Beauty and Power: Plymouth's Greatest Gift - The Cottonian Collection

About

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of ‘Plymouth's Greatest Gift' - The Cottonian Collection's arrival at the City Museum and Art Gallery. This nationally important collection encompasses a 2,000 volume book library, several thousand prints, Old Master drawings, oil paintings, works by celebrated portrait artist Sir Joshua Reynolds, bronzes and sculptures. The Collection was compiled by Charles Rogers (1711-1783) in mid-18th century London before being inherited by the Cotton family in 1783. It passed through three generations of Cottons, each of whom left their mark on it, before it was gifted to the people of Plymouth in 1853. It was initially part of the Proprietary Library. It finally came under the care of the City Museum and Art Gallery in 1915. This exhibition will provide a unique insight into the stories behind the Collection, and bring together some of its most significant and less seen items from over 600 years of art.