Harlow Art Trust

Who we are

In 1953 Harlow Art Trust set out with a mission to beautify the post-war New Town of Harlow by commissioning, purchasing and siting sculpture across its public spaces. The founding members of the Trust were uncompromising in the belief that access to high quality art should be more than mere decoration: it should be part of the social fabric of everyday life and owned by the people who live and work around it. The project attracted some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, including Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Elisabeth Frink.

Today Harlow is home to an exceptional and growing collection of over 100 public artworks and a community of people passionate about its sculptural heritage with ambitious plans for the future. This is Harlow Sculpture Town. Our vision is to develop this unique urban sculpture park with and for Harlow, to offer belonging, community and purpose.

Harlow Art Trust also manages the Gibberd Gallery, a visual arts space that is home to the Sir Frederick Gibberd Watercolour Collection.

The Sir Frederick Gibberd watercolour collection is on permanent display in the Gibberd Gallery. He donated the collection to the Town in 1984, which he had helped accumulate over 40 years. His collection had begun in 1935 and was limited by three conditions: the picture had to be by a British artist, the artist must be alive, and the picture should be a water-colour, drawing or print. The limitations that the artist must be British and alive was to encourage young artists. The collection includes works by John Nash, John Piper, Elizabeth Blackadder, and Edward Bawden.

The sculptures on permanent display include the iconic Henry Moore ‘Harlow Family Group’ works by Macolm Woodward, Gerda Rubinstein, Sally Doig and Jane Ackroyd.

The Gibberd Gallery is also host to a yearly programme of exhibitions and events. Recent exhibitions include the return of former Harlow resident and sculptor Lee Grandjean with his first Harlow solo exhibition ‘Seeing Things’. We work with partners, for example the Essex Cultural Diversity Project and the Essex Book Festival for special events such the ‘Stand Up for Diversity Harlow!’ A highly anticipated annual event is the Harlow Open. The ‘Harlow Open 23’ was a huge success, drawing in 145 artists resulting in the showcase of over 200 artworks ranging from newcomers excited about their first exhibition to established contemporary and international artists.