We Think the World of You
People and Dogs Drawn Together
David Remfry MBE RA
11 May until 29 September 2024
David Remfry (MBE RA) has long been fascinated by the relationships that develop between dogs and their owners. This exhibition reveals the mutual understanding and sympathy of these partnerships. The artist started a series of drawings 15 years ago in New York when Remfry, a resident of the infamous Chelsea Hotel, began to explore the relationships between friends and their dogs through evocative pencil and watercolour portraits. Among the sitters are well-known faces including Alan Cumming and his rescue dog Honey, Susan Sarandon and her Pomeranians, and Ethan Hawke with his dog Nina.
Remfry was born in 1942 and studied art and printmaking at the Hull College of Art.
Since 1973, he has exhibited at galleries and museums across the UK, Europe and the USA, and he was made an MBE in 2001 for services to British art in America.
Remfry was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 2006 and a decade later he was appointed professor of drawing at the Royal Academy Schools.
Events
Meet the Artist: David Remfry will be ‘In Conversation’ at the Mercer Gallery on Wednesday 17 July, discussing the inspirations behind this project and other aspects of his work with artist and curator Courtney Spencer. Tickets available soon, please contact us for information: museums.harrogate@northyorks.gov.uk
Doggie Sundays: Enjoy a rare opportunity to visit the gallery with your canine companion! Dogs are welcome on Sundays, until 29 September.
Children’s Activities: Watch this space for details of school holiday activities for families. Find fun things to do in the Mercer – add a picture of your favourite dog to our paw-trait wall, read some dog-themed stories, and try our ‘299 Dogs’ jigsaw.
Eva Leigh Walker
11 May until 29 September 2024
Exquisite portraits by a little-known Harrogate artist capture faces from the 1920s and 30s.
A group of drawings by Eva Leigh (1895 – 1981) came to light when the Mercer’s volunteer team inventoried the Harrogate Art Collection. They were entranced by the delicate studies, a few of which had been displayed in the past, but many were still unmounted and had never been exhibited. With very little record of the artist, work began to piece together her biography. The story emerged of a talented, yet now largely forgotten, artist whose work reflects a particular moment in time.
Born in Bradford in 1895, Eva Walker showed early artistic talent, attending art school in her teens before moving to Harrogate. Adopting the name Eva Leigh - her paternal grandmother’s maiden name, she established herself as a portrait artist and undertook commissions from a wide variety of patrons, many of them visitors to Harrogate spa. Among others, her sitters included H.R.H. Princess Victoria, actor Jimmy Forbes,Caroline Ingilby from Ripley Castle, Sir John Barbirolli and the entire Hallé Orchestra.
Many of these fascinating portraits remain tantalisingly anonymous. There are still many aspects of Eva Leigh’s life and career to discover, it’s hoped that visitors to the exhibition may be able to add more pieces to the jigsaw. Her work certainly deserves wider attention, and her life story is an interesting touchstone to a particular time in Harrogate’s spa history.
This research and the accompanying exhibition have been made possible thanks to generous support from the Friends of the Mercer Art Gallery. Dr Fiona Young’s painstaking research has brought the life and work of this talented artist back into the public eye.
Photographs from the Walker Neesam Archive
18 March until 28 September 2024
Historian Malcolm Neesam bequeathed his collection of local history material to Harrogate Museums on his death in 2022. This exhibition shows some of the photographs of Harrogate life and landmarks from the collection, as work gets underway to catalogue this significant archive.
New Light
Prize exhibition 2023 - 2024
In the Main Gallery from 12 October 2024 until 5 January 2025
Established in 2010 to celebrate and promote the visual arts in the North of England, this biennial prize exhibition is now one of the UK’s largest and most celebrated open exhibitions. It is touring Merseyside, London, Cumbria, Northumberland and ends its run in Yorkshire at the Mercer Art Gallery.