Floodgate, Perry Mill, attributed to Henry Harris Lines (1830). The site is thought to be near the mill by the old Perry Barr Hall near Handsworth, Birmingham. Picture courtesy RBSA
A £50,000 sketchbook charting the rise of Birmingham through drawings made by the family of one of the forefathers of art in the city has gone on display at the gallery home of one of the oldest art societies in the UK.
The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists used a Heritage Lottery Fund windfall to buy the tome of drawings, containing 56 scenes depicted by the relatives of Samuel Lines, an early 19th century pioneer of drawings and paintings in the area who founded the RBSA and the Birmingham School of Arts.
Gallery Director Marie Considine said the project was the result of a "dynamic collaboration" between the RBSA, the University of Birmingham and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
"We are thrilled that support from the Heritage Lottery Fund now enables us to share our research and our enthusiasm for Birmingham's art history," she said, announcing a range of activities for local schoolchildren to learn more about Birmingham’s history by using the works as source material.
Drop-in workshops, study days and further research and exhibitions inspired by the drawings, which the Gallery has spent four years researching since their initial acquisition in 2005.
"The sketchbook is a valuable resource for looking at life in Birmingham at a time of great social change," added HLF West Midlands Head Anne Jenkins.
"This project will help local people and schoolchildren to take advantage of this information and encourage them to test their own artistic abilities."
Exhibition runs until May 23 2009. RBSA Gallery, Brook Street, Birmingham. Visit the Society online for more details.
