Portsmouth City Museum and Records Service

http://www.portsmouthmuseums.co.uk/exhibition.htm

Built as an army barracks in the late 19th-century, Portsmouth's collection has an extensive range of works that depict the
local landscape in a variety of media. The contemporary collection includes works from 1960 to 1985 with a strong collection of prints and a good selection of work by artists from the St Ives School.

The craft collection houses work by early 20th and 21st-century studio potters alongside a selection of furniture, glass and ceramics by designers active from the 1960s to the present. The display of the collection rotates regularly with different pieces of modern and contemporary fine and decorative art on show throughout the year. The museum has an excellent temporary exhibition programme.

Guest editor’s note:
Portsmouth City Museum is housed in an imposing brick building that suggests its previous life as a naval barracks. The museum's rooms are small with prime spaces allocated to the city's history and the changing fortunes of its football team. Spaces allocated to art are cramped but nevertheless contain some fine examples of maritime and abstract painting.

Reviewed by Roger Palmer