Great Possessions. Watts Gallery-Artists' Village is an art gallery in the village of Compton, near Guildford in Surrey.
It is dedicated to the work of the Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts. Watts moved to Limnerslease in Compton in 1891, and with his artist wife, Mary Fraser-Tytler, planned a museum devoted to his work, which opened in April 1904, just before his death.
The architect of the Gallery was Christopher Hatton Turnor, an admirer of Edwin Lutyens and C. F. A. Voysey. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, the building contains top-lit galleries that allow Watts's work to be displayed under natural light.
It is the only Gallery in the UK devoted to a single artist, and is often hailed as a national gallery in the heart of a village. The present director is Perdita Hunt and the curator is Dr Nicolas Tromans.
Former curators include Wilfrid Blunt, Richard Jefferies and Mark Bills. Watts Gallery was placed second in the final of the BBC TV series Restoration Village in 2006. In January 2008 it was announced that the Gallery intended to deaccession and sell two Victorian paintings, Sleeping Woman by Albert Joseph Moore and Triumph of Love by Edward Burne-Jones, which had both been bequeathed to the collection by Cecil French. These were duly sold. The money was used to maintain the Gallery which was closed from September 2008 until 2010 for restoration. In December
It is dedicated to the work of the Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts. Watts moved to Limnerslease in Compton in 1891, and with his artist wife, Mary Fraser-Tytler, planned a museum devoted to his work, which opened in April 1904, just before his death.
The architect of the Gallery was Christopher Hatton Turnor, an admirer of Edwin Lutyens and C. F. A. Voysey. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, the building contains top-lit galleries that allow Watts's work to be displayed under natural light.
It is the only Gallery in the UK devoted to a single artist, and is often hailed as a national gallery in the heart of a village. The present director is Perdita Hunt and the curator is Dr Nicolas Tromans.
Former curators include Wilfrid Blunt, Richard Jefferies and Mark Bills. Watts Gallery was placed second in the final of the BBC TV series Restoration Village in 2006. In January 2008 it was announced that the Gallery intended to deaccession and sell two Victorian paintings, Sleeping Woman by Albert Joseph Moore and Triumph of Love by Edward Burne-Jones, which had both been bequeathed to the collection by Cecil French. These were duly sold. The money was used to maintain the Gallery which was closed from September 2008 until 2010 for restoration. In December
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