Landmark Exhibition: the Enchanted Dreams of a Forgotten Artist

Enchanted Dreams: the Pre-Raphaelite Art of E.R. Hughes, Saturday 17 October - 21 February at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery’s landmark exhibition ‘Enchanted Dreams’ aims to set the picture straight about an artist who never received the recognition he deserved.   The largest ever exhibition of work by an unsung master of British art, Edward Robert Hughes, opens on Saturday 17 October at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Although his fantastical paintings are familiar worldwide on greetings cards, calendars and posters, as an artist Hughes has been virtually forgotten.  The new exhibition puts his world-famous masterpieces Midsummer Eve and Night with her Train of Stars alongside paintings, drawings and photographs by Hughes, his family and friends from public and private collections across the globe, including the museum’s own world-class collection. Many artworks have not been seen by the public in the 100 years since the artist’s death.

“Hughes is one of those artists whose work is much better known than he is,” explains Victoria Osborne, Curator of Fine Art.  “Few people know his name, yet watercolours like Midsummer Eve and Night with her Train of Stars are immediately recognisable and memorable.  Hughes’s pictures are instantly accessible – you don’t need to know anything about art to feel a connection to them.  Some critics of Hughes’s own day dismissed his works as trivial and sentimental, yet they inspire a profound emotional response.  Even today, Night with her Train of Stars is Birmingham Museums’ most popular and loved painting: its intensity and tenderness have even moved visitors to tears. That’s a rare gift, and one that should be celebrated.”

‘Enchanted Dreams’ is the first ever full-scale retrospective of Hughes’s work, and reveals that the artist was not only at the heart of the British Pre-Raphaelite circle – credited as the ‘right hand’ of revered founder member William Holman Hunt – but also involved with the progressive European Symbolist movement.

“A century after his death, it’s time to rediscover Hughes and celebrate him alongside his more famous contemporaries,” adds Victoria.  “This exhibition is a unique opportunity to see the whole range of Hughes’s work in one place, and really reassess and appreciate his talent.   Many of his best works remain in private collections, and those that are in museums and galleries are often watercolours and drawings so they can’t be on permanent display for conservation reasons. One of the things that makes the new exhibition so special is the opportunity to rediscover works which are world famous but which most people will only ever have seen in reproduction: on cards or in books or on the internet.  And it’s really only when you see Hughes’s works in the original that you can get a sense of their extraordinary quality: their delicacy of touch, rich colour and beautiful surface textures, worked with watercolour, gouache and gold paint.”

Dr Ellen McAdam, Director of Birmingham Museums Trust, which runs Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery said, “We’re so proud that Birmingham has the world’s largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite art, allowing us to showcase artists of national importance like E.R. Hughes and his contemporaries.  The exhibition itself is timed to commemorate the centenary of Hughes’ most famous painting, Night with her Train of Stars, being donated to the City of Birmingham in 1915.  It has been a centre-piece of the city’s art gallery ever since.  Owing to its delicacy as a watercolour it cannot be on permanent display, so its appearance in ‘Enchanted Dreams’ is even more special.”

‘Enchanted Dreams’, including a magical Fairy Glen for children, runs at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery between 17 October 2015 and 21 February 2016.   The Museum and Art Gallery is open Monday – Sunday 10am – 5pm, except Fridays 10.30am – 5pm (closed 24 – 26 December).  Admission to the exhibition is Free for Children under 16, £7 Adults, and £6 Concessions.  Online booking is available.

For more details, call 0121 348 8038 or visit www.birminghammuseums.org.uk.

Ends

Press are invited to attend a Private Preview on Wednesday 14 October, 11am – 4pm.  To find out more, or RSVP please contact Nicola or Jay on 0121 285 9899 or nicola@pyperyork.co.uk / jay@pyperyork.co.uk.

Photographs are available by following the links at the bottom of this email, or from http://news.cision.com/birmingham-museums

Notes to Editors

Birmingham Museums Trust is an independent charity that manages the city’s museum collection and venues on behalf of Birmingham City Council. It uses the collection of around 800,000 objects to provide a wide range of arts, cultural and historical experiences, events and activities that deliver accessible learning, creativity and enjoyment for citizens and visitors to the city. Most areas of the collection are designated as being of national importance, including the finest collection of Pre-Raphaelite art in the world. Attracting over 1 million visits a year, the Trust’s venues include Aston Hall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Blakesley Hall, Museum Collections Centre, Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Sarehole Mill, Soho House, Thinktank and Weoley Castle.  www.birminghammuseums.org.uk

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2015 and 2018, Arts Council England plans to invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and an estimated £700 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

Lenders represented in Enchanted Dreams include the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford; the Art Workers’ Guild; Bruce Castle Museum, Haringey; the Castle Howard collection; the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery; the National Portrait Gallery; the National Trust for Scotland; the Royal Collection; the Royal Watercolour Society; the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead.

For further media information or photographs, please contact:

Nicola Bexon or Jay Commins

Pyper York Limited

Tel:         0121 285 9899

Email:    nicola@pyperyork.co.uk or jay@pyperyork.co.uk