallery next year.   

Becky Gee, curator of fine art, said: “We are thrilled to have acquired these fantastic works for York’s permanent collection.

“All four are by brilliant women artists who have played a significant role in shaping their respective areas of the modern British art scene.

“We are particularly pleased to acquire our first Clough – an artist who was so influential in her depiction of the post-war British landscape in the 1950s.

“Men and Barges combines Clough’s focus on working men and women with her later abstract compositions and we look forward to sharing this striking painting with our audiences.”  

The other works acquired are Daphne Fedarb’s painting Tropical Birds, Marion Grace Hocken’s, My Room, St Ives, Cornwall and Margaret Mellis’ Vence Landscape (South of France).