Today, the Grundy Art Gallery hosts fascinating displays of contemporary and historical artworks. Like many of our modern institutions, it owes its existence to the vision and financial donations of benefactors from the past, in this case, the Grundy brothers. But who were they, and what drove them to set up their enduring legacy to modern art?
Cuthbert and John Grundy were born into a wealthy family in Bury. Their father was a solicitor and committed Unitarian, and their grandfather a preacher of the same faith. It was their strong Unitarian and Liberal beliefs that led to the philanthropy that they practised throughout their lives.
John trained to be a civil engineer, while Cuthbert attended Owens College (now the University of Manchester), intending to become a solicitor when he graduated. There he studied science, history, art and languages. However, his studies were cut short due to ill health, which his doctors diagnosed as caused by ‘too much reading in childhood’ and a ‘neglect of outdoor exercises’. He was instructed not to read for a whole year. Perhaps it was this that drove him to look for alternative diversion, and he began to paint in oil and watercolours.
In 1879, John and Cuthbert took trips to the Lake District in order to paint the landscapes. Over the next couple of years they both exhibited their art in Blackpool. While they had a shared love of landscapes, Cuthbert would also produce figure paintings, and John created seascapes. Neither had undertaken any formal training in picture painting, but it became the main profession for both of them. A selection of Cuthbert’s work can be seen on the Art UK website here. John’s work is more elusive to find on the internet, but a piece on Rydal Water attributed to Cuthbert is probably done by John, as it has his initials on the painting. It can be seen here.
Both Cuthbert and John were involved with the Blackpool Sketching Club, founded in 1884. Cuthbert served as president and was an active member of the management committee, and John held the post of vice president. It was set up to address the issue that there were no art classes in Blackpool at the time, and therefore no training for aspiring artists. The club survives today as Blackpool Art Society
In 1888, the brothers moved into two new large adjoining houses on Lytham Road in Blackpool. Cuthbert remained single all his life, and was recorded as having a servant living with him in his eight-bedroom house in the 1901 census. John’s family consisted of wife Alice, daughter Ethel and son John. They employed two servants in their home.
At that time, Blackpool Municipal Art Gallery was housed inside the Revoe Branch Library. Both of the brothers had exhibited their works there, and wanted to hand their collection of artworks to the town in an effort to promote the arts locally. They initially donated thirty-three pictures in 1906 and a further thirty-six three years later. Only six of these were painted by the brothers themselves. To house the collections would require a purpose-built building, and the Grundys offered the then considerable sum of two thousand pounds towards this.
At the same time, Blackpool Library Committee was seeking a large donation from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the American steel magnate, to build a new town library. The first approach was not successful, but a second attempt three years later secured funds from Carnegie. During that first decade of the 1900s, Carnegie’s money was used to construct libraries in St Annes, Clitheroe, Rawtenstall and Darwen, to name just a few of the forty Lancashire towns that benefited from new purpose-built libraries using his fortune.
With the money from Andrew Carnegie and the Grundy brothers, it was decided to build a joint library and gallery of the same design, on the same site, but with separate entrances. The architectural firm of Cullen, Lockhead and Brown won the competition to create the buildings, and both opened in 1911. Built in the Edwardian Baroque style, they are made from red brick, with stone dressings.
The following year, a fund was set up to purchase additional artworks. The brothers made it clear that the gallery needed to support emerging artists. They themselves had done this over the years by buying paintings from contemporary shows. The Grundys were committed to displaying the best new British artwork of the day to the people of Blackpool. They ensured that the Blackpool Sketching Club and Arts and Crafts Society was granted the right to hold their annual exhibition there, which the Blackpool Art Society still does to this day.
John died just four years after the opening of the gallery, while Cuthbert lived another 30 years, dying in 1946, just before his hundredth birthday. Together, the brothers had an influential contribution to both art and philanthropic projects to benefit the public. They had founded the Bury Society of Fine Arts and helped set up the Royal Cambrian Academy to promote artistic work in Wales. They both contributed to children’s charities in Blackpool, Bury and Manchester, including financing children’s convalescent homes. The setting up of the Recreation Park and Reading Room on Highfield Road in Blackpool was also enabled by their financial support. After Cuthbert passed away, his home became the Grundy Museum, which lasted until 1980. Despite their many charitable works, both brothers remained private individuals, shunning publicity.
The Grundy Gallery Today
The Grundy Art Gallery’s exterior appears little changed from when first built over a century ago, with the exception of two new galleries added in 1938. The work of the curators over the ensuing decades means that currently the permanent collection consists of over two thousand items. The foundational artworks were of British Victorian and French realism of the 19th century, topographical watercolours, and work of early modern artists such as the Glasgow Boys. The gallery has also received donations of private collections of ivoryware and purses, and more recently has actively started to purchase modern jewellery.
Notable works in the collection include Air Mechanic Shaw (better known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’) by Augustus John, Sanctuary Wood by Paul Nash, The Yellow Funnel by Eric Ravilious, The Waterway by Lucy Kemp-Welch and Woods and Forests by John Linnell.
Today the gallery concentrates on displaying British and international contemporary artists, and seeks to work with emerging creatives. At the start of every year there is the annual Open Exhibition, where local people can exhibit (and sell) their work. Blackpool itself is also the subject of collecting, with both the historical and modern scene being represented, including through photography.
Blackpool is nationally famous for its illuminations, and since 2015 the Grundy has held exhibitions of artists known for use of light in their work. This includes Tracey Emin, Joseph Kosuth, and Turner Prize nominees Jark Titchner and Andrea Buttner. The light work exhibitions occur annually, to coincide with autumn season when the seafront illuminations are on.
The Grundy is worth visiting and supporting. Its promotion of contemporary artists is entirely within keeping with the original vision of Cuthbert and John Grundy, from which Blackpool residents and the larger Lancashire community benefit.
Site visited by A. and S. Bowden 2025
Access
Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4.45pm
Entry is free
There is a car park next to the gallery, which is charged
Nearby
References
References
The Lytham St Annes Art Collection website: lythamstannesartcollection.org/coming-rain-by-cuthbert-grundy.html
Fylde Coaster website “Who is Grundy?”: fyldecoaster.wordpress.com
thegrundy.org/collection/history-and-overview/
thegrundy.org/whats-on/single/110-year-anniversary-1911-2021/
blackpooltransport.com/grundy-art-gallery
historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1072014?section=official-list-entry
blackpoolartsociety.co.uk/history.html
Grundy art Gallery Collections Development Policy. Avaliable online as pdf document from democracy.blackpool.gov.uk
canmore.org.uk/collection/1245629
artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/actor:grundy-cuthbert-cartwright-18461946
artuk.org/discover/artists/grundy-cuthbert-cartwright-18461946
carnegielegacyinengland.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/burnley-library/
carnegielegacyinengland.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/burnley-library/
Lancashire Past 
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