Important English Glass Given to York Civic Trust
Glass collection given to York Civic Trust.
PHOTOCALL: Pieces from the stunning new glass collection from John Butler will be shown for the first time to members of the Friends of Fairfax House on Tuesday 28th February at 10am.
Yorkshire collector, John Butler, has left York Civic Trust his entire collection of over 400 examples of 18th century glass, much of which will be displayed at Fairfax House in York.
Valued at over £300,000, this is the most important acquisition of decorative art made by the museum in recent years.
Peter Brown, Director of Fairfax House, was stunned by the extent of the gift: “Over the years we have borrowed a number of pieces of John’s glass for special exhibitions and he enjoyed working with us, but to receive the whole collection was totally unexpected.”
Many of the glass examples are perfect for the innovative contextual displays that Fairfax House has mounted in recent years, which bring the rooms to life in a very tangible way.
Visitors to Fairfax House during the 2006 season will have the opportunity to view half of this incredible collection and those intended for the Dessert are the highlight of the show. The collection will be toured to other museums in the South and South West during 2007/8.
Teresa Fazio-Gannon, co-curator of the exhibition, feels privileged to have known John Butler and to be organising a display of his glass, his life-long passion. “He was a true collector in every sense of the word”, she says, “he admitted quite happily to having this incurable obsession for collecting. If he saw a rare example with perhaps only minor variations to those already in his collection he had to acquire it for study purposes.”
To mark this important acquisition, Fairfax House will be running a series of special glass tours during 2006. Dates and times for these tours will be announced shortly.
For more press information or photographs, please telephone 01904 655543 or email peterbrown@fairfaxhouse.co.uk
Yorkshire collector, John Butler, has left York Civic Trust his entire collection of over 400 examples of 18th century glass, much of which will be displayed at Fairfax House in York.
Valued at over £300,000, this is the most important acquisition of decorative art made by the museum in recent years.
Peter Brown, Director of Fairfax House, was stunned by the extent of the gift: “Over the years we have borrowed a number of pieces of John’s glass for special exhibitions and he enjoyed working with us, but to receive the whole collection was totally unexpected.”
Many of the glass examples are perfect for the innovative contextual displays that Fairfax House has mounted in recent years, which bring the rooms to life in a very tangible way.
Visitors to Fairfax House during the 2006 season will have the opportunity to view half of this incredible collection and those intended for the Dessert are the highlight of the show. The collection will be toured to other museums in the South and South West during 2007/8.
Teresa Fazio-Gannon, co-curator of the exhibition, feels privileged to have known John Butler and to be organising a display of his glass, his life-long passion. “He was a true collector in every sense of the word”, she says, “he admitted quite happily to having this incurable obsession for collecting. If he saw a rare example with perhaps only minor variations to those already in his collection he had to acquire it for study purposes.”
To mark this important acquisition, Fairfax House will be running a series of special glass tours during 2006. Dates and times for these tours will be announced shortly.
For more press information or photographs, please telephone 01904 655543 or email peterbrown@fairfaxhouse.co.uk