Hereford artist Brian Hatton’s archive opened online (From Hereford Times)

Hereford artist Brian Hatton’s archive opened online

3:19pm Thursday 10th December 2009

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CELEBRATED actress Miranda Richardson is supporting Herefordshire Council’s new website dedicated to the talented Hereford artist Brian Hatton, for which she has recorded a special podcast.

Brian, from Broomy Hill, showed exceptional promise as a young artist and achieved some early recognition, being awarded the Gold Star by the Royal Drawing Society at the age of 10.

But his life was tragically cut short when he was killed in action in the First World War.

Since his death his reputation has grown, and today he is ranked among the best British artists of his era.

In 2007, the gallery gifted to the council in Hatton’s name, an annexe of the former Churchill House Museum on Aylestone Hill, was controversially closed by Herefordshire Council, leaving the collection in storage.

There have been repeated pleas to find a way to have Brian Hatton’s work on permanent display.

Miss Richardson, a regular visitor to Herefordshire since childhood, was inspired by Brian’s work at an early age and has been keen to raise awareness of his talent and wide-ranging artistic ability.

The Heritage Lottery Fund agreed back in 2007 to fund a project based on the collection of around 900 Hatton exhibits held by Herefordshire’s heritage services department.

The project has conserved all of Hatton’s work and aims to make it accessible to a wider audience through the website.

The Brian Hatton Learning Resource website includes images of 90 of the Hatton paintings in the council’s care.

It also includes educational resources, letters, photographs and podcasts, including one in which Miss Richardson reads the poignant last letter Brian sent to his wife, Lydia May.

The project was funded with a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund together with a further £26,000 from the Miss Marjorie Hatton Bequest.

“The Brian Hatton collection is a remarkable resource for learning and the website enables teachers and pupils to access the collection from the classroom or at home,”

says Siriol Collins, heritage learning officer.

“While developed for secondary schools in particular, the resource will also be of interest to other researchers and educators.”

Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the West Midlands, Anne Jenkins added: “This innovative project is a superb way for people to learn more about the artist Brian Hatton and the county he so loved.

“It will also help to raise the profile of art in general in the county through the online educational resources.”

The website can be found at herefordshire.gov.uk/brianhatton.

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