Cartwright Hall is a landmark feature of Bradford's award-winning Lister Park.

Standing in the middle of the park, the Baroque-style building - which was purpose-built as an art gallery in 1904 - is an imposing feature looming through the greenery.

But inside the Edwardian building a treasure trove of highly-esteemed paintings and sculptures decorate the high-ceilinged galleries.

Traditional British oil paintings and marble busts reside alongside Eastern and European art. And contemporary canvases and sculpture sit easily in with the mix.

In the ground-floor rooms the ever-changing exhibitions draw in regular visitors as well as those who travel from further afield.

And upstairs the Cartwright Hall collection takes pride of place.

But despite the already-impressive variety of work on display, there is yet more work belonging to the gallery hidden away in its extensive archives.

Water colours and pencil drawings, vulnerable to the brightness of the rooms - which expose paintings to a combination of top lighters and natural light - will be kept under wraps until the gallery is subjected to a refurbishment next year.

The £140,000 given to the museum by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport will pay for new exhibition cases and new lights which will help curators display some of the more sensitive pieces of work.

The money was applied for to help with Cartwright Hall's anticipated exhibition, called Connect, which will be shown in the upstairs galleries following the overhaul.

The refurbishment project, which is estimated will cost up to £2 million and take a year to complete, will begin next spring if the gallery is successful in securing National Lottery funding later this year.

Mark Suggitt, head of Bradford Council's museums, galleries and heritage, said the collection would have to be closed to the public during the work, but said he hoped exciting exhibitions in the downstairs rooms would continue to pull in the crowds.

Mr Suggitt said: "This year our numbers are up in the whole service.

"We will have to close the top floor while we do the work, but the good thing about Cartwright Hall is the ground floor hopefully will keep bringing people in," he said.

Almost 2,000 people have visited Cartwright Hall every week in the past month and Mr Suggitt said one of the gallery's strengths was the diversity of its exhibitions.

He said: "One of the things is that it's always had a very good exhibition programme; there is always something.

"It's also partly that it's a family place. I think it feels welcoming. And there are also some very, very good works of art on a national and international scale."

Mr Suggitt said he was delighted the funding had been approved to further improve the gallery.

He said: "We aim to redesign and redisplay the whole of the top floor.

"What we want to do is improve the environment and the collections that we can show."

Visitors who want a taste of what Connect will have to offer will be able to visit Prelude: Connect - People, Place, Imagination - an exhibition of some of the permanent collection on display until October 29.

And David Hockney fans will be able to view some of the artist's early work in David Hockney: From Bradford to Hollywood and Back Again, which is on show until November 4.

Mr Suggitt said the long-term future of Cartwright Hall, and other museums and galleries in Bradford, also looked bright.

As well as an exhibition on the history of shoes, which is due to be shown at Cartwright Hall in the near future, Mr Suggitt said education and promotion would be a strong focus.

He also said the museum, which has been free to the public since it opened, should never be charged for as the collection belongs to the people of Bradford.

He said: "We have always been free, I think its a great thing as it means you can return again. You can pop in for five minutes or you can stop for the whole day.

"The collection belongs to Bradfordians, it belongs to Bradford people and in that sense it should be free."

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, (Con, Ilkley), the Council's executive member for environment and culture, said the Government funding was a stepping stone towards the success of Cartwright Hall's Connect exhibition.

"It's a building brick," she said.

Coun Hawkesworth also said the exhibitions at Cartwright Hall have proved fantastic crowd-pullers in the past 18 months.

She said: "The Hockney exhibition is just pulling people in and another was the Titanic show.

"That was an extremely successful exhibition and it brought people into Bradford."

For more information on Cartwright Hall log on to www.bradfordmuseums.org or telephone (01274) 431212.

e-mail: rebecca.wright@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

HISTORY OF THE HALL
  • Cartwright Hall was purpose-built as an art gallery and exhibition space in 1904.
  • The Bradford Museum Service started in 1879; collections belonging to the service were housed elsewhere until Cartwright Hall opened.
  • When the building opened it displayed some exhibits which were later moved to Bolling Hall Museum and the Industrial Museum, which are also owned by Bradford Council.
  • The museum has an extensive collection of historical oil paintings and marble sculptures as well as a contemporary collection and a lot of work from Asia and the east.
  • Works which curators will be able to show following the redevelopment of the upper gallery will include drawings by artists such as the British pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones.
  • For more information about Bradford Council's museums and exhibitions visit: www.bradfordmuseums.org
WHAT VISITORS THINK

Manish Mistry, 40, a banker, of London, who was visiting with his children Nikhil, four, and Nirali, five: "I'm originally from Bradford but I don't live here any more, so we are on a visit and doing the museums. I think it's great that it's free because I'm more likely to come I suppose. I just like to come and see what they have."

Rodney Harrison, 60, retired, of Wyke, Bradford: "This is the second time I have been here. We have brought the grandchildren to have a look.They have had a go at the activities. I would be interested in coming to see the exhibition after the refurbishment."

Suzanne Rennie, 60, a museums' officer responsible for education, of Menston: "Being able to come in for free makes a difference if you are a family with three or four children. The collection belongs to them, it's part of Bradford and part of their heritage."

Alan Hopkins, 65, retired, of Allerton, Bradford: "I have been here a few times. When it's particularly fine outside we just come and bring a picnic into the park and we sit out."

Barbara Glenton, 69, of Fairweather Green: "It's not a place I visit frequently I must admit, even though I'm Bradfordian and I live here. I suppose the David Hockney collection attracted me, but I didn't rate it. I much prefer this historical kind of thing."

Joanna Armitage, 50, a teacher, of Yeadon: "I was born and brought up in Bradford. It's lovely to come and look at the paintings and sculptures. It is important that the gallery tries to put on as much of its collection as it can. This is meant to be seen to be appreciated."