Event Images
Sir Michael Ernest Sadler was born in Barnsley in 1861. The Sadler family lived very close to the Cooper Gallery at 21 Church Street, and his father was Michael Thomas Sadler, the Medical Officer of Health for Barnsley and an executor of S.J. Cooper's will. Michael Thomas was highly respected as a campaigner for better living conditions for local people.
Sir Michael was sent to Rugby School, then took a Classics scholarship at Trinity College, Oxford. He was President of the Oxford Union and graduated with a First in 1882. On his subsequent travels around Europe, he became an early patron of Kandisky and visited him in Germany. After a glittering career promoting educational opportunities for all, in 1923 he became Master of University College, Oxford, until he retired.
But he never forgot his roots. All his life, Sir Michael believed that education and art could transform lives and made it his mission to distribute pictures and drawings amongst galleries, hostels, schools and private houses, where they would "please and instruct". When Barnsley Mining and Technical College opened in 1932, he presented a Bauer etching of Amiens Cathedral to mark the occasion.
Sadler made 4 bequests to the Cooper Gallery. These bequests feature work by important 20th century artists that he knew and supported during his life including Paul Nash, Christopher Nevinson and Stanley Spencer. It also contains work from the Bloomsbury Group: Duncan Grant's Flowers, Olive Trees by Roger Fry and Flowerpiece by Vanessa Bell.
Sir Michael married Mary Ann Harvey. She was the daughter of Charles Harvey, who in 1890, had established the Harvey Institute on Eldon Street to offer cultural experiences to working people. As well as a theatre and a Free Library, the Harvey Institute included the town's first School of Art. James Fox was a director of the company which set it up, and the building is now The Civic.
Sir Michael died in 1943. His son, Michael Sadleir, changed his name to avoid confusion with his fater and wrote the controversial 1940 novel Fanny By Gaslight, about prostitution in Victorian times. He also wrote that his father's mission was to, "bring good art to the people".
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Artillery Action
Artillery Action shows a fragmented landscape littered with guns and shell fire, portraying an image of power and machinery. It draws on Lewis's own experiences, the image is a snapshot in the middle of a battle; soldiers are sheltering from fire in the heat of action.
Bath the Sublime: Norfolk Crescent
Sickert was a painter, printmaker and teacher of German birth who became one of the most influential British artists of his day.
Camden Lock, London
The painting Camden Lock reflects the influence of Cubism. This piece shows the insignificance of people against the vast buildings and canal lock. Bricks, stone and iron are the important elements. The name of the factory is clearly seen advertised on the main building.
Composition with Shell
Wadsworth was a leading artist of British Modernism and helped to develop a number of art movements including Vorticism, alongside the artist Percy Wyndham Lewis.
Flowerpiece
(c) Estate of Vanessa Bell, courtesy of Henrietta Garnett. Vanessa Bell is one of the most recognised artists of the twentieth century as part of the highly fashionable Bloomsbury Group.
Flowers
The mixtures of striking and soft colours give the picture vitality. It has a loose format and is essentially decorative. It may have been aimed at the decorative rather than the fine art market through the influence of the Omega Workshops.
Folkestone
Walter Taylor was an artist but also a wealthy collector with his own large private collection of art.
Industrial Landscape
Wadsworth was a leading artist of British Modernism and helped to develop a number of art movements including Vorticism, alongside the artist Percy Wyndham Lewis.
Interior of the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent, Constantinople
This view shows the interior of the mosque in Istanbul, showing the miniber and mihrah; coloured glass windows up to the edge of the roof. Rays of sunlight can be seen filtering through the small windows into the central space. Chandeliers and two small figures to the lower right give emphasis to the scale.
Man and Woman: Sorrow
This drawing is one of his early works, sketched in charcoal on cream paper in 1914. It shows a woman standing holding a child and a man bending forward to kiss the child. The background is a bleak landscape. The depth of grief is shown through the body language. The posture of the woman is one of hopelessness. The man’s posture indicates both deep sorrow and support and protection for the woman.
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