Private Visit to the Russell-Cotes Museum

Our members have been offered the opportunity to have a private guided tour of the Russell-Cotes Museum and Art Gallery in Bournemouth on a day when it is not open to the general public. Dr Anne Anderson will be our guide.

Following the tour, there will be a study handling session, giving us an opportunity to look at the reserve collection, and Anne hopes that we can help to identify some ‘troublesome’ pieces in the reserve collection.

Sir Merton Russell-Cotes made his fortune from The Royal Bath Hotel due to the expansion of the railways and Victorians “taking of the air” on the English Riviera, to escape the smog of London.

The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum in Bournemouth is housed in a Grade 11 listed building, which was built by Sir Merton Russell-Cotes as a gift for his wife Annie in 1901. It became a museum in 1922 and it is celebrating its centenary this year.

They were both enthusiastic collectors of Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite Art and Ceramics and there is an extensive collection on view.  There is also an opportunity to see souvenirs from their travels to Russia, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Tea and Coffee will be served on arrival, and a light lunch will be provided.