Biography
The Wilson, Cheltenham's Art Gallery and Museum has an internationally significant Arts and Crafts collection with furniture, silver, textiles, ceramics and paintings, much of which was made by local Cotswold designers and craftsmen inspired by William Morris. like Charles Ashbee, Ernest Gimson and Sidney and Ernest Barnsley. The 3rd Baron de Ferrieres (1823-1908), former Mayor and MP for Cheltenham, donated 43 paintings from Belgium and the Netherlands to the city, alongside one thousand florins towards the building of a gallery to house them. Cheltenham is the most complete Regency town in Britain and the museum and gallery, which opened in 1899, houses a wide range of objects that tell its story. There is a gallery devoted to Edward Wilson (1872-1912), who grew up in the town and died with Scott on the way back from the South Pole. As well as the important fine art collection, of mainly modern British art that includes works by Stanley Spencer, Duncan Grant, Henry Tonks, William Scott and Paul Nash, there are displays of archaeology from the Cotswolds, world cultures from China to Africa. The Wilson is governed by The Cheltenham Trust. Items within the collection held by The Wilson are owned by Cheltenham Borough Council and are on loan to The Cheltenham Trust.
