Beecroft Art Gallery is an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

, Essex, England. The gallery is housed in the former municipal central library that opened in 1974 in the

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

style as part of Southend Civic Centre. The Beecroft Art Gallery has a busy programme of changing exhibitions of art, photography and fashion. On the ground floor, the gallery presents temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary artists, focusing on the work of emerging and established local artists. On the first floor, visitors can see works from the permanent collection and exciting fashion exhibitions. In the basement of the building is the independent charity The Jazz Centre UK.

History

Prior to 2014, the gallery was located in an Edwardian building on Station Road at

Westcliff-on-Sea Westcliff-on-Sea (previously known as Milton, often abbreviated to Westcliff, and in the past spelt as Westcliffe-on-Sea) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, located within the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north sh ...

, opposite the

Cliffs Pavilion Cliffs Pavilion (locally known as the Cliffs) is a theatre, sports, exhibition and concert venue located on Station Road in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, a suburb within the city of Southend-on-Sea. It is the largest purpose-built arts venue ...

, and which was donated to the people of

in 1952 by Walter Beecroft (1885–1961) to house his eclectic collection of art works. Beecroft was a solicitor in nearby

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

. He had already set up an Art Gallery Sub-Committee of the Public Libraries & Museum Committee in 1928, and in 1947 he proposed to endow a building to become an Art Gallery. Eventually, this led to the Beecroft Art Gallery on Station Road. Beecroft also endowed the Beecroft Bequest, an art purchase fund administered by the

Museums Association The Museums Association (MA) is a professional membership organisation based in London for museum, gallery and heritage professionals and organisations of the United Kingdom. It also offers international membership. History The association w ...

. The gallery was resited in 2014 to the former home of the Central Library on Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, when the library moved to

The Forum Southend-on-Sea The Forum Southend-on-Sea, locally known simply as The Forum, is a building located in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The Central Library and Focus Art Gallery are housed in the building. It was opened in September 2013 following a relocation ...

. The move was completed as a temporary measure, as the original building was subsiding, and the council wanted the former library building to stay open. The plan was ultimately to move the gallery to a new museum located on the Cliffs. The Cliffs museum plan was finally dropped in 2018.

The building

The building was designed as a library by the councils architect, Patrick Burrough, as part of the new Southend Civic Centre. The Civic Centre would encompass a new police station, the

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

, council offices and chamber, a new

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

and a Library on a site first purchased by the council in 1919 for a further education college, but had been reallocated as a town hall site in 1934. The planned fire station for the site was dropped and it built in Sutton Road. The Central Library opened in 1974, moving from the former free library located next door which had been opened in 1905.

Fritz Steller wall

The most famous feature of the gallery's building is a tiled wall created by German artist, sculpture and designer Fritz Steller. Steller's Transform Ceramic Company, was commissioned by Patrick Burridge, the councils architect, to create a sculptural wall around 1973, prior to the building opening as Southend Central Library. The artist created a series of architectural ceramic tiles with an abstract design referencing the stacking of book spines on library shelves. The brown tiles were cast on sand to give them a unique and unrepeatable surface. Transform Ceramic also created the brick paving and the raised flower beds around the gallery.

Collections

Art

Beecroft Art Gallery has a permanent collection of over 2,000 works, ranging from 17th-century Dutch paintings to contemporary works. The collection includes examples by artists such as Jan Miense Molenaer,

Jacob van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achie ...

, Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Francesco Bissolo, plus 19th-century artists including

Rossetti Rossetti may refer to: * Biagio Rossetti (c. 1447–1516), architect and urbanist from Ferrara, the first to use modern methods * Carlo Rossetti (1614–1681), Italian cardinal, nobleman * Cezaro Rossetti (1901–1950), Scottish Esperanto writer ...

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

and

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

. There are works by Carel Weight, the Great Bardfield Group, and a bronze by

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American and British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1910. Early in his ...

. The local artist Alan Sorrell is represented by his ''Drawings of Nubia'' series depicting a visit to Egypt prior to the building of the

Aswan Dam The Aswan Dam, or Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. When it was completed, it was the tallest earthen dam in the world, surpassing the Chatuge D ...

. The Thorpe Smith Collection of local landscape views contains paintings, drawings and prints from as early as 1803.

Photography

The gallery's photography collection consists mainly of two large collections of 1972 photographs taken in Southend by Ron McCormick and

Josef Koudelka Josef Koudelka (born 10 January 1938) is a Czech-French photographer. He is a member of Magnum Photos and has won awards such as the Prix Nadar (1978), a Grand Prix National de la Photographie (1989), a Grand Prix Henri Cartier-Bresson (1991) ...

. In 1972, as part of a major project involving eight towns, The Arts Council commissioned the two photographers to work in the city with the aim of revealing to the people of Southend how they and their environment are seen by two outside observers. Both photographers found inspiration in the street and beach life that day trippers brought to Southend in the summer. The resulting images were later displayed in the old Beecroft Art Gallery building between 24 March and 22 April 1973 and later toured local schools and community centres. The photographs were then returned to the Beecroft Art Gallery and entered into the collection.

Fashion and textiles

Southend Museums Service has been acquiring historical and contemporary fashion as part of its social history collection since opening in the 1970s. The collections have subsequently been re-housed at the Beecroft Art Gallery and fashion exhibitions take place there once a year. The collections' main strengths are the decades from the 1920s to the 1970s but there are important earlier and later pieces, most notably a rare, 17th century slap sole shoe. The collection includes garments, uniforms, shoes, hats, underwear, jewellery and various accessories. Notable collections are the Gloria Levin collection of

Hardy Amies Sir Edwin Hardy Amies Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, KCVO (17 July 1909 – 5 March 2003) was a British fashion designer, founder of the Hardy Amies (fashion house), Hardy Amies label and a Royal Warrant holder as designer to El ...

couture and a collection of 1970s stage costumes and accessories worn by Dame

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

. Beach wear is a major area of collection and the museums service's swimwear collection is believed to be the largest in the country. The collection dates from around 1900 to present times and include several rare pieces. In 2009 Southend Museums received a large donation of 500 bathing suits from private collector, Mavis Plume. It is the largest collection of swimwear in the United Kingdom.

The Essex Open

Beecroft Art Gallery is the home of the historic Essex Open Exhibition, which runs annually. Established by the gallery's founder in 1957 and inspired by the world-renowned

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...

, over the years, the exhibition has evolved into a cornerstone of the local cultural scene, drawing participants from across Essex and the historic Essex boundaries of East London (today the London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham,

Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities include Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham, Lo ...

Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...

, Redbridge and

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is an outer London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Leyton, Walthamstow and Chingford. The borough's administrative headquarters are at Waltham Forest Town Hall, wh ...

The Jazz Centre UK

The Jazz Centre UK is an independent charity hosted within the building. It was founded from overstock of the National Jazz Archive by trumpeter

Digby Fairweather Richard John Charles "Digby" Fairweather (born 25 April 1946) is a British jazz trumpeter, author and broadcaster. Biography Before becoming a professional musician, Fairweather was a librarian and has retained an interest in jazz bibliography ...

in 2016 to celebrates the music’s heritage, art and memorabilia. The centre is a registered charity, with patrons such as

Jamie Cullum Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...

, Zoe Rahman and Chris Philips. The centre also promotes contemporary performance and education. Amongst the collections is a Henry Selmer Paris '

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

balanced-action trumpet', which the French company designed in 1933 in collaboration with the great trumpetist, Sir

John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...

’s first piano and

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

's complete archive. The centre was given notice by Southend Council in 2022 that their lease would not be renewed, however in 2024 a new lease was secured. In December 2024, it was announced that Yolanda Charles had joined the board of the charity.

Additional photographs

Image:Francesco Bissolo, Mother and Child, Beecroft Art Gallery.jpg, Francesco Bissolo, Mother and Child, Beecroft Art Gallery

References

External links

*
Art UK
{{Coord, 51, 32, 9, N, 0, 41, 50, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Southend-on-Sea Art museums and galleries in Essex 1952 establishments in England