The Old Town Hall Gallery & Museum of Art, Falmouth
The Old Town Hall Gallery is a most intriguing museum of art and antiquities with an eclectic collection from all periods and cultures. We are entirely self-funding and admission is free of charge, so we depend on selling our own low-priced and unusual cards, prints and booklets published under the name of Whirligig Studio. Some items are also for sale, which helps us to improve the collection as we acquire new pieces.
Art tells us something of the culture of its makers so we are looking for works that inform us of different periods and cultures. The oldest object we have is a stone age pebble tool found during lockdown which cost us nothing. We also have other very old objects such as the circa 2500 BC Indus Valley figures and the circa 200 BC- 200 AD Han Dynasty grave goods which are not necessarily very expensive to obtain while other objects in the collection have cost more. Apart from our Opie portrait we have avoided well-known artists, but the work must be of and about its period. So, the Cecil Riley abstract picture, while not by a major modernist of the 1930s, was painted at that time and he experiments with the same abstract formal matters
that were considered for instance by Mondrian or Klee. Interesting contemporary art has been particularly difficult to procure not only because it is usually unreasonably expensive, but also because originality and individuality seem to be quite scarce. Perhaps an exception to this are the paintings by Peter Chapman, exhibited here; he can be visited in his studio at the back of the gallery. However, we have been fortunate to have been able to buy a wide range of items from other periods and cultures at reasonable prices. African art is of particular interest to us, not only because of its influence on 20th century art, but also because it might provide an insight into prehistoric art that has largely not survived, and we have been able obtain some good examples at affordable prices. We are writing explanations for the most interesting exhibits in our permanent collection which are available to read in the gallery.
Also, we have the responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of this Grade 11* listed building which has a blue plaque, but we shall always make the gallery accessible, free of charge and we welcome everyone to come and see for themselves and to take photographs, of what has been described as “simply magical” and the “best gallery in Cornwall”. The gallery can be found at the top of High Street below the arch and opening hours are from 11am – 5.30pm Monday to Saturday.