BEECROFT ART GALLERY

1952 - ?

In 1952 Walter Gordon Beecroft (16 January 1885–6 March 1961), a solicitor, endowed his collection of art and a gallery building at Westcliff-on-sea to the people of Southend and the Essex Open Art Exhibition was founded by Walter Beecroft in 1957 to create a showcase for artists in Essex, giving them an opportunity to show their work on the walls of the then newly opened Beecroft Art Gallery at Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex. In 2014 the gallery moved to the former home of the Central Library on Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea where, alongside local art exhibitions and a permanent display of the Beecroft collection, the gallery also displays a rolling programme of fashion and textile exhibitions utilising the museum's extensive collection of dress and textiles. A selection of paintings from the fine historic collection are always on display in the permanent gallery or in temporary exhibitions. The Beecroft Art Gallery marked its 70th year in 2023 with an Essex Open Art Exhibition. Suffolk artists who exhibited at The Beecroft Gallery include Christian Figg, Terry Jeffrey, Jonathan Keep, Dale Mann, Anne-Marie Oshelda, Dione Page, Winifred Pledger, Hazel Theobald and Bryan Whiteley. Southend Museums officially became a museum when local philanthropist Robert Arthur Jones (20 November 1849–23 May 1925) donated the grounds of what is now Priory Park and the Prittlewell Priory, to the town.

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Works by This Artist