Welcome
The Fry Public Art Gallery was opened in 1987 and houses an impressive number of paintings, prints, illustrations, wallpapers and decorative designs by artists of the 20th century and the present day who have local connections and have made a significant contribution to their field. There is an emphasis on those who for a variety of reasons settled in Great Bardfield between the early thirties of the last century and the death in 1983 of John Aldridge RA who had lived in the village for fifty years.
The Gallery is run by volunteers, both invigilators when it is open to the public and other helpers throughout the year. Please contact us if you would like to become more involved.
The Fry Art Gallery is now closed and will re-open on Sunday 2nd April 2023 with two exhibitions:
Art and Design from the permanent collection, and Interwoven Lives: Marianne Straub, Great Bardfield & Friends.
Film by Thomas Völker © 2022
Online Shop
The Fry’s online shop has a range of gifts, from textiles to books.
Please click HERE for more information.
The Fry receives no regular funding and the pandemic has affected visitor numbers during. Should you wish to contribute to our running costs, please use the button below.
Become a member
If you would like to become a Fry Gallery Member you can now do so online. Please choose an option below.
Visit the Collection
Browse the Fry Gallery collection online here.
Work of the week
Work of the week 60: John Boyd Dunlop Fitting Tricycle Tyres by Edward Bawden RA
One of many linocut illustrations from Dunlopera: the works and workings of the Dunlop Rubber Company, by Paul Jennings, with drawings by Edward Bawden, R.A.,1961 Paul Jennings (1918-1989) was an English humourist who had a fortnightly column Oddly Enough, in The...
Work of the week 59: Bust of Lewis Fry
Visitors entering the Fry Gallery will find in the lobby a Victorian bust of the Rt. Hon, Lewis Fry, MP for Bristol executed in 1882 by James Havard Thomas, and perhaps wonder why he is there in “a shrine to my favourite Essex artists” (to quote Grayson Perry). The...
Work of the week 58: Southend by Bernard Cheese
Now known as Southend, this amusing lithograph by Bernard Cheese was originally listed in Zwemmer’s catalogue as: What’s for Lunch - Cheese
Exhibitions
Art and Design
2nd April - 29th October 2023 Art and Design will draw from our Permanent Collection works which emphasise the contribution which the artists made to British design.
Interwoven Lives: Marianne Straub, Great Bardfield and Friends
2nd April - 2nd July 2023 Marianne Straub (1909 – 1994) was one of the most important commercial textile designers of the twentieth century. During her most productive years in the 1950s and 60s, she was head of design at Warner & Sons in Braintree, and chose to...
News and Events
Fry Art Gallery Winter Lectures: Fred Hohler on ‘World of Watercolour’
Tickets £6.00 at: https://the-fry-art-gallery.arttickets.org.uk/ or at the door.
Visiting us
Opening Times
The Gallery is currently closed.
It will re-open on Sunday 2nd April 2023, and will remain open until Sunday 29th October.
Admission is free.
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 2pm – 5pm |
| Wednesday | 2pm – 5pm |
| Thursday | 2pm – 5pm |
| Friday | 2pm – 5pm |
| Saturday | 11am – 5pm |
| Sunday and bank holidays | 2pm – 5pm |
Contact us
We would be delighted to hear from you and you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The links are in the footer below.
Location
