Watts Gallery

Coordinates: 51°13′17″N 0°37′45″W / 51.2213°N 0.6293°W / 51.2213; -0.6293

Watts Gallery (restored)

Watts Gallery – Artists' Village is an art gallery in the village of Compton, near Guildford in Surrey. It is dedicated to the work of the Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts.

Watts moved to "Limnerslease" in Compton in 1891, and with his artist wife, Mary Fraser-Tytler, planned a museum devoted to his work, which opened in April 1904, just before his death.

The architect of the Gallery was Christopher Hatton Turnor, an admirer of Edwin Lutyens and C. F. A. Voysey. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, the building contains top-lit galleries that allow Watts's work to be displayed under natural light.

It is one of only a few galleries in the UK devoted to a single artist, and is often hailed as a national gallery in the heart of a village. The present director is Perdita Hunt and the curator is Dr Nicolas Tromans. Former curators include Wilfrid Blunt, Richard Jefferies and Mark Bills. Watts Gallery is a registered charity under English law.^[1]

Watts Gallery was placed second in the final of the BBC TV series Restoration Village in 2006.

In January 2008 it was announced that the Gallery intended to deaccession and sell two Victorian paintings, Sleeping Woman (1880) by Albert Joseph Moore and Triumph of Love (1871) by Edward Burne-Jones, which had both been bequeathed to the collection by Cecil French. These were duly sold. The money was used to maintain the Gallery which was closed from September 2008 until 2010 for restoration.^[2]

In December 2006 Watts Gallery received a £4.3 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for renovations to help safeguard the future of the building and its collections.

Watts Gallery reopened in June 2011 after a major scheme of works, including extension, refurbishment and restoration. Visitors can now experience the Watts collection in the historic galleries displaying the original decorative schemes.

Over one-hundred paintings by G. F. Watts are on permanent display at the Gallery. Spanning a period of 70 years they include portraits, landscapes and his major symbolic works. From the dramatic entrance of the Livanos Gallery to the monumental sculpture and studio artefacts in the Sculpture Gallery, Watts Gallery shows the collection left by the artist as his legacy.

The Watts Gallery is currently renovating "Limnerslease", G. F. and Mary Watts' home and studio. The Watts Studios were due to open in autumn 2015, completing the Artists' Village.

Compton's burial ground, nearby, houses Watts' remains and is dominated by the ornate Arts & Crafts Watts Mortuary Chapel, designed by Watts' wife Mary, also run by the museum.

De Morgan Foundation

Since 28 June 2014 the De Morgan Foundation, a registered charity preserving the work of William De Morgan,^[3] has had its office here, following the closure of the De Morgan Centre in London.

References

External links

• Watts Gallery website
• BBC Restoration Village on Watts Gallery
• Watts Gallery - ZMMA Website
• Historic England. "Details from image database (288324)". Images of England. 

Borough of Guildford
Towns, villages, most notable neighbourhoods and hamlets	Albury Artington Ash Ash Vale Burntcommon Burpham Chilworth Compton East Clandon East Horsley Effingham Fairlands Farley Green Gomshall Guildford Holmbury St Mary Jacobs Well Merrow Normandy Ockham Peaslake Pirbright Puttenham Ripley St Martha Seale Send Shackleford Shalford Shere Stoughton Tongham Wanborough West Clandon West Horsley Wisley Wood Street Village Worplesdon
Parks and public woodlands	Albury Park Clandon Park Hatchlands Park On the Greensand Ridge The Hurtmoor Winterfold Forest Ockham Park Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons Seale Chalk Pit Silent Pool On the North Downs Newlands Corner St. Martha's Hill wooded slopes of the Hog's Back Stoke Park Sutton Place Wanborough Grange RHS Garden, Wisley
Places of worship	Old St Peter and St Paul's Church, Albury St Augustine's Abbey, Chilworth Guildford Cathedral Holy Trinity Church, Guildford St Nicolas' Church, Guildford St Mary's Church, Guildford Watts Mortuary Chapel
Education	Academy of Contemporary Music Ash Manor School Christ's College, Guildford George Abbot School Guildford College Guildford County School Guildford High School Guildford School of Acting Howard of Effingham School King's College, Guildford Knowl Hill School Lanesborough School Merrist Wood College Ripley Court Preparatory School Royal Grammar School Rydes Hill Preparatory School St. Peter's School Tormead School University for the Creative Arts The University of Law University of Surrey
Transport	Ash railway station Ash Vale railway station Chilworth railway station Clandon railway station Effingham Junction railway station Gomshall railway station Guildford railway station Horsley railway station London Road railway station Shalford railway station Tongham railway station Wanborough railway station Worplesdon railway station
Buildings and structures	Chilworth Manor Electric Theatre G Live Guildford Castle Guildford Guildhall Guildford House Guildford Museum Guildford Spectrum GuilFest Hogs Back Brewery Institute for Animal Health Normandy Youth Club–The N-Factor Royal Surrey County Hospital Sports Ground, Woodbridge Road, Guildford Watts Gallery Wisley Airfield Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
Sport	Charlotteville Cycling Club Guildford City F.C. Guildford Crows Aussie Rules FC Guildford Flames Guildford Giants Guildford Lightning Merrow F.C. Surrey Storm Surrey United Tongham F.C.