Abbot Hall Art Gallery

The original Abbot Hall was erected in 1759 by Colonel George Wilson, on the site of the old Abbot’s Hall, which formerly stood roughly where the museum is today. Prior to the dissolution of the monasteries this was where the Abbot would reside when visiting from the mother church of St. Mary’s, York. In 1897 Abbot Hall the only Grade I listed building in Kendal (apart from the Parish Church) was acquired by the Kendal Borough Council who wanted to turn its grounds into a public park for the townsfolk. The building itself, however, which was seriously uncared for was by the 1950’s close to collapse. The then newly-formed Lake District Art Gallery Trust (now known as the Lakeland Arts Trust) raised the necessary funding for its restoration, and in 1962 it opened as an Art Gallery.

The Gallery houses art from the 18th Century to the present day. It possesses one of the finest collections of George Romney’s paintings in Britain. Its location in the heart of the Lake District has over the years attracted some of Britain's finest watercolourists. These include J R Cozens, David Cox, Peter De Wint and John Sell Cotman, all of whom are represented. John Ruskin the eminent Victorian critic and artist is also present again with arguably the finest collection of his work in the country. On the contemporary front there are sculptures by Jacob Epstein, Barbara Hepworth and Elisabeth Frink and paintings by John Piper, Graham Sutherland, Ivon Hitchens and L.S. Lowry. The field of printmaking is also represented with fine examples of works by David Hockney, Paula Rego, Lucian Freud, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Henry Moore. The breadth of art exhibitions since its opening in 1962 range from Beatrix Potter to Euan Uglow.