James Sellars 1927 - 2000 'The Fruits of Enthusiasm'

An exhibition of work by the late James Sellars will be on show at Hereford Museum & Art Gallery from Saturday, March 18 to Sunday, May 7 2006. 

For fifty years before his death in 2000, James Sellars observed and painted the landscapes in and around the places he lived.

Sellars lived and worked in Herefordshire and the county’s fantastic landscape captured his imagination and features heavily in his work.

His initial inspiration was the rugged gritstone country close to his home in Sheffield; then the pastoral idyll of the Herefordshire landscape; followed by the lush water meadows of Hampshire; finally returning to the landscape of the Wye Valley in 1994. 

Sellars started teaching at Hereford College of Art & Design in the spring term of 1957.

In the early 1960’s, he was appointed Head of Fine Art Printmaking at Southampton College of Art.  The Test Valley with its chalk downlands, streams and river were a rich source of inspiration and a natural progression from his landscapes inspired by Herefordshire.

Retiring and returning to this county in 1994, failing health saw him exchanging drawing in the Herefordshire countryside for work in his studio, where he translated the drawings into collages and prints.

Closely associated with ‘The Kitchen Sink Painters’ of the 1950’s, it was, however, the English landscape with its diversity and romanticism, which held an enduring appeal for Sellars. 

This exhibition is a reflection of Sellars’ response to his surroundings and his enthusiasm for landscape and romanticism.

An exhibition of contemporary landscape images from Hereford Museum & Art Gallery’s permanent collection will run at the same time complementing James Sellars work.

Admission is free. The Museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm.
Sundays from April 2 and Bank Holiday Mondays, April 17 and May 1, 10am – 4pm. 
Closed Sundays in March and Good Friday, April 14.

For more details about the exhibition, contact Heritage Services on, (01432) 260 692 or email: herefordmuseums@herefordshire.gov.uk.