Exeter's RAMM and The Box in Plymouth have bought 22 works from the Dartington Hall collection, paid for by an £815,035 Art Fund grant, days before auction.

Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) has bought a collection of 22 British Modernist artworks from Dartington Hall, jointly with The Box in Plymouth. The paintings, works on paper and ceramics had been heading for auction in London.

Art Fund paid the whole cost with a grant of £815,035. The charity raised the money from individuals and trusts in what it called an urgent fundraising campaign. Exeter City Council, which runs RAMM, announced the purchase on 16 October (Exeter City Council).

What has been bought

The 22 works were collected by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, who bought the Dartington estate near Totnes in 1925. They ran it as an experiment in rural regeneration, progressive education and the arts, and artists, potters and musicians came to live and work there.

The council names five of the artists in the collection:

  • Bernard Leach, the potter
  • Ben Nicholson
  • Winifred Nicholson
  • Lucie Rie, the potter
  • Christopher Wood

The works had been on show together at the Elmhirst Heritage Centre and Museum at Dartington. The council has not published a full list of the 22 pieces.

How it was saved from auction

Auction house Phillips had offered the Dartington works at its London sales during Frieze Week. Its preview, published on 6 October, linked them to its Modern and Contemporary Art sales on 15 and 17 October and said the proceeds would support the Dartington Hall Trust’s charitable work (Phillips).

Instead, Phillips brokered a private sale of the whole group to the two museums before the auctions. The council says the money still goes to the Dartington Hall Trust, towards preserving the estate.

Jenny Waldman, director of Art Fund, said: “These 22 works belong together, and keeping them in public ownership in the South West will ensure that this important part of our cultural history can be shared with future generations.”

Councillor Lucy Findlay, the city council’s lead for culture and the city centre, called it “an exceptional collection that speaks directly to the cultural and artistic history of Devon.”

What it means for you

The works will not sit in one building. RAMM and The Box say they will share the collection across Devon, with:

  • exhibitions and displays at both museums, over time
  • talks, research and learning sessions with Dartington and other Devon partners
  • volunteering and skills opportunities linked to the collection
  • a symposium on Modern British art and studio pottery, planned jointly

No date has been given for when the first pieces go on show in Exeter. The works will also go online through RAMM’s Collections Explorer and Art UK.

Entry to RAMM on Queen Street is free. It is open Tuesday 10.30am to 5pm and Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, and closed on Mondays (RAMM). For more ideas, see things to do in Exeter and what’s on in Exeter this month.

We will add the display dates to this page when RAMM announces them.