Lotto fund boost for paintings

A GRANT of more than £36,000 is being used to conserve and reframe 38 historic watercolour paintings.

Gallery Oldham is set to take the lead in a partnership project with Towneley Hall, Burnley, to spruce up paintings from the two venues’ permanent collections.

And the £36,100 awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund will be used to ready the watercolours for display at both galleries.

Paintings included in the project range from masterpieces of late 18th century art by Paul Sandby, to important 19th century works by major British artists like John Varley and Francis Towne.

The grant provides the opportunity to highlight the wealth of the region’s fine art collections by planning exhibitions of the restored works alongside some of the world’s best known artists such as Constable and Turner.

Sara Hilton, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the North-West, said: “There is a fine balance between preserving our fragile heritage for future generations and ensuring today’s communities can enjoy it.

“Our grant will help Gallery Oldham and Towneley Hall to successfully do both, by conserving these beautiful paintings and offering a host of ways for people to enjoy them.”

In addition to the conservation and reframing work, the grant will fund a series of educational activities run by Oldham Theatre Workshop.

It will also provide both venues with state-of-the-art touch screen computers that will allow visitors to access the galleries’ reserve collections of watercolours and drawings.

Conservation work on the 38 watercolours will be complete by October, 2009, with exhibitions at Towneley Hall in November, 2009, and at Gallery Oldham in January, 2010.

For more information call 0161-770 4653 or visit www.galleryoldham.org.uk.