Spot the L.S. Lowry’s, Turner or Hockney and surround yourself with some of the best ceramic art in the world at one of the UK’s best regional galleries. An £8 million development in 2015 saw it shortlisted for the Art Fund Museum of the Year and the European Museum of the Year as the whole building was transformed. The gallery has three exhibition spaces on the ground floor, displaying the best of national and international exhibitions, and four on the first floor, including two galleries which are home to the Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA), which showcases our internationally significant collection of British Studio Ceramics.

At the rear of the building, walk down into the Artists Garden and the Edible Wood before exploring the rest of the beautiful York Museum Gardens.

Exhibitions:

Sin
An exhibition organised by the National Gallery, London with York Museums Trust

7 October 2022 – 22 January 2023
£8 adult, Concessions available

Sin has permeated life since the earliest days, but the story of its relation to art has not been told before. Defined universally as a regrettable fault, offence or omission, sin is something that everyone can relate to. Bringing together works of art that span centuries, the exhibition explores changing ideas about sin and morality. Sin invites visitors to reflect on their own ideas about sin and society today, including attitudes to crime, alcohol, the body, the environment and more.

The exhibition includes eight exceptional paintings from the National Gallery’s collection, including ‘Venus and Cupid’ by Lucas Cranach the Elder and ‘The Woman Taken in Adultery’ by Rembrandt, as well as works on loan by Tracey Emin (‘It was just a kiss’) and Ron Mueck (‘Youth’). Alongside them, a selection of works from York Museums Trust enables visitors to discover connections to York Art Gallery’s own collections. These works range from a medieval stone-carving of demons devouring the soul of a sinner to Sarah Lucas’s sculpture ‘NUD 4’. A new work specially created for the exhibition by Yorkshire-born artist Zara Worth (‘Think of a door (temptation/redemption)’) will also be on display.

Inspired by the theme of sin, the work of York Art Gallery’s annual Teenage Art School, which was produced in partnership with Mediale, has been captured in a multi-channel film installation for the exhibition. Sitting alongside the loans in the exhibition, this work captures the teenagers’ commitment to the concepts explored and shows how art can help us make sense of the world.

Treasures from the Stores

Open from November 2022

FREE Admission

Treasures from the Stores showcases artworks that haven’t been on display before, or for a long time, including Andy Warhol’s ‘Marilyn Monroe’, alongside some of the most loved jewels of the collection.

York Art Gallery’s collection was established in 1882 and through gifts, bequests and purchases has now grown to include over 1,000 paintings, 100 sculptures, 14,000 works on paper, and 6,000 ceramics which form the Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA). The gallery can only display a relatively small selection of works at a time, with the majority of the collection being stored in the ‘Friends of York Art Gallery Fine Art Store’.

This innovative exhibition highlights a selection of iconic paintings, considered by some to be the gems of York’s collection, such as the sixteenth century ‘Portrait of a Man with a Book’ by Parmigianino; works that have not been on display for many years such as Thomas Barker’s eighteenth century ‘Crazy Kate’, as well as new acquisitions including the portrait of ‘Una Marson’ by internationally celebrated artist Sahara Longe. There are also treasures which can be discovered anew following research or restoration, and some, like ‘Unknown Lady as Saint Elizabeth’ which remain a mystery.