Hastings Museum & Art Gallery

A bit of a miserable damp misty mizzly day today, so I visited Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, John's Place, Bohemia Road TN34 1ET (website), hadn't visited for a while. You will guess that the photograph above is one I took a while ago as it is brighter, not to mention the blue sky. Until the end of March, winter opening times are (closed Mondays) Tuesdays to Saturdays 10.00 am to 4.00 pm, and 12.00 noon to 4.00 pm on Sundays. For visiting and access information go to the website.

 Peace Project

In addition to the regular exhibitions and events there are 2 separate exhibitions, the Peace Project, which continues to the 9th of February, so get in quick if you haven't visited recently. The Peace Project marks the centenary of the 'Peace Day' celebrations held in Hastings following the end of the First World War (1914-1918, website - many thanks to Hastings Museum & Art Gallery for the image above).

Also, until the 19th of April is Wunderkammer: Hastings Curiosities, which brings together exhibits from the museum's stores, some of which have not seen the light of days for years, including natural history specimens, archaeological artefacts, works of art, and exhibits concerning local and social history (website).

Grey Owl (1888-1938)

Of course there are the regular exhibitions and collections, including Natural History, Archaeology, Dinosaurs and Fossils, Paintings and Other World Art, Native North Americans, and the Canadian conservationist Grey Owl, who served as a sniper with the 13th (Montreal) Battalion of the Black Watch during the First World War (from 1915, he was wounded in 1916, and was shipped back to Canada in 1917). He visited Hastings on a tour of Britain in the 1930s, promoting books he had written and lecturing about conservation; what was not popular knowledge at the time was that he was born and raised in the Hastings area, and his real name was Archie Belaney! More information can be discovered at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography (website), and many thanks to the BBC for the image above.

I did not manage to get into the main gallery as an event for children, the Starlings Museum Group, was in progress (Friday mornings), with many children present, music and noise; indeed, the museum caters for learning activities aplenty, see website.

I'll have to visit on a different day next time, 'tis well worth it!

J. M. W. Turner back on show!

I hadn't been to Hastings Museum & Art Gallery for a while, and I knew our very own Turner painting was back on show, so I made a trip up Bohemia Road to the Museum (website), friendly and helpful staff, beautiful building, interesting, with plenty to see, and free admission (but don't forget, closed on Mondays)! 

So, what's there? Well, a new display, The Story of Hastings in 66 Objects, with key stories about Hastings, local characters, and representative objects for each, including a very nice Lambretta; I spent longer than I ever have before in the Grey Owl exhibition, ie our very own Native American aka Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, the video shown is excellent, with original film of this famous conservationist; and, of course, the current art exhibition, All at Sea, which includes...

Turner's Fish Market on the Sands, Early Morning (1824), and Turner certainly painted a substantial number of works in Hastings in the early 19th century, this beauty is on show until the 4th of September, and looks much better in reality, of course, plus many other works that include scenes from Hastings, mostly, including works by William Henry Borrow, W Yale, William George Moss and John Cole. 

Visit the Museum & Art Gallery and you'll find much more too, enjoy!

Hastings Museum update

Always worth visiting the Museum and Art Gallery up Bohemia Road, and some very interesting exhibits and talks coming along too... Eg, tomorrow, Saturday 12th March, County Archaeologist, Caspar Johnson, is giving a talk "Hastings from Prehistory to Saxons", starting at 2pm (tickets £3, available in advance at the Museum Reception). 

Of course, the regular exhibits are still there, including memories of the 1960s clashes in Hastings between the Mods and Rockers, our very own native american Hastinger, Grey Owl aka Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, plus the Art Gallery, which currently has an exhibition of Sussex coastal scenes, "All at Sea".   

JMW Turner: Fishmarket on the Sands

Our own Turner: Hastings Fishmarket on the Sands isn't on view though, but will be returning the week commencing 20th June. For further information, see the website.