An appeal has been launched to track down ‘lost’ work by celebrated Stoke-on-Trent artist Arthur Berry.
As part of the Arthur Berry 100 centenary celebrations, Burslem’s Barewall Art Gallery is calling on members of the public to come forward with any original Arthur Berry paintings, particularly works created before 1985 or sold or gifted before 2012.
The appeal forms part of a year-long programme of exhibitions, performances, workshops and archival projects.
Arthur Berry was known as “the Lowry of the Potteries” and his work vividly captured working-class life in North Staffordshire.
The Arthur Berry 100 project has already safeguarded the artist’s legacy through cataloguing and the creation of a digital archive, but it has become clear that many of Berry’s paintings remain undocumented or hidden away in private hands.
Amanda Bromley, Director of Barewall Art Gallery, said: “The discovery of any ‘lost’ artworks would be hugely significant. Having grown up alongside Stoke-on-Trent, Berry’s work across painting, poetry, plays and beyond has traced the changing face of the city across a century of its life.
“His art stands as a vital chronicle of working-class experience, and uncovering further pieces will broaden our insight into his practice and strengthen his legacy.”
The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery staged a retrospective of Berry’s work in 1984, featuring 113 pieces and produced an illustrated booklet in support.
Today, the whereabouts of only a small proportion of these is known. Slides discovered in the artist’s studio after his death in 1994 also suggest further artworks are yet to be located.
Artworks photographed within the booklet, but currently ‘missing’ from the catalogue raisonné include Asbestos Garage, the still life Apples and Mugs and The Lovers.
Anyone with a Berry painting is invited to take it to Barewall Art Gallery in October, where the work will be sensitively unframed, photographed and reframed.
Each piece will be recorded as part of the official Arthur Berry catalogue raisonné, and owners will receive a certificate of authentication.
Anyone who can provide more information about Berry’s artworks are asked to contact Amanda Bromley at Barewall Art Gallery at shop@barewall.co.uk or call 07932 717718 to arrange an appointment.
Further information about Arthur Berry 100 can be found here.
