A home for contemporary art – inside a home
Kentmere House Gallery doesn’t look like a gallery. It looks like a house. And that’s because it is – a handsome brick villa at the foot of Scarcroft Hill, home to Ann and David Petherick.
When they moved to York in 1979, Ann was astonished to find that the city lacked a contemporary gallery. Her first initiative to remedy the situation was Grape Lane Gallery, opened in the heart of York in 1984. But Ann had visited galleries in private houses elsewhere in the country and liked the idea; and when she found Kentmere House, she knew it would be perfect.
Info
Address 53 Scarcroft Hill, York YO24 1DF, +44 (0)1904 656507, www.kentmerehouse.co.uk, ann@kentmerehouse.co.uk | Public Transport By car: take Tadcaster Road south to Scarcroft Road east; Scarcroft Hill is on the south side. On-street parking. Closest bus stop: Scarcroft Primary School | Hours Thu 6pm–9pm, first weekend of the month 11am–5pm; call in advance for other times| Tip Every April, York Open Studios sees artists within a ten-mile radius of the city welcome the public into their workspaces – visit www.yorkopenstudios.co.uk for full details.
The setting is about as far from the white-cube ambience of many modern galleries as you could imagine. Art is displayed on the walls of this fine Victorian house overlooking Knavesmire, and this relaxed setting makes it a friendly and entirely unpretentious place to appreciate the pictures, paintings, and sculptures.
Visitors can drop in on the first weekend of each month and on Thursday evenings. The gallery has also begun to open its doors for the annual Residents’ Festival weekend in January. But you are welcome to visit any other reasonable time, with just a phone call in advance to check that it’s okay.
Work by certain artists is always on show, Bob Armstrong’s northern landscapes, Valerie Davide’s animal portraits, and Jack Hellewell’s impressionistic paintings among them. These are combined with regularly changing temporary exhibitions: when David Hockney made a splash with his giant Bigger Trees Near Warter at York Art Gallery, Ann staged A Different View Of The Wolds – contrasting Keith Roper’s interpretations of the same landscape.
The work of talented newcomers rubs shoulders with that of nationally known artists. And there’s an emphasis on affordability: Kentmere House is part of the Own Art scheme, whereby you can purchase an original work with an interest-free loan.
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