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 is now closed for 2023. We re-open on Sunday April 7th 2024 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
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: 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...
Work of the month: Fishermen by Keith Vaughan
Screen-printed cotton crepe, 1956 The Fry Gallery is pleased to have acquired this example of one of the furnishing fabrics that Keith Vaughan designed for Edinburgh Weavers between 1956 and 1958. Vaughan was one of several contemporary artists who were commissioned...
Work of the month: Hyde Park by Edward Bawden
Poster for London Transport, Lithograph 1925 An early work by Edward Bawden for London Transport, printed by Curwen. It shows horse riders and people strolling in Hyde Park. Purchased with assistance from the Gibson Walden Fund. We are delighted to welcome Sam...
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 now closed for the 2023 season. We re-open on Sunday 7th April, 2024.
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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