Gscene Magazine - Exhibitions

By James Ledward, Feb 1, 2012 - 10:59:38 AM

A Turner painting of Brighton will go on public display for the first time in more than a century after being bought by the city's Royal Pavilion & Museums.

The Royal Pavilion & Museums service, part of Brighton & Hove City Council, successfully bid for the watercolour, The Chain Pier at Brighton, at an auction at Christie's in New York.

The painting was purchased for $352,500 (£225,000).

A significant grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) helped secure the picture for the city and the nation; along with an award from the Art Fund, the national fundraising charity for art, and a donation from the Royal Pavilion & Museums Foundation, a registered charity that raises funds to support the Royal Pavilion & Museums.

The watercolour, believed to have been painted in 1824/5, has been in private hands and unseen by the public for more than 100 years.

It will go on show at the Royal Pavilion soon after it arrives in the city and will be the star attraction of a new exhibition at the historic royal palace next year.

The painting depicts Brighton from the sea, with the newly constructed chain pier on the right of the picture and the Royal Pavilion at the centre.

Cllr Geoffrey Bowden, Brighton & Hove City Council's cabinet member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism, said:
"This is fantastic news - it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to add a work of this significance to our public collections, and to present a piece of our nation's heritage to the city it depicts so well.

"The painting by one of our most famous artists captures all the characteristics of Brighton in a single, wonderfully detailed view and is Turner's only known painting to include the Royal Pavilion. It is regarded as the THE defining image of Brighton in the 1800s and we are thrilled local residents and visitors from this country and across the world will now be able to enjoy it, rather than have it disappear again into a private collection. I am certain that it will prove to be a significant cultural attraction in the city’s tourist offer."

He added:
"Our Pavilion & Museums staff have worked hard to secure funding to buy this important picture at no cost to the council, and we are extremely grateful to members of the public who have contributed through the Royal Pavilion & Museums Foundation, and to the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund for their generous grants, which have made this purchase possible."

Jenny Lund, Curator of Fine Art at the Royal Pavilion and Museums, said:
"The watercolour The Chain Pier, Brighton will be a tremendous asset for the Royal Pavilion & Museums and its fine art collection. It will highlight the international importance of the collection as it will strengthen our current holdings of artworks relating to the cultural history of the Pavilion and the historical development of Brighton & Hove."

"Its whereabouts were unknown for so long, and we did not want it to disappear into obscurity again."

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