Fry’s Popular Delights

The 2026 season sees the Main Gallery transformed into an exuberant treasure trove of popular art by guest Curator Mark Hearld and the Keeper of the Fry Collection, Colin Wilkin.

Mark and Colin’s aim is to surprise and excite. Their own words give a taste of what to expect:

“Popular Art flourished in Great Bardfield. The artists worked from home with an eye to modern design, informed by the playful exuberance of 19th-century style. In Fry’s Popular Delights we bring the gallery to life with a miscellany of treasures. From a charming Edwin Smith greetings card inspired by a Regency popular print, to a decorated envelope by Eric Ravilious welcoming Charlotte Bawden to Brick House. Clay pipes, tinsel pictures and corn dollies made by Fred Mizen. Michael Rothenstein’s target print packs a fairground punch. A flight of angels in a nativity scene by Tirzah Garwood adds festive wonder. A 19th-century transferware teapot illustrated in Life in an English Village. Not to mention the legs of a man in long socks and knickerbockers from a billboard poster by Sheila Robinson.”