St Ives and British Modernism: The George and Ann Dannatt Collection
[ Exhibition )

William Scott, Cup, 1974, gouache and collage on paper, Pallant House Gallery, The George and Ann Dannatt Gift (2011) © The Estate of William Scott 2005
This exhibition explored one of the Gallery's most significant donations, the George and Ann Dannatt Gift, 100 years after George's birth.
The collection includes a largely unseen and newly conserved group of work by key figures from the St Ives Group of Artists.
Working in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, this group included Terry Frost, Roger Hilton, Peter Lanyon, Ben Nicholson, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham and John Tunnard. George Dannatt was an abstract artist himself and a friend to many of those in the collection. As a result, this gift is one of the most significant private collections of its type.
A selection of Dannatt’s own works were included in the display of paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints, alongside archival photographs of the Dannatts with their artist friends and rare artists’ books and illustrated volumes.
In addition to the St Ives Group, the collection included works by artists associated with a poetic strain of Neo-Romanticism in Britain. These included Paul Nash, David Jones, Prunella Clough and Keith Vaughan, as well as interesting prints by international artists such as Jean Arp and Eduardo Chillida.
The exhibition toured to the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester in Autumn 2015. In September of the same year, a selling exhibition of George Dannatt’s work took place at the Osbourne Samuel Gallery in London. Concurrently, St Ives and Dannatt’s work exhibited at Southampton Art Gallery. This exhibition was accompanied by a new illustrated book with contributions from Professor Brandon Taylor, Trevor Dannatt RA, Jackie Sarafoupoulos, Adrian Dannatt and Simon Martin. Available from Pallant Bookshop.
The George and Ann Dannatt Gift

William Gear, Landscape (1951)
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (The George and Ann Dannatt Gift, 2011) © The Artist’s Estate

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Geoff and Scruffy Series (1956)
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (The George and Ann Dannatt Gift, 2011) © The Barns-Graham Charitable Trust

Robert Macbryde, Fruit on a Caucasian Cloth (c.1944)
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (The George and Ann Dannatt Gift, 2011) © The Estate of the Artist

Juan Gris, Le Guéridon (1921)
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (The George and Ann Dannatt Gift, 2011)

John Tunnard, Cat's Cradle (Sphere and Wall) (1940)
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (The George and Ann Dannatt Gift, 2011)
What the press said
The George and Ann Dannatt Gift, which came to the Gallery in 2011, contributes to the Gallery’s identity as a ‘collection of collections’.
Art Daily
The care with which this current exhibition has been hung in the 18th century part of the galleries provides an intimate context. It allows us to understand how the composition and domestic quality of the interiors at East End informed the viewer’s engagement with the art…fresh and exciting
Toovey’s
This exhibition was made possible by a number of generous organisations and individuals
Want to know more?
If you’re conducting research into this artist or another aspect of Modern British art and would like to use our library and archive, please contact Sarah Norris, Collections Manager on s.norris@pallant.org.uk.