Welcome
The Fry Public Art Gallery was opened in 1987 and houses an impressive number of paintings, prints, illustrations, wallpapers and decorative designs by artists of the 20th century and the present day who have local connections and have made a significant contribution to their field. There is an emphasis on those who for a variety of reasons settled in Great Bardfield between the early thirties of the last century and the death in 1983 of John Aldridge RA who had lived in the village for fifty years.
The Gallery is run by volunteers, both invigilators when it is open to the public and other helpers throughout the year. Please contact us if you would like to become more involved.
The Fry Art Gallery 2024 season opens with these exhibitions:
Great Bardfield and Beyond: A Working Landscape, in the main gallery, and Working Women – The Art of Sheila Robinson & Chloë Cheese in the Gibson Room.
Film by Thomas Völker © 2022
Online Shop
The Fry’s online shop has a range of gifts, from textiles to books.
Please click HERE for more information.
The Fry receives no regular funding. Should you wish to contribute to our running costs, please use the button below.
Become a member
If you would like to become a Fry Gallery Member you can now do so online. Please choose an option below.
Visit the Collection
Browse the Fry Gallery collection online here.
News and Events
New season opens
Ransomes RHA Plough This horse drawn plough, manufactured by Ransomes of Ipswich, the biggest agricultural equipment manufacturer in Britain, is on show in the exhibition in the main gallery 'Bardfield and Beyond: A Working Landscape'. Ploughs and other farm...
Colourful bird spotted in the gallery
Sheila Robinson, Parrot 1965, cardboard cut. The pictures are going up on the walls for this season’s exhibitions at the Fry. Keeping an eye on the gallery is this colourful parrot, one of the highlights of this year's opening exhibition in the Gibson room. The show...
New acquisition: Woman & Cat by Robert Colquhoun
New acquisition: Woman & Cat, by Robert Colquhoun Lithograph, 1951 At the Fry annual sale last November, the gallery was able to boost its collection with a clutch of works by 'Fry' artists. They include two late watercolours and a print by Edward Bawden, a...
Work of the month
Work of the Month: Ives Farm by Edward Bawden
Edward Bawden CBE, RA, RDI (1903 - 1989) Ives Farm, Great Bardfield 1956, Linocut Edward and Charlotte Bawden moved to Brick House in Great Bardfield in 1932 sharing the house with Eric and Tirzah Ravilious. Ives Farm backed onto the garden at Brick House. This...
Work of the month: Black House by Anne Rothenstein
Painting and collage Anne Rothenstein is the daughter of Michael and Duffy Rothenstein and was brought up in Great Bardfield with her brother Julian. The exhibition Great Bardfield and Beyond: A Working Landscape includes 4 of Anne's works, including one rarely-seen...
Work of the month: Iron Bridge at Ewenbridge
Watercolour on paper, 1942 One of the highlights of the forthcoming exhibition 'Great Bardfield and beyond: a working landscape' is Eric Ravilious's 1942 watercolour of the iron footbridge over the river Pant at Ewenbridge, near Shalford. The successor to the bridge...
Exhibitions
Great Bardfield and Beyond: A Working Landscape
7th April to 27th October 2024 Great Bardfield and Beyond: A Working Landscape Great Bardfield was described by Olive Cook as 'paradisial' in her book about the North West Essex Artists. But Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious, who initially settled there in 1931 had a...
Working Women – the art of Sheila Robinson and Chloë Cheese
7th April to 30th June 2024 - in the Gibson Room Working Women - the art of Sheila Robinson and Chloë Cheese This exhibition focuses on the art of Sheila Robinson (1925-88) and also shows examples of the work of her daughter, Chloë Cheese (b.1952), whose early life...
Charles Mahoney RA: The Pleasures of Life
6th July to 27th October 2024 in the Gibson Room Charles Mahoney RA: The Pleasures of Life Charles (Cyril) Mahoney (l903-68) has been largely forgotten and this exhibition offers a reassessment. Mahoney was a close friend of Bawden and Ravilious who first met while...
Visiting us
Opening Times
The Gallery is open in 2024 from Sunday 7th April to Sunday 27th October.
Admission is free.
Monday | Closed |
Tuesday | 2pm – 5pm |
Wednesday | 2pm – 5pm |
Thursday | 2pm – 5pm |
Friday | 2pm – 5pm |
Saturday | 11am – 5pm |
Sunday and bank holidays | 2pm – 5pm |
Contact us
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