About

The Ravilious Gallery and Collection Library, supported by Eastbourne Arts Circle, is a room in Gallery 1 presenting changing exhibitions of artworks from the Towner Collection.

The current display features local landscapes by Eric Ravilious alongside animal sculptures, drawings and prints by artists including Chris Drury, Elisabeth Frink, Roland Jarvis, Henry Moore, John Skeaping and more. Inspired by the museum setting of Gerard Byrne’s film, exhibited next door, this display engages with the elements of a natural history diorama - from the animals and artifacts presented within, to the painted landscapes and qualities of light that complete the illusion.

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.

List of Eric Ravilious works currently on display

Lombardy Poplars, 1935

Downs in Winter, 1935

Beachy Head, 1939

Cuckmere Haven, 1939

Pond at Birling Manor Farm (East Dean), 1925

Litlington, Sussex, undated

Boy Birdnesting, 1927

Sussex Church, 1924

Title Page and Headpieces, Kynoch Press Note Book 1933, 1932

Wedgwood ‘Boat Race’ Bowl, 1938

Illustrations from 'The Natural History of Selbourne; by Gilbert White, selected and edited by HJ Massingham, published by The Nonesuch Press Limited, 1937:

Untitled: (Hoopoes and arbour)

Untitled: (Stork and pond)

Untitled: (Tortoise, man and greenhouse)

Untitled: (Wheelbarrow and pigeons)

 

(Photo by Rob Harris)