Paws, Claws, Tales & Roars: The Art of Brian Wildsmith

For the first time Brian’s personal collection of over 40 colourful original illustrations, early works, drawings and paintings are on display in the beautiful setting of the Cooper Gallery. The walls are filled with colour and vivid characters. Make sure to visit the second half of the exhibition across the road at Experience Barnsley

 

Take a virtual tour of the exhibition

Blog

Brian sat on the floor surrounded by books

Brian Lawrence Wildsmith was born on 22 January 1930 in Penistone to parents Paul and Annie, in a terraced stone house on Queen Street. Brian had two brothers, Donald, Alan as well as a sister, Joy. A creative child, he enjoyed art, sports, and music. He attended the primary school St Helens. Brian had fond memories of his time there, he spoke with great affection about his softly spoken teacher Miss Marron and of the warm and creative atmosphere the school provided.

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Liberty Fabrics: Wildmith's Wonderful World

Wildsmith’s Wonderful World is a retrospective collection of designs inspired by Brian's work. Combining Wildsmith’s imaginative and visually exciting style of storytelling with the Liberty Fabrics Designers’ expertise, theirstudio team have reimagined his portfolio of charming illustrations. From magnificent jungle creatures and swooping flocks of birds to playful London cityscapes and otherworldly outer-space illustrations. Now available in our gift shops.

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Paws, Claws, Tales & Roars: The Next Generation

A display of winning artworks from the Art Competition for Schools 2024, brought together by Barnsley Museums and Fusion, Barnsley’s Cultural Education Partnership and supported by the Cooper Trustees. The exhibition celebrates the talents of children and young people (4-18 years) from across Barnsley.

Students were invited to take inspiration from the work of Brian Wildsmith and depict animals in their natural habitat with judges looking for originality, imagination, narrative and technical skill, as well as use of colour & texture.

The winning entries were on display in the gallery until September 2024, you can still see all the artwork here

Over at Experience Barnsley you can see Coming Home: The Life of Brian Wildsmith

A space scene with planets including earth and spaceship that looks like a helicopter
The Amazing World of Words - Space © The Brian Wildsmith Estate, 2024. Reproduced with permission of The Brian Wildsmith Estate and Oxford University Press.

Exhibition guide

(PDF, 1.41 MB)