Cecil Higgins Art Gallery & Bedford Museum - History of The Cecil Higgins Art Gallery

History of The Cecil Higgins Art Gallery

The Higgins Fine & Decorative arts collections were previously an entirely separate institution known as the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and within the new Gallery & Museum those collections are still owned by the Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery. The gallery was known for its collections of watercolours, prints, ceramics and furniture as well as two of the largest groupings of works outside London by William Burges and Edward Bawden.

The Cecil Higgins Museum, as it was formerly known, opened its doors to the public on 25 July 1949. It was originally occupied the house built in 1846) as the home of Charles Higgins (1789–1862) and his family next to the Higgins & Sons Brewery.

The Museum had been created by the philanthropic brewer, Cecil Higgins (1856–1941) to house his collection of ceramics, glass and objets d’art for the benefit, interest and education of the inhabitants of, and visitors to, Bedford. Higgins realised that public museums were vulnerable, and to protect his collection he left a complex will, which stipulated how the museum was to be organised. He also left a trust fund, to be used for museum purposes, but principally for acquiring works of art (which included Decorative and Applied). While the collection of ceramics and glass was of high quality (each had been selected by James Kiddell of Sotheby's), the collection lacked any notable paintings, save a few 18th century oils and a small collection of miniatures. The Art Gallery Board made the important decision to collect English watercolours in 1951. By the terms of Cecil Higgins’ will, all acquisitions have to be approved by a ‘recognised artistic authority such as ….the Victoria and Albert Museum’ and in 1951, the then Director of the V&A, Sir Leigh Ashton, nominated Graham Reynolds, then Deputy Keeper of the Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design, to approve all watercolours and drawings for acquisition. Graham Reynolds remained an advisor until 1955 when he was succeeded by two authorities in their respective fields who were to shape and expand the collection significantly; Edward Croft-Murray (1907–1980) of the British Museum and Ronald Alley (1926–99) of the Tate Gallery, from 1957.

The period between 1952 and 1964 were the most productive in terms of collecting watercolours. Over 500 were acquired in twelve years. The Gallery was able to achieve this by the availability of watercolours from private collections in the post-war years and the generosity of Cecil Higgins. Edward Croft-Murray and Ronald Alley each brought their knowledge, vision and taste to the growing collection. Their collecting was divided — Croft-Murray to works made pre-1850 and Alley to post-1850. The Gallery owes a great deal to their dedication and skill, for they were to develop one of the finest post-war collections outside London. That the collection is strong in the greatest painters of every generation is one thing, but that it is also representative of artists who were once popular and influential in their own day and less so at the time of acquisition, is due to their expert scholarship.

In 1971, the collecting policy switched to the decorative arts, with the purchase of a large number of pieces from the Handley-Read Collection. The Cecil Higgins Art Gallery now holds over 200 pieces from the collection of Charles Handley-Read and his wife Lavinia. Charles applied, in 1950, for a post at the Tate, after being rejected he reacted by ‘making a small museum of my own’. They began to form a collection of Victorian work at a time when few scholars and collectors took the period seriously, sometimes tracing the descendants of the architects and designers and buying directly from them. After initially making modest additions to his collection, a number of inheritances in 1964-5 meant that he could accelerate his buying. The Royal academy exhibition Victorian and Edwardian Decorative Art, The Handley-Read Collection in 1972 displayed their entire collection, sadly Charles and Lavinia did not live to see it, dying tragically in October and December 1972 consecutively.

From 1988, the focus returned to collecting prints, this time concentrating on the 20th century. The print collection now numbers over 400 pieces, including work by some of the finest British artists as well as internationally renowned figures such as Picasso, Lichtenstein and Dürer. The collection charts styles as well as print processes, from Whistler’s delicate etchings to Edward Bawden’s magnificent linocuts. The last major addition to the print collection was a generous donation in 2004 from the Scottish artist Alan Davie (1920–Present) of over 70 prints, as well as 5 works in gouache.

A significant addition to the collection has been made in recent years by acquiring a number of works by Dora Carrington who attended Bedford High School and lived in Bedford with her family at 1 Rothsay Gardens. Her family were still in Bedford while Carrington attended the Slade School of Art. The collection includes two major oils, 'Mrs Box' and 'Spanish Boy', as well as drawings of her brothers — Noel Carrington and Teddy Carrington — and Bedford Market.

In 2005, the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery merged with Bedford Museum, but retained its separate buildings and identity until it closed for refurbishment in 2007. While work on the Art Gallery did not commence straight away the adjoining Bedford Gallery underwent major refurbishment as Phase 1 of a much larger project, bringing the Grade II listed building back into use as a public space for the first time since the early 1970s. From April 2009 until April 2011 exhibitions of the Cecil Higgins Collections, alongside Bedford Museum collections and loaned exhibits, were held in Bedford Gallery. Following Phase 2 of the redevelopment project (see below), Bedford Gallery will be absorbed into the larger Gallery and Museum building, and accessed via the main entrance in the courtyard of the former brewery building.