Described in recent years as "one of the most impressive exhibition spaces in Britain", Newcastle University’s Hatton Gallery, situated in the old Quadrangle, has been at the heart of cultural life in the North East since the early twentieth century.
The Hatton stages a highly-regarded programme of historical, modern and contemporary art exhibitions. Over recent years this programme has included major historical monographs, diverse partnership projects and exciting new commissions from leading contemporary artists. On permanent display is Kurt Schwitters’ Merzbarn, considered by many to be one of the seminal artworks of the twentieth century.
The Hatton’s permanent collection comprises over 3,500 works, ranging from the Renaissance to the twentieth century, and includes works in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. Artists represented in the collection include such diverse and important artists as Francis Bacon, Walter Sickert, Tiburzio Passarotti, John Martin, Patrick Heron, William Roberts, Richard Ansdell, Richard Hamilton and John Graham Lough.
The Hatton Gallery also runs an impressive learning programme involving schools, individuals & community groups. The programme engages participants through a variety of drop-in activities, formal workshops and long-term partnership projects.
The Hatton Gallery is now part of the Great North Museum. The new £26 million museum can be found on the site of the former Hancock Museum. The Great North Museum combines the designated natural history collections from the former Hancock Museum with some of the country’s finest Greek and Etruscan objects from the former Shefton Museum and the significant prehistoric, Roman and Anglo-Saxon collections of the former Museum of Antiquities with the magnificent fine and decorative arts from the Hatton.