On July 29, the chair, trustees and director of Rye Art Gallery invite you to a wonderful exhibition, a retrospective of Jacqueline Stanley, ARCA HRHA, born in 1928 in southeast London, she was a Royal College of Art graduate.
The show brings together a range of canvases, large scale drawings and prints which depict gesture, expression and untamed landscapes. Her subject matter ranges from cityscapes, shop fronts, zoos, still life and portraits. She is an artist who has been overlooked and overshadowed by her male contemporaries. Jacqueline worked for over 70 years, creating a huge body of work.
The exhibition takes over the two main galleries of the building and upstairs will feature Liz Finch, ‘Little Men’ and selected works by Angie Brevan. Both female artists have also been overshadowed by their male counterparts and are innovators in their field, grinding against a male dominated industry. For the first time the gallery will feature only female artists and Angie and Liz have curated their work with female artists from the permanent collection.
The exhibition has been generously supported by the family of Jacqueline and brings together over 30 works that range from her early career as a student in London, landscapes from her time in Egerton, Kent, and her long career in Ireland. There is also the rare opportunity to see Jacqueline’s husband’s work, Campbell Bruce, HRHA ARCA, alongside Jaqueline’s.
There has been a long relationship between the Rye Art Gallery and Jacqueline Stanley, as she exhibited in the early 1960s and recently the gallery has taken on the artist’s estate and her self portrait was donated to the permanent collection earlier this year.
Commenting on this exhibition, Dr Julian Day, gallery director, said: “This is an important stage in Rye Art Gallery’s development. We are honoured to be staging Jackie’s retrospective. She was a great artist, a feisty and funny woman, never afraid to share her views. This will be the first solo exhibition of artist Jacqueline Stanley since her death last year 2022.”
The exhibition will open July 29. The gallery is open from Monday to Saturday 11am – 5pm, Sunday 11am – 4pm and closed Tuesday. For further information please phone 01797 222 433 or go to ryeartgallery.co.uk or email: ryeartgallery@gmail.com.
Image Credits: Jason McGee .