A lecture entitled Seeing the Spiritual: The Story of the Methodist Modern Art Collection will be held on Wednesday, September 10.
The Methodist Modern Art Collection is the Methodist Church’s response to the flourishing of religious art in post-war Britain.
In the early 1960s it was an initiative by Methodist layman, Dr John Morel Gibbs from South Wales who began collecting with his friend the Revd Douglas Wollen and quickly assembled a group of outstanding paintings illustrating aspects of the gospel narrative from Nativity to Pentecost.
They created a touring collection that would be seen across the country in art galleries, churches and cathedrals.
Their collecting is illustrated by their first acquisition in 1962 – an example South Asian art by F N Souza – his powerful Crucifixion which is on loan to Bradford Cathedral for Bradford 2025.
In this lecture, the Chair of the Methodist Modern Art Collection, art historian Professor Ann Sumner tells the unique story of the collection.
People are invited to meet at 7pm for light refreshments, with the lecture beginning at 7.30pm for around an hour, with a Q&A session following.