A Royal Setting For First Northern Show By Royal Institute Of Painters In Water Colours

When the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours decided to stage the first exhibition in the North in its near-two hundred years of history, it couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate location.

The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours exhibition at Watermark Gallery, 8, Royal Parade, Harrogate HG1 2SZ runs from 27th September until 12th October. Watermark Gallery is open Wed to Sat, 10am to 5pm. This exhibition is also online (watermarkgallery.co.uk)The RI, which has King Charles, an enthusiastic watercolourist, as Patron, is to mount the ground-breaking show at Watermark Gallery on Harrogate’s Royal Parade, opposite The Crown Hotel and just around the corner from the Royal Hall concert venue, officially re-opened by the then Prince of Wales following its extensive and acclaimed restoration.

Chris Myers

Artist Chris Myers, President of the RI, which was founded in 1831 and is based at The Mall Galleries in London, close to Buckingham Palace, says:

“There may be a tendency for people to think that any organisation with ‘Royal’ in its name is London-centric but we are a truly national body with artists from across the country and around the world as members.

“It may have taken an inordinate amount of time but we are delighted at last to be staging our first exhibition in the North and at in a location with so many royal connections.

“We want the exhibition to showcase the talent and wide range of work of our artists and, hopefully, encourage new and younger members to join so that the RI has a long future as well as a long history.”

The exhibition will feature some 80 works by more than 25 artists, among them a large painting of classic cars racing at Le Mans by Myers who is highly regarded for his automobile-themed works.

Among ‘royal’ connections close to the gallery:-

Royal Parade which was named because it was where the crowned heads of Europe promenaded when ‘taking the waters’ at what was Europe’s leading health spa in the mid-late 19th Century.
It is thought that The Crown Hotel may have taken the name around the time of King Charles II’s restoration of the monarchy in 1660, although its origins stretch back even further, to the early years of that century.
Prince Charles was Patron of the Trust that raised the funds for the £10m+ restoration of the Royal Hall and led its official re-opening ceremonies in January 2008.

Liz Hawkes

Liz Hawkes, owner of Watermark Gallery

We are honoured that such a prestigious organization as the RI has chosen to stage its first exhibition in the North at our gallery. This will be our largest exhibition to date with RI members’ work taking over the whole gallery. The standard of work is extremely high and promises great variety in terms of subject matter and artistic style.