Exhibition

Please note that the Ravilious Gallery and Collection Library will be closed from 9 to 20 September inclusive while we install our new exhibition.

The Ravilious Gallery and Collection Library, supported by Eastbourne Arts Circle, is a room in Gallery 1 presenting changing exhibitions of works by Eric Ravilious selected from Towner’s collection of his work. The current display presents highlights from the Towner Collection, featuring works by Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden and Peggy Angus alongside Diana Low, Victor Pasmore, George Leslie Hunter, Kathleen Walne and Georges Spiro.

A study space and library, which focuses on the artists in the collection, offers the opportunity for our visitors to spend time getting to know the artists and works in the Towner Collection.

In 1923 the Towner Art Gallery was founded with 20 Victorian narrative paintings; one hundred years on the Collection now numbers over 5000 works with a focus on modern British art and the largest collection of works by Eric Ravilious. From the earliest ‘Pictures of Sussex’ collecting policy to our ongoing support for emerging artists, Towner has a rich history of collecting, exhibiting, and championing contemporary art. Drawing inspiration from our unique location on the Sussex coast at the foot of the South Downs, the Collection generally focuses on landscape but represents a range of artistic styles and genres including abstraction and natural realism, mid-century modern art and design, and more recently moving image, installation and performance.

Anchor and Boats, 1938

The Bedstead, 1939

Furlongs, 1934

Dungeness Lighthouse, 1938

Interior at Furlongs, 1939

Shepherd's Cottage (The Lay), 1934

Dolly Engine, 1934

The Butcher’s Shop, c.1937

Rope, c.1933

To continue exploring the Towner Collection you can book one of our regular Art Store tours. You can see all upcoming dates and book via our What's On page.