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Collections
See a treat around every corner!
The fine art collection at the Cooper Gallery includes works by British and European artists from the 17th to 21st centuries. Vibrant paintings by Vanessa Bell and Prunella Clough are accompanied by the beautiful drawings of John Ruskin, JMW Turner and Thomas Girtin. Expansive landscapes and seascapes contrast with portraits of royalty and views of people working the land.
We are very proud to share excellent works by several Barnsley artists in the collection, from Victorians Abel Hold and Madeline Moore to more recent works by Malcolm Whittaker and John Kenneth Long.
We’ve chosen a selection of themes and artworks below for you to enjoy. Please visit our website to see more of our collections.
Picturing People
Portraits come in all types of media and are created for different reasons ...
By Sea and River
The majority of marine and river views in the collection came as part of the original Cooper bequest in 1913.
All Kinds of Conversations
Interactions between people form some of the most interesting paintings and drawings in the collection.
Palaces to Bridges
Architectural painting developed into an artform in Western art in the 16th century.
Capturing the Landscape
Today landscape painting is an accepted, plentiful and admired form of art.
Drawing and Sketching
In the 1920s and 1930s, the Cooper Gallery received several gifts of drawings and paintings from the collector Sir Michael Ernest Sadler.
Secrets of The Fox Collections
After decades of waiting patiently in store, the five landscape and still life paintings are now on display after undergonoing extensive conservation treatment to reveal vibrant colours and beautiful detail. They are part of a collection of paintings brought together by James and Jane Fox and gifted by their children to the Cooper Gallery in 1934. The collection is full of imagery of the natural world, including flowers, fruit, mountains and streams.
The conservation work has been funded by the Trustees of the Cooper Gallery through the legacy of Mrs Audrey Norfolk Clark and by Mr Bill Newman in memory of his wife Pat Newman.
Village Scene with Figures, 19th century
Frederick Waters Watts (1800-1870)
Oil on canvas
Watts was an extremely successful landscape painter, exhibiting dozens of times at the Royal Academy and other institutions. Based in Hampstead, London, for most of his life, the locations in Watts’ scenes show his love of his local area and the Thames. He also travelled across the south and west of England and as far north as Matlock and Manchester. He exhibited several paintings of the Isle of Wight in 1837, a year after his first marriage and possibly capturing a honeymoon destination.
Wooded Landscape with a Farm, Mid to late 19th century
Joseph Bernardi (1826-1907)
Oil on canvas
Bernardi was a German landscape painter from Düsseldorf, known for his scenes of dramatic mountains and peaceful countryside. He was interested in the effects of weather and changing light, the latter of which can be seen here. Bernardi studied at the famous Düsseldorf Academy of Art, the leading German institution for training artists in the mid-19th century.
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Fruit, 1857
Elizabeth Dawson, née Rumley (1827-1914)
Oil on canvas
Dawson was born in Holborn, London and began exhibiting fruit and flower paintings under her maiden name from 1851. She successfully exhibited at The Royal Academy until 1858, which was also the year she married Benjamin Dawson, a schoolmaster. She continued to work and exhibit at the British Institution and the Royal Society for British Artists under her married name until 1863.
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Still Life with Fruit, 19th century
George Clare (1830-1900)
Oil on canvas
This is one of a pair of still life paintings created by George Clare. They are wonderful examples of the works he produced and exhibited, particularly during his most successful period in the 1860s. Clare was born and lived in Birmingham for most of his life and taught at least two of his children to paint. Oliver and Vincent Clare both went on to enjoy success as fruit and flower painters. All three artists produced richly coloured and highly detailed pictures.
Yorkshire Moorland near Whitby, Mid-19th century
Thomas Joseph Banks (1828-1896)
Oil on canvas
Born in Tadcaster, Banks was a notable portrait and landscape painter. This artwork shows his excellent use of light and shade to create atmosphere and his use of earthy colours. Banks studied at the York School of Design and the Royal Academy.
He later moved to Goathland near Whitby and the surviving examples of his work include several Yorkshire landscapes.
Art Unlocked: The Cooper Gallery
Art Unlocked is an online talk series brought to you by Art UK in collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies. In this talk, you will hear from Natalie Murray, Collections and Exhibitions Manager and discover how the individual tastes and motivations of Barnsley’s collectors have created distinct and remarkable groups of artworks within the collection.
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