As part of the Arthur Berry 100 celebrations, Barewall Art Gallery has launched an appeal to help locate and rediscover a number of Berry’s “lost” artworks.
The initiative sits alongside a year-long programme of exhibitions, performances, community workshops, film sharings, and archiving projects delivered in partnership with the New Vic Theatre, Arthur Wood Estate, Victoria Theatre Archive, Claybody Theatre, Keele University, Three Counties Open Art Exhibition, Staffordshire Film Archive, and Appetite Stoke.
Thanks to support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players, the Arthur Berry 100 programme has not only shared Berry’s work with new audiences but also safeguarded his legacy for future generations through cataloguing and the creation of a digital gallery archive.
In the process, it has become clear that several “significant” works remain undocumented or are in unknown private ownership.
Barewall Art Gallery is inviting members of the public to come forward with any lost Berry artworks they may own – particularly works sold or gifted before 2012, with a focus on those created prior to 1985.
Berry lived in Biddulph for some years.
When the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery staged a retrospective of Berry’s work in 1984, the exhibition featured 113 pieces and produced an illustrated booklet in support. Today, the whereabouts of only a small proportion of these are known.
Slides discovered in Berry’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”.
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.” Anyone who can provide more information about Berry’s artworks is asked to contact Amanda Bromley at Barewall Art Gallery via shop@barewall.co.uk or call 07932 717 718 to arrange an appointment.
