March 2006
Compton Verney has announced that a pair of historic paintings by the eighteenth century master Antonio Canaletto, previously destined to leave Britain, have now been saved for public viewing for the sum of £6 million. View of the Grand Walk, Vauxhall Gardens and Interior of the Rotunda, Ranelagh were previously in private ownership. The purchase of these works has been made by the Compton Verney Collection Settlement, with funds from the Peter Moores Charitable Trust. Kathleen Soriano, director of Compton Verney said:
‘We are delighted that these two significant works have been acquired and look forward to showing them at their new home in Warwickshire’.

Visitors to Compton Verney this year will be able to see both of these new arrivals in the British Portrait collection, as well as the latest additions to the Neapolitan, German and Chinese collections. Amongst these are Pierre-Jacques Volaire’s spectacular Vesuvius Erupting at Night, which complements his other painting of Vesuvius in the collection. Amongst several exquisite new objects in the Naples collection are a late 17th C. coral Nativity Group, a mid-18th C. inlaid tortoiseshell Pique Basin, two enamelled gold immaculata pendants entitled Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (c.1700), and a Sicilian gilt-copper mounted coral and mother-of-pearl frame mirror (c.1680).
Compton Verney has launched its 2006 season with the first exhibition held anywhere in the world on collectors of Vincent Van Gogh. Featuring works from major public galleries, alongside rarely seen paintings from private collections, the exhibition is the largest devoted to Van Gogh in Britain since the 1960s. It consists of paintings and drawings acquired by British collectors in the period before 1939, spanning the whole of the artist’s career. These masterpieces have been brought together with rarely seen archival material such as catalogues of the earliest exhibitions of Van Gogh’s work held in Britain, newspaper reviews, photographs and correspondence relating to the pioneer collectors, affording a fascinating glimpse into the dealings “behind-the-scenes”.

The Van Gogh exhibition is complemented by a display of works by Francis Bacon (1909-1992) and Austrian sculptor, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783). Bacon’s Study for a Portrait of Van Gogh and Messerschmidt’s Character Heads reflect the emotional turmoil present in many of Van Gogh’s later works.

The exhibition attracted record numbers.
Liz Rideal shot this Super 8, silent film at Niagara, Burleigh Falls and Big Cedar in Canada this year. It is in three parts entitled Water Drape, Ice Steam, and Deer Portrait. Projected onto the 'Capability Brown' landscape of lake and trees at Compton Verney, it focuses attention on the mesmeric power of scenery.
Zoo, a sequence of video installations by Richard Billingham, who was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2001, is a UK premiere. Filmed in zoos, the project explores the impact of confined spaces on animal behaviour. By focusing on the psychological space of the zoo enclosure, the series also captures the complexities of the viewing relationship between captive animals and their public audience. The project's origins lie in nostalgic memory, as Billingham was initially inspired by childhood visits to Dudley Zoo.
Lucian Freud used the title, 'The Naked Portrait' for many of his paintings. This is the first exhibition, shown first at Scottish National Portrait Gallery, to focus on naked portraiture in the art of the last century. The 150 works include paintings, sculptures, works on paper and photographs.

The Observer
'... an enthralling show.'

Scotland on Sunday
‘It is one of the most daring, thought-provoking and sensitive exhibitions ever mounted by the National Galleries of Scotland... we find artists able to engender a range of emotions from intense eroticism to profoundly moving tenderness…’
Compton Verney wins the Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards 2006 for Visitor Attraction of the Year – Small category.

These awards are known as English tourism's 'Oscars'. Miriam Harte, awards judge and director of Beamish North of England Open Air Museum (Large Visitor Attraction of the Year 2005), described Compton Verney as “a hidden jewel”.
Alberto Giacometti

Born in Switzerland but living most of his life in France, Alberto Giacometti (1901-66) is one of the most original sculptors of the twentieth-century. His characteristic style dates from 1947 when he started to make attenuated sculptures of solitary figures. This exhibition concentrates on works dating from 1948-57.

James Coleman

Born in Dublin in 1941, James Coleman has been making multimedia works for over thirty years. Although widely recognized abroad as one of the outstanding artists working with new media, Coleman’s work has not had major exposure in the UK or Ireland until now.
In 2006 Compton Verney announced that a pair of historic paintings by the eighteenth century master Antonio Canaletto, previously destined to leave Britain, had been saved for public viewing for the sum of £6 million. View of the Grand Walk, Vauxhall Gardens and Interior of the Rotunda, Ranelagh were previously in private ownership.

The paintings have been on loan to the exhibition Canaletto in England which toured to the Yale Centre for British Art, USA, in Autumn 2006, and to the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London in Spring 2007. The pair form an important link between Compton Verney's Italian and British collections and are now on display in its British gallery.
Vive la Parisienne explores how women and their activities formed a large part of the Impressionist subject matter in the late nineteenth century, when the movement was capturing the emerging modern world with spontaneity and life. Featuring works by artists including Renoir, Degas, Toulouse- Lautrec, Bonnard and Pissarro, the exhibition is arranged thematically and examines the role of the modern woman in Paris, from chorus girls and artists' models, to the domestic realm and polite society of the middle and upper classes.
The Starry Messenger looks at artists' visions of the universe through paintings, drawings, photography, music, sculpture, large-scale video installations, and a collection of science fiction magazines. It begins with Galileo and his meeting with John Milton, explores the visionary paintings of William Blake, John Martin and Odilon Redon, introduces contemporary works that question man's knowledge of life on earth and will feature commissioned work by Paul McDevitt and Mark Titchner. The exhibition’s illustrated catalogue, contains a specially commissioned essay by science fiction writer Brian Aldiss.
Cromwell, in wanting to distance himself from the monarchy he had replaced, demanded that the painter,
"use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me and not flatter me at all, but... remark all these ruffness, pimples warts & every thing as you see me".

This miniature is a fitting purchase for Compton Verney which lies just a stone’s throw from where the Battle of Edgehill was fought, in which the young Cromwell was a Captain of the Roundheads with 60 horseman under his command.
The Shadow is the first exhibition of paintings, sculptures and video to look at a series of atmospheric encounters where sometimes the source of the shadow is revealed but frequently the shadow exists independently. Georges de La Tour: Master of Candlelight, a 17th century artist, was re-discovered in 1972 at a major retrospective in Paris. This exhibition focuses on works which concentrate on the effect of light on the human figure.

Independent on Sunday
'Less glitzy but infinitely lovely is my last choice, namely Warwickshire gallery Compton Verney's Georges de La Tour: Master of Candlelight, all card sharps and ruddy light. There are few de La Tours in British collections - I can only think of one, and the Queen owns that - so this show is a rare gift, and one you should accept with both hands.
The only portrait for which Nelson sat (at Greenwich in 1797, whilst he was convalescing after losing his right arm in the battle of Santa Cruz), and a 17th C. Bust of Charles I, after the portrait by Gianlorenzo Bernini (one of only three versions known to exist) are two of Compton Verney’s recent acquisitions.

Visitors to Compton Verney this year will be able to see both of these new arrivals in the British Portrait collection, as well as the latest additions to the Neapolitan, German and Chinese collections. Amongst these are Pierre-Jacques Volaire’s spectacular Vesuvius Erupting at Night, which complements his other painting of Vesuvius in the collection. Amongst several exquisite new objects in the Naples collection are a late 17th C. coral Nativity Group, a mid-18th C. inlaid tortoiseshell Pique Basin, two enamelled gold immaculata pendants entitled Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (c.1700), and a Sicilian gilt-copper mounted coral and mother-of-pearl frame mirror (c.1680).
Compton verney wins The Coventry & Warwickshire Food and Drink awards 2007 for Best Restaurant/Cafe within a Visitor Attraction. These important regional awards are voted for by the public.

This adds to the list of awards won by Compton Verney since it opened in 2004, which include:
2004 The Royal Institute of British Architect’s award
2005 Heart of England’s Visitor Attraction of the Year
2006 Small Visitor Attraction in The Enjoy England Awards for Excellence
The Starry Messenger: Visions of the Universe
The Fabric of Myth
The Naked Portrait
September 2007
October 2006
October 2006
A prestigious award
Liz Rideal: Fall, River, Snow
Richard Billingham: Zoo
September 2006
The Shadow
June 2007
July 2006
Van Gogh and Britain: Pioneer Collectors
Vive La Parisienne
James Coleman and Alberto Giacometti
March 2008
''Warts and all'
June 2007
June 2008
New acquisition
Chequers, the official country residence of our Prime Ministers since 1921 reveals some of its portrait treasures in a display within Compton Verney's British Portraits Collection. Not seen in public for over a century, paintings of Charles I and his wife Henrietta Maria by Van Dyck and portraits of Mary I and Oliver Cromwell will be included.

Director of Compton Verney, Kathleen Soriano, said one exhibit, the Elizabeth I pearl and ruby locket ring, with mother and daughter painted inside:

'is a very moving piece because it's so delicate and small and really evokes the sense of the story. It's a very powerful object.’
The Fabric of Myth explores textile myths from classical literature and their influence on both historic and contemporary art. It looks at artists who consciously use fabric as a medium to communicate both personal and cultural myths, including Delaine le Bas, Joseph Beuys, Louise Bourgeois, William Holman Hunt, Ray Materson, Henry Moore, Elaine Reichek, Bispo do Rosário, Tilleke Schwarz and Michele Walker.

A S Byatt , The Guardian

‘We think of our lives - and of stories - as spun threads, extended and knitted or interwoven with others into the fabric of communities, or history, or texts. An intriguing exhibition at Compton Verney in Warwickshire, The Fabric of Myth, mixes ancient and modern - Penelope's shroud, unpicked nightly, with enterprising tapestries made in a maximum security prison out of unravelled socks.’
Canalettos saved for Britain
June 2006
The Canalettos finish their tour
September 2007
Portraits from Chequers: Kings, Queens and Revolutionaries
June 2008
September 2006
Another award for Compton Verney
December 2007
Jack B. Yeats: Masquerade and Spectacle Oskar Kokoschka: Exile and New Home 1938 - 1980
September 2008
These exhibitions bring together two artists who were friends towards the last decade of Yeats' life; they highlight a shared fascination with people and society on the margins and their search for new forms of expression. Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka, was a renowned Expressionist artist whose work was condemned by the Nazis in their Degenerate Art Show. Irish artist Jack B. Yeats, brother of writer W.B Yeats, became fascinated by the circus, its live dynamic and the characters he encountered, when he first visited fairs and small travelling circuses in his native Sligo, Ireland.
August 2008
New acquisition of Lucas Cranach the Elder's Hercules and Antaeus
The painting depicts the fight to the death between Greek hero, Hercules and the giant, Antaeus. The work joins three other Cranachs currently on display: Venus and Cupid, Lot and his Daughters and Portrait of Sigmund Kingsfelt.

Cranach was a painter, printmaker and book illustrator with a distinctly individual manner and a highly successful business. He was one of the most versatile artists of the Renaissance, court artist to the Saxon electors, a staunch supporter of the Reformation, and a close friend of Martin Luther.
March 2006
Nelson and Charles I join the British Portraits Collection