Collections

Hartlepool has an impressive and important collection of over 1,000 pieces of fine art. The collection is mainly Victorian and Edwardian in period, largely as a result of the founding collection by Sir William C. Gray.  With few exceptions, most subsequent collecting has been works of artists living or working at least part of their lives in the Hartlepool area.

The works are by the internationally renowned as well as locally working amateur artists.  The most notable artists include Daniel Maclise, Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach, Stanhope Alexander Forbes, and John Wilson Carmichael. There are also a number of works by locally born artists such as Frederic Shields, James Clark and Frank Henry Mason. 

The fine art is now used as the basis of regular temporary exhibitions at Hartlepool Art Gallery.