Great Works aims to address the absence in regional museums and galleries across the UK of works by British artists who have established international reputations over the last 20 years.
Thanks to the generosity of the Sfumato Foundation, the Great Works purchases one major work a year by a leading British artist for a regional museum or gallery. The 70 museums across the UK that make up the CAS’s Museum Membership are eligible to apply for the award, the majority of which are outside London.
The first recipient of the Great Works scheme was the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle. Internationally acclaimed artist Glenn Brown produced a major new work, specifically for the museum, entitled ‘In the end we all succumb to the pull of the molten core’ (2016).
In March 2018 the second Great Work was unveiled at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Cerith Wyn Evans’ Radiant fold (…the Illuminating Gas), 2017/18 is four elliptical forms drawn in fine white neon, currently on show in the museum’s Colwinston Gallery.
Great Works 2020/21
The Contemporary Art Society invites applications from its Museum Members for the purchase of a work by a living British, or British-based artist of established international reputation. In particular, the successful applicant will make the case for the acquisition of work by an artist with a substantial connection to the museum’s existing collections, city or region.
The deadline for applications is 17 July 2020. The curatorial staff of the Contemporary Art Society will work together with the successful Museum Member, the artist and their gallery towards identifying the most appropriate work with the ambition of presenting this by the end of the financial year.
Previous recipients of the Great Works scheme:
2016 – The Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, with artist Glenn Brown
2017 – Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales with artist Cerith Wyn Evans