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The Usher Gallery

Location	Lincoln, England
Type	Art Gallery
chairman	Arthur Smith
Director	James Ward Usher

The Usher Gallery displays a famous collection which is like impressive works by grandmasters such as Turner, Lowry and English watercolorist Peter de Wint (1784–1849) (Peter, 2019) and it serves as host, which provide an opportunity for various fabulous art exhibitions in contemporary age over the whole year. Alongside these, they regularly put on talks and events to attract many tourists. Besides, the Collection occupied one position of four innovative museums being recognized as the 2006 Gulbenkian Prize (Exposição, 2019) which was awarded to SS Great Britain. However, under 2019 proposals from Lincolnshire County Council, the Usher Gallery would be closed, and the building turned into a wedding venue. The council maintains that the building fails to meet the environmental and security standards to display valuable items. Therefore, only a part of it will contain art for the public to view while the rest used for the council’s registration, celebration, and coroners services.

History

"History of the Usher Gallery | The Collection" (2019) states that James Ward Usher was born in Lincoln on 1st January 1845. He was a son of James Usher. James Usher founded a jeweler and watchmakers’ business in 1837 at Lincoln High Steer. James Ward Usher leaves school and joins a business which is called “Usher and son” in 1874. He was a talented artist who painted pictures of all his collections for use as an illustrated inventory (BBC 2014). He often displayed the items he collected in his shop windows. James visited Christie’s auction in 1833 for the first time and spent the next phase of his life collecting magnificent watches, ceramics from Meissen and Sevres porcelain factories, English silver, enamels, and portrait miniature. The enameled thimble case claiming origin from the Charlotte Bronte family is asserted to have been James’ favorite item. The sole right to use the Lincoln Imp in his work increased the popularity of his collections even to the Prince of Wales who was spotted wearing a pin with the Imp supposedly a gift from Usher himself. James died in 1921, after leaving a considerable amount of money to build a gallery. James had never married in his entire life thus his will requested that all his collection be stored in a museum and art gallery bearing his name. Furthermore, Richard (2019) Reported that Mr. A.R. Corns, the City Librarian, would be elected as the Director of the Library, Museum and Usher Art Gallery in March 1927. The usher gallery was formally opened on 25th May 1927 by architect Sir Reginald Blomfield R.A.

Planning of the gallery

The museum was called as ‘The City and County Museum’ before the museum merged with the Usher Gallery. In 1906, the government had decided to create a museum, and Arthur Smith was employed by it to be a curator. Arthur Smith was born in 1869 and accepted to be in Fellowships of the Linnean Society and the Royal Entomological Society. It was observed that Arthur collected materials that originated from the locality and by 1906 he was able to collect thousands of objects from the available collections, from donors and new discoveries that formed the core of the museum. The museum thus contained all sorts of objects from the excavated and natural to the decorative art and ethnography. The material owned by the Lincoln Cathedral and the Lincoln Mechanical Institute which were of utmost importance coupled with the earlier collections that had never gained public recognition were put under one roof of the museum. Moreover, in 1896 Smith also became a founder and Honorary Secretary of the Grimsby and District Naturalist Society. From 1920 to 1930, the gallery was a free and accessible brochure. In 1935, Arthur Smith retired. Moreover, in 1974, the Usher Gallery was considered as county archaeological museum.

Modern art programme

Further information: 3D printing processes

3D

3D scanning technologies have made it possible to capture the form of a real object and store it as a digital file and is slowly but surely closing the gap between physical and digital objects. Implementation and interpretation of nucleus museum activities such as collecting, management, conservation, research and interpretation of collection to the public are focal points into the research of the use of 3D technologies (Parry 2010). Younan (2015) states that 3D technology started in 2012 when Lincoln came up with the idea of contemporary art. He was the first person to use digital 3D scanning with an aim of making the collection available to people who are far from the physical display of the object and construct a starting point for new works. The Usher Gallery’s 3D scans project was made corporate by an artist by the name Oliver Laric. Laric suggested that 3D models can be downloaded as STL files without copyright limitations (Art UK, 2019). Further, the scanning project can be used by several materials, for example, ceramics collections, paper capacitor, and metal. Even though the 3D scan project can be downloaded from the website, it still cannot substitute the actual artistic work (Walsh, 2017). The purpose of the 3D scan is to share resources and use them to connect users who are interested in arts. Further, the author’ believes that 3D provides a communication network.

Exhibition at the gallery

The Usher Gallery has built a collection of a diverse range of objects. Not only does it have an exhibition of modern art and contemporary visual arts but also display artistic portraits and landscape painting, sculpture, other works on paper, photographs as well as decorative arts (Walsh, 2017). There are two floors in the exhibition hall, the first floor is a temporary exhibition gallery, and the ground floor is about the collection. Archaeology at the Collection | The Collection. (2019) Paintings, drawings, and prints such as the portrait of Joseph Banks by American artist Benjamin West, Lincoln views by L.S Lowry and modern works by John Piper are but a few well known displays in the gallery. Sculpture collections as that of the tree ring sculpture by Edward Allington, decorative arts collections containing ceramics, glass, silver enamels and jewelry are thought-provoking.

This unknown Lady dressed in extravagant costumes which is related to late-stage pregnancy, and it is a danger for women who was childbirth. Therefore, if things become a worse way, this portrait would be preciousness. Greene (2019)

This art illustrates an unknown lady (1551-1916) who was wearing a patch, and an embroidered waistcoat, a sleeveless gown. That jeweler shows black mourning strings and a rope of peals.

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  Robert Peake the Elder Unknown Lady
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  Circle of Robert Peake the Elder Portrait of a Lady Wearing a Patch
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  Landscape with Tree was an artwork attributed to Lodewijk van Schoor.

Donations and Bequests

The artworks and artifacts are as a result of the generosity of organizations and people stretching back to the past decade. The museum is grateful to all those who have contributed to the donations. The collection of artworks and objects is guided by the Collection Development Strategy (Art UK, 2019). The museum is always ready to discuss the new offers of donations and bequests. These fine art collections have continued to grow alongside the decorative arts because of the contributions made through bequests, gifts, commissions, and purchases. The generosity of grant giving has led to an increase in the collection of decorative arts. Most of the organizations and local people have brought together collections of watches, porcelain, and miniatures (Walsh, 2017). Some of the notable works include the contemporary piece 'Autumn Rings Andeuze and the portrait of ‘Sir Joseph Banks’.

Activity of the gallery

Education

"Usher Gallery Culture24" (2019) report that the usher gallery is conducting a full educational programme which could help develop artistic styles. Moreover, it started the Museum Apprentice Activity in which museum offers children aged 5-11 regular art workshops during longer school holidays or half-term of Saturdays. Also, the museum provides professional service and resources by gallery staff (Walsh, 2017). Children with special educational needs and adults are also accepted, and they will contact an exclusive course designer (Art UK, 2019). On the other hand, artists can arrange for a meeting. For example, children could be taught to develop their skills.

Archaeological Project Archives

The museum has long been associated with the archaeological inquiry, research, and survey. The Lincoln Archaeological Committee was granted the owners of being the first organized body to study the earliest history of Lincoln in 1945. Most of the early surveys, local investigations, and archaeological projects are carried out at this museum by the universities, private researchers, and archeological contractors (Walsh, 2017). Those who have inquiries on archaeological fieldwork are requested to consult the Archeological Archives Deposition Guidelines which indicate process and requirements for depositing archeological project archives (BBC News, 2019). Besides, those who want to apply for museum accession number and code are requested to complete the Site Notification Form. Through these sites, people can be able to handle community projects and research excavations.

The modern and contemporary art programme

This art gallery has identified and established a programme that invites contemporary artists and curators to showcase their contemporary and modern artwork. This exhibition was found alongside the Usher Collection. Some of the modern masters that displayed their artwork in 2014 include Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse and Salvador Dali (Art UK, 2019). In 2013, contemporary artists and conceptual academics were invited to curate displays of Arts Council Collection. This collection entails contemporary and modern British Art that was founded in 1946 (Walsh, 2017). The audience was reached through the touring exhibitions, digital projects, and purchase and display of artwork.

Rumors of closure

There exist rumors on the possible colure of the Usher Gallery. The venue is said to be closed in 2019 and turned into a wedding venue; in fact, the authority of the gallery said that it would move some of their artworks into the neighboring museum. Most of the art lovers have criticized the move claiming that it would limit their ability to purchase and view these artworks (BBC News, 2019). Moreover, a campaign has been launched to save the purpose of the gallery. One of the campaigners, Graham Lewinton, a local artist who has a studio on Silver Street, emphasizes the importance of the gallery to the history and heritage of the people. He furthers warns of the dangers of its closure. By ceasing to run the art gallery, the authority claims that it would be able to save around 750,000 pounds per year. This issue was discussed in 2nd April 2019 after a public meeting was held at Lincoln Minster School. Besides, a petition has been set on changing the organization. This petition aims to oppose the closure of the gallery (Art UK, 2019). A consultation has been placed at Lincolnshire County Council's heritage on lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Partners and Funders

Without the collaborating hands and assistance of the external partners, this art gallery could not have existed. Most of the support has been through organizations who have helped in providing resources and funding that is necessary for the different activities (The Collection, 2019). The contemporary art programme has received a significant financial contribution from the Art Council England. The purchases of most of the artworks have been made by long-standing partners known as The Art Fund. Besides, academic partners like Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln has helped in making contributions to support the development of the educational programme (Walsh, 2017). The museum and gallery have been supported by the British Museum which has been a strategic partner. The City of Lincoln Council, the Contemporary Art Society popular for the support they have offered for the development of art collections; the East Midlands Visual Arts Network working to promote the visual arts are just but a few of the potential supporters of the Usher Gallery (The Collection Art and Archeology in Lincolnshire 2019). Through these well-established partners, the museum has been able to ensure the development of the gallery and museum.

Reference

Category:History of museums Category:Museums