York Castle Museum

Displays

Our permanent displays showcase our own wide-ranging collections of paintings, ceramics and sculpture.

The Burton Gallery is on the first floor and the South Gallery is on the ground floor.

The Burton Gallery

Return to the Front by Richard Jack

This gallery (pictured above) reopened in 2011 after an extensive refurbishment and showcases works dating from 1500 to the present day. It is dedicated to John Burton, who gave the city more than 100 paintings in 1882.

Works are grouped along themes including wartime, York landscapes, portraits, European Old Masters and paintings of women.

The Piazza San Martino by Bellotto

We have included gallery favourites, such as Richard Jack's Return to the Front: Victoria Railway Station (1916), LS Lowry's Clifford's Tower (1952/3), Paul Nash's Winter Sea and Hogarth's Studio in 1739 (1863) by Edward Matthew Ward, Carracci's Portrait of Monsignor Agucchi (1603-4) and Bellotto's The Piazza San Martino, Lucca (1742-6).

Portrait of Captain John Foote (1761-65) by Joshua Reynolds is now displayed alongside the original Indian ceremonial gown he wore for the painting

Port de Goulphar, Belle-Ile-en-Mer by Gustave Loiseau

Works back on display after several years include Portrait of Lady Frances Fairfax (about 1610); stained glass works by York artist William Peckitt - a self portrait from 1770-90 and a portrait of King William III (1787); an Impressionist work called Port de Goulphar, Belle-Ile-en-Mer (about 1900) by Gustave Loiseau, and a 1933 portrait The Third Baron Derwent by Mark Gertler.

Contemporary works include Passage, a piece by ceramicist Stephen Dixon, inspired by Peter Lely's Portrait of Lady Charlotte Fitzroy with her Indian Page (1669-79) and sketches by Jules George completed during a visit to Afghanistan in 2010.

Recent acquisitions include York Minster from Aldwark (2006) by Jake Attree.

Click here to see a larger selection of the works on show.

The South Gallery

The paintings in this gallery were redisplayed in February 2012 and in three separate sections:

Early Religious Paintings

Christ Beckham 2009 by Philip Eglin, mounted between two British School alabaster panels from 1450 - 85

These works date from the 14th to 16th centuries and reflect the fact the church was a major patron of art in this period.

Many of them are fragments of much larger altarpieces. In Italy, many altarpieces were broken up during the 18th and 19th centuries, following the closure of religious establishments while the two English alabasters were probably removed from a church during the English Reformation.

A number of works by contemporary artists complement the displays.

Dutch and Flemish Still Life

Wildfowl by Jan Weenix (1640-1719)

These still life and animal paintings are by artists of the 17th and 18th centuries.

During the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, Holland dominated European trade. This led to an increase in the wealthy middle classes who bought paintings to show off their new prosperity.

In the hierarchy of subjects for art, history paintings were the most highly regarded but difficult to sell, so many artists specialised in scenes of everyday life and still life paintings, which were considered the lowliest of all.

However, still lifes were very popular and presented moral messages about the brevity of life and the consequences of foolish behaviour.

Georgian Painting and Old Masters

Jean Abercromby, Mrs Morison of Haddo by Allan Ramsay c1767

During the 18th century, wealthy young men gained a cultural education on the Grand Tour around Europe. They saw paintings of classical, mythological and biblical subjects by the Old Masters and a selection of these paintings are gathered together in our 'Old Master Wall'.

These tourists then brought back souvenirs which influenced the way artists painted portraits and landscapes here. This section also includes a display of Georgian portaits and landscapes, and a display of portraits of York people, predominantly from the Georgian era.