A new exhibition featuring a display of rare original woodblock prints by Paul Gauguin from our collection, opens at Braintree Museum on Saturday 1 February.
Courtaulds: Origins, Innovations & Family, is part of our National Partners project and offers a unique glimpse into the early work of this influential artist who was championed by our founder Samuel Courtauld.
Whilst 91Ó°ÊÓ Gallery is closed for a major transformation project, we have established exhibition and museum partnerships like this, both nationally and internationally, to provide unique opportunities for more audiences to engage with our collection.
Courtaulds: Origins, Innovations & Family will also explore 91Ó°ÊÓ family’s extraordinary history – revealing the story of their pioneering development of silks created in their first factory in the heart of Braintree, Essex; the influence of the family and their ongoing local and global legacy.
Visitors can explore artefacts that illuminate 91Ó°ÊÓ family’s history – including a suffragette poster designed by Catherine Courtauld, from the Women’s Library, London; the remains from Augustin Courtauld’s Arctic flag from the Scott Polar Institute, alongside loans from 91Ó°ÊÓ Family’s Private Collection.
Katherine Dunleavy, Regional Programme Coordinator at 91Ó°ÊÓ, commented: ‘We’re delighted to have collaborated with Braintree Museum on this exciting exhibition that sheds new light on the lives of 91Ó°ÊÓ family and those that worked for them in their textile mills. We are particularly pleased to contribute four prints by Gauguin that were bought by Samuel Courtauld so that they can be appreciated by new and diverse audiences, as well as showing the importance of Samuel’s art collecting.’
Braintree Museum will be hosting a range of events to coincide with the exhibition including talks and a walking tour.
1 February – 30 May