View source for Museum & Art Swindon

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
[[File:Euclid street civic offices swindon.jpg|thumb|The Civic Offices building in 2007]]
'''Museum & Art Swindon,''' formerly '''Swindon Museum and Art Gallery''', is a museum and gallery in [[Swindon]], England. It is run by [[Swindon Borough Council]] and since 2024 has been housed within the council's offices at Euclid Street, Swindon.
== History ==
The Swindon Art Gallery collection was established in 1944 by a local benefactor, H. J. P. Bomford, through a significant donation of artworks.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.swindon.gov.uk/info/20076/museums_galleries_and_heritage/476/swindon_museum_and_art_ga|title=Swindon Museum and Art Gallery|website=Swindon Borough Council|language=en|access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref> Until June 2021 it was displayed in [[Apsley House (Swindon)|Apsley House]], a 19th-century former house<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1023456|desc=Bath Road Museum, Apsley House and gate piers|access-date=5 January 2023}}</ref> on the corner of Bath Road and Victoria Road in Swindon's Old Town,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Swindon Museum and Art Gallery |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/sw000070 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812213943/http://www.culture24.org.uk/sw000070 |archive-date=12 August 2018 |website=Culture24 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> but had to leave when Swindon Borough Council decided in the summer of 2021 that the building was no longer suitable and required major repairs;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kendall Adams |first=Geraldine |date=6 July 2021 |title=Anger over proposal to close Swindon Museum and Art Gallery building |url=https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2021/07/anger-over-proposal-to-close-swindon-museum-and-art-gallery-building/ |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Museums Association |language=en-US}}</ref> it had been closed to the public since March 2020 in response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Aled |date=2024-07-05 |title=Swindon's museum and art gallery to open in new location next week |url=https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/24430985.swindons-museum-art-gallery-open-new-location/ |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=Swindon Advertiser |language=en}}</ref> The collection was placed in storage, and the council stated their commitment to the long term future of the institution.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=5 July 2021 |title=Swindon Museum and Art Gallery is safe |url=https://www.swindon.gov.uk/news/article/661/swindon_museum_and_art_gallery_is_safe |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Swindon Borough Council |language=en}}</ref>
The facility reopened in July 2024 under a new name, Museum & Art Swindon, after the council spent £520,000 converting the first floor of its Civic Offices building at Euclid Street.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-09 |title=New Swindon Museum and Art Gallery opens four years after closure |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw8y6elw272o |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> The building, completed in 1939, is described by Historic England as "a striking and well-realised [[Moderne architecture|Moderne]] design".<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1467731|desc=Swindon Civic Offices|access-date=8 August 2024}}</ref>
== Collection ==
The collection focuses on major artists and movements of 20th and 21st century British art, with several works presented by the [[Art Fund]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.artfund.org/what-to-see/museums-and-galleries/swindon-museum-and-art-gallery | publisher=[[Art Fund]] | title=Swindon Museum and Art Gallery }}</ref> and the [[Contemporary Art Society]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.contemporaryartsociety.org/museum-members/swindon-museum-and-art-gallery/ | publisher=Contemporary Art Society | title=Swindon Museum and Art Gallery }}</ref> Artists in the collection include [[Simon Carter (artist)|Simon Carter]], [[Amanda Ansell]], [[Ben Nicholson]], [[Henry Moore]], [[Lucian Freud]], [[Graham Sutherland]], [[L S Lowry]], [[Paul Nash (artist)|Paul Nash]], [[Steven Pippin]], [[Terry Frost]], [[Roger Hilton]], [[Howard Hodgkin]], [[John Hoyland]], [[Richard Hamilton (artist)|Richard Hamilton]], [[Gwen John]], [[Augustus John]], [[Maggi Hambling]], [[John Bellany]], [[Tony Bevan]], [[Ivon Hitchens]], [[John Piper (artist)|John Piper]], [[Christopher le Brun]], [[Dennis Creffield]], [[Lisa Milroy]], [[Julie Umerle]], [[David Leach (potter)|David Leach]], [[Lucie Rie]], [[Hans Coper]], [[Gillian Ayres]], [[Linda Ingham]], [[Robert Priseman]], [[Sheila Fell]], [[Eileen Cooper]], [[Grayson Perry]] and [[William Turnbull (artist)|William Turnbull]].  The media include paintings, photography and studio pottery.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Art UK {{!}} Discover Artworks|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/view_as/grid/search/locations:swindon-museum-and-art-gallery|access-date=2021-11-11|website=artuk.org|language=en}}</ref>
At its former Apsley House venue, the museum had on display local [[archaeology]], [[geology]], and [[local history|history]]. Displays presented Swindon's geological [[Jurassic]] history, its association with the [[Roman Britain|Roman Empire]], and the town's [[social history]].<ref name=":0" />
== Events ==
Swindon Museum and Art Gallery was one of the venues for the annual [[Swindon Festival of Literature]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Swindon Festival of Literature|url=https://www.swindonfestivalofliterature.co.uk/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Swindon LitFest|language=en}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* Thamesdown Borough Council, 1991, ''The Swindon Collection of twentieth century British art'', ISBN 1871853028
* Cummings, Sophie, 2016, ''A guide to the Swindon Collection of modern British art (with a foreword by [[Robert Hiscox]])'', Swindon Borough Council
* Cummings, Sophie, 2016, ''From Where I'm Standing, Contemporary Ceramics and the Swindon Collection'', Swindon Borough Council. Catalogue of an exhibition supported by [[Arts Council England]] where contemporary ceramic artists responded to works from the permanent collection.
==External links==
*{{Official website}}
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[[Category:1944 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries established in 1944]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Swindon]]
[[Category:Local museums in Wiltshire|Swindon Museum]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in Wiltshire|Swindon Museum]]
[[Category:Modern art museums in the United Kingdom]]
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