Gallery treasures of yesteryear on show

“OYEZ! OYEZ!” This restored painting of country life will be on show for the first time in half a century in Gallery Oldham’s Treasures exhibition next month

Oldham Treasures is a new exhibition which showcases and celebrates the gems and jewels gathered in Gallery Oldham’s collections over 125 years.

From fine art to the social history collections, the exhibition charts the fashions of the gallery’s collecting and the way it has changed over time.

The art collection began with paintings and sculpture but now includes ceramics, mixed media sculpture, video and photography.

The social history collections began as a few antiquarian oddities but now reflect life in Oldham and the local area, from oil paintings to studio pottery, from cotton cops to grandfather clocks.

Highlights include the oil painting “Oyez! Oyez!”, dated 1889, a narrative by William Blandford Fletcher, which looks like a scene from BBC drama “Cranford”.

Bought in 1890, this treasure has been specially conserved for the exhibition and restored to its former glory. It will be the first time it has been seen in Oldham for 50 years.

“The Drinking Place” (1900), a painting by Stanhope Alexander Forbes, represents the collection’s 20th century works of art, in particular paintings by artists of the Newlyn and St Ives schools of artists.

This major artwork by the most important member of the Newlyn school has been exhibited in venues worldwide and will feature in an exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam next year.

Treasures from the social history collection include a framed pair of cotton cops (a cone with thread spun around it on a spindle) from 1735 and 1885, which were displayed when Oldham’s Free Library, Museum and Art Gallery was officially opened in 1885, and the banner of the Oldham and District Amalgamated Trades Council, made around 1890, showing the wealth and influence of organised labour.

Councillor John McCann, Oldham Council’s cabinet member for community services and housing, said:

“I hope Oldhamers will feel proud when visiting this exhibition. The display is a celebration of the Gallery’s collections and is an exciting opportunity to see the breadth of special objects and artworks that belong to Oldham.”

Oldham Treasures opens on December 5 to April 12. A lunchtime talk with curator Stephen Whittle takes place on December 9 at 1pm.It is free and there is no need to book.