What's On

20th Century Art: The Contemporary Art Society at Blackburn 1950 – 1970

19 May – 3 July 2021

Wed – Sat

12 – 4:45pm

Portrait by Brynhild Parker (1907 – 1987); Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery


20th Century Art

The Contemporary Art Society at Blackburn: 1950 – 1970


Contemporary Art is a fluid term, a naturally moving point in time. When art is described as contemporary then strictly speaking it is the work of a living artist, although it can encompass the relatively recent past and artwork of an innovative nature.

The Contemporary Art Society was founded in 1910 to encourage an awareness and appreciation of contemporary art across Britain by purchasing key pieces and donating them to public museums and galleries.

In this exhibition, we are showing a selection of the contemporary art pieces presented to Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery by the Contemporary Art Society between 1950s – 1970s. Although no longer classed as contemporary the art in this collection is representative of the specific art genres and styles of their period.