The Art Gallery is home to six permanent collections including Neapolitan art from 1600 to 1800; Northern European medieval art from 1450 to 1650; British portraits including paintings of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Edward VI and works by Joshua Reynolds; Chinese bronzes including objects from the Neolithic and Shang periods; British folk art;[2] and the Enid Marx/Margaret Lambert Collection of folk art from around the world which inspired the textile designs of 20th century artist Enid Marx.[3]
History
In 1993, the Peter Moores Foundation (PMF) bought the site, including the near-derelict mansion, and gifted it to the specially-created charitable trust Compton Verney House Trust (CVHT).[4]
Following a £45 million building project to restore the Grade-I listed Georgian mansion[5] and add a Stanton Williams designed modern wing to house exhibition spaces and visitor facilities,[6] Compton Verney staged a preview season in 1998 on the newly restored ground floor rooms, showcasing the important British Folk Art Collection, which the PMF had already bought from collector Andras Kalman.[7]
Following this Compton Verney continued to engage with people in the local area via a series of outreach projects and art installations within the grounds.
Compton Verney fully opened to the public as a major, nationally accredited art gallery in March 2004.[5]
The special exhibitions programme offers both historic and contemporary shows and is designed to appeal to a wide audience.
Folk Art in Village Halls - Compton Verney took the British Folk Art Collection on a tour around South Warwickshire as part of Museums and Galleries Month
John Frankland: Untitled Boulder – a vast climbing boulder within the 18th-century 'Capability' Brown landscape.
Tim Brennan: Three Manoeuvres - Brennan's 'manoeuvres' take the form of journeys and walks. Using the model of the historical guided tour, Brennan devised a series of walks in response to the transient state of Compton Verney
Marcus Coates: CB3CV ChiffChaff - Coates is particularly interested in the relationship between animals and humans. GB3CV ChiffChaff was an attempt to search for parallels between the communication systems of wild birds and amateur radio enthusiasts
2002
John Kippin: Beauty Harmony Truth: Navigating the English Country House
2003
Jacqueline Donachie, Ben Sadler, Graham Parker, Matthew Thompson: 'Walkabout' – a series of artists' walks inspired by the local area
Aleksandra Mir: Plane Landing - Working in partnership with Cameron Balloons in Bristol, Mir created a giant inflatable plane (20 m by 15 m) that hovered above the grounds of Compton Verney as if about to land.
Keith Wilson: Cattle Market – a series of temporary sculptures created for the grounds of Compton Verney.
Peter Greenaway: Luper – re-visited the setting of Greenaway's 1982 film The Draughtsman's Contract, a baroque thriller played out against the backdrop of a country house.
Compton Verney Art Gallery is situated on the B4086 between the villages of Kineton and Wellesbourne.
Stratford-upon-Avon lies 14.4 kilometres (8.9 miles) northwest of Compton Verney, with Warwick and Leamington 14.4 kilometres (8.9 miles) to the north.[10]
The nearest railway stations to Compton Verney Art Gallery are: Warwick Parkway about 16 kilometres (9.9 miles), Leamington Spa 16 kilometres (9.9 miles) and Banbury 22 kilometres (14 miles)
It is 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from junction 12 of the M40 motorway and is also close to Birmingham Airport.
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