Hereford Art Gallery will host an exciting exhibition dedicated to the work of the talented Hereford artist Brian Hatton from Saturday, November 10 until Wednesday, January 9th.

Brian showed exceptional promise as a young artist and achieved some early recognition, but his life was tragically cut short when he was killed-in-action during the First World War.

This show will focus on the influence of his family and his home county, both of which are frequently represented in his work.

The exhibition marks the beginning of a brand new project designed to preserve Brian's work and make it accessible to a wider audience.

Herefordshire Council is delighted to announce that The Heritage Lottery Fund has agreed to fund this venture known as The Hatton Collection Project, with a £50,000 grant.

The Hatton Trust Fund, established by the Hatton family, will provide a further £26,000.

Herefordshire Heritage Services' staff, based at the Hereford Museum, will run the project. Its first aim is to raise awareness of the Hatton collection and provide access to it through the exhibition.

The exhibition panels will give information about Brian Hatton and the aims of the project.

On display will be a selection of family portraits, local landscapes and figure studies, student life drawings, together with boyhood sketches and illustrative work inspired by literature.

There will also be some photographs and artist's equi

pment.

The project will aim to enhance the care of the collection by doing conservation work and improving storage.

Research will be carried out to provide more information about the pictures and some associated themes. Each picture will be photographed to create an image bank of the collection.

The information and images gathered will be used to produce an on-line catalogue of the collection, available through a new website.

An on-line educational resource for secondary school teachers and pupils, based on the Hatton collection, will be created. It will be linked to the curriculum and designed for use in the classroom.

Catherine Willson, project co-ordinator said: "It is gratifying to know that Brian Hatton's work can now become the focus of such a valuable project."

Dr Vevers, a Hatton family member, said: "Herefordshire Heritage Services are to be congratulated on gaining Lottery Funding for the Hatton Collection as a result of which the collection will become more accessible and the first event is an exhibition about Brian Hatton and the county he loved."

HLF regional manager Anne Jenkins said: "This is a great way of allowing more people to see and learn about Brian Hatton's work and life. The project will reach lots of young people who may not have heard about this local figure through the school packs and online facility."

Access to the exhibition is free. The Museum and Art Gallery is open Tuesday until Saturday 10am until 5pm, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday 10am until 4pm.
There is access for visitors with disabilities.