A staggering 46,800 people visited the University’s Lowry exhibition in just 10 weeks.
A rarely-seen collection of works – loaned from private collectors – made Lowry the most successful exhibition ever held at Lakeside Arts Centre, drawing thousands of visitors from across the UK.
The exhibition’s popularity led Lakeside to extend its opening hours in the final weeks and peak periods saw visitors queuing to get in to the Djanogly Art Gallery.
The free exhibition focused Lowry’s work from the 1920s to the mid 1950s, and featured a large number of drawings, many of which had never been exhibited as a collection before, plus a substantial number of works loaned by The Lowry Collection in Salford.
Shona Powell, Lakeside director, said: “We have been utterly delighted by the response to this fantastic exhibition. From the very first day the exhibition opened, it attracted large numbers, from art enthusiasts to novices from Nottingham and beyond.
“The gallery has been brimming full of visitors since day one with many queuing to see this amazing collection of works together.”
The exhibition was held in association with the Crane Kalman Gallery, London, and generously supported by Sir Harry and Lady Djanogly and The Lowry Collection in Salford.
University Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Greenaway, said: “The number of visitors to Lakeside is a demonstration of the national importance of this unique retrospective of Lowry’s work.”
Neil Walker, curator of the exhibition, said: “Over the course of its ten-week opening, the Lowry exhibition was an overwhelming success and we’re thrilled with the number of visitors we had. We’ve had some incredible exhibitions at Lakeside Arts Centre and with the Edward Burra exhibition due to open next month, we’re sure that there will be plenty more to come.”
Next month, Djanogly Art Gallery is to host the first major exhibition in 25 years of works by artist Edward Burra. The free exhibition will run from Saturday 3 March to Sunday 27 May.
Lakeside: Cultural Impact is a key project within the University’s new appeal, Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, which is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. Find out more about Lakeside and how you can support us at: http://tiny.cc/UoNImpact.