Biography
Wolverhampton Art Gallery, part of Wolverhampton Arts and Heritage, is housed in a Victorian building, designed by Juluis Chatwin and constructed in 1883-84 with land donated by the city council and funding from local businessman, Philip Horsman. The gallery underwent a modern extension by Niall Philips Architects in 2007.
Wolverhampton has a permanent collection of Georgian and Victorian Art. The Contempoaryt Art Society enaced its collection of modern British artsits with works by Tom Monnington and a surrealist picture by Thomas Lowinsky from the Sir Kenneth Clark gift of 1946. The contemporary collection is made of two major strands with an outstanding Pop Art collection and a remarkable selection of Northern Irish work. Since the 1980s Wolverhampton has focused on collecting works from Northern Ireland that address the country's political situation, including notable works by John Keane, Paul Graham, Jock McFadyen, Willie Doherty, Siobhán Hapaska and Anthony Davies. The holdings of Pop Art are one of the best in the UK, with works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney and Peter Blake as well as a rare work by the latter's pupil at the Royal College of Art, the Punk-New Wave singer Ian Drury. Highlights of the recent purchases of works are by Breda Beban, David Burrows and Seamus Harahan, the latter through the Contemporary Art Society's acquisitions scheme.
