EXHIBITION
York Art Gallery is one of a handful of galleries chosen to exhibit a Claude Monet masterpiece. Starting this month, The Water-Lily Pond, one of the renowned artist’s most iconic works, will be on show
Regional gallery has long been a description that doesn’t really give one of Yorkshire’s premier galleries the merit it deserves. National in its intentions, York Art Gallery contains paintings spanning more than 600 years, with works ranging from 14th century Italian panels to 20th century works by LS Lowry and David Hockney.
In 2024, the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square in London notes its bicentennial with its National Treasures programme, celebrating across the country with a clever idea – 12 regional galleries will host one of its masterpieces, of which York Art Gallery is one. For the duration of the displays, 35 million people – more than half the UK population – will be within an hour’s journey of a National Gallery masterpiece. Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond will be the central feature of a major new exhibition at York Art Gallery to celebrate this occasion.
With the Monet painting as its centrepiece in York, many other works have also been carefully chosen – some from the gallery’s own collection, some on loan. The exhibition will reveal how Monet’s radical approach to painting had, and continues to have, an enduring influence on artists. These include Water Lilies with Japanese Bridge by Roy Lichtenstein, work by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige, and a commission by the artist Michaela Yearwood-Dan, who produces blowsy florals with a dash of the every day.
Dr Beatrice Bertram, senior curator at York Art Gallery, says: ‘We are delighted to be hosting this beautiful and much-loved painting by Monet as part of the National Gallery’s Bicentenary events. Taking our cue from the artist’s lush canvas, our exhibition will explore open-air pai
