The Munnings Art Museum is open 1.30pm to 4.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday, Bank Holiday Mondays, Good Friday and Easter Sunday until 26th October 2025.
The Tea Room in the garden open is open 10.30am to 4.30pm on days when the museum is open.
enquiries@munningsmuseum.org.uk 01206 322127
Address: Munnings Art Museum
Castle House, Castle Hill
Dedham, Colchester, Essex
CO7 6AZ
“Who would have thought I should ever be President of the Royal Academy, or be knighted by the King? ” What a go ! ” as an Essex farmer friend wrote to me in a letter.” – Alfred Munnings
Special Exhibition
2nd April to 8th June 2025
Technicolour Dickens:
The Living Image of Charles Dickens
The Munnings Art Museum is delighted to present a special exhibition of stunning and unique colourised photographs from the Charles Dickens Museum in London which unpick the power of the writer’s image. The colourised portraits were commissioned by the Charles Dickens Museum in 2020 from artist and photographer Oliver Clyde to bring Dickens to new, ‘technicolour’ life. Large scale, and in vivid colour, you will see Dickens like you have never seen him before.
“Were I forced to make a choice between books and pictures in my home, without hesitation I would say ‘Give me books.’ This is no sudden decision, but a well-considered one. I could, if I had to, live without pictures but without a book I might exist – but not live in the full sense of the word.” Sir Alfred Munnings
The special exhibition is prefaced with a display of paintings and drawings by Sir Alfred Munnings which illustrate his love of stories, both in prose and poetry. Dickens, Tennyson, Longfellow, Surtees and others exerted an influence over the art he produced, especially as a young man.
Paintings by
Sir Alfred Munnings
The walls of Castle House are sumptuously adorned with both well-known pictures by Sir Alfred Munnings and lesser seen sketches and studies taken from the artist’s studio when he died in 1959. Thickly painted impressionistic scenes of ponies standing still against the bright East Anglian sunshine jostle for position with smoothly painted racing thoroughbreds, jockeys a-blaze in brightly coloured silks. Delicate pencil portraits of Indian soldiers returning, wearily, from the Western Front pull at the soul in stark contrast to the amusing cartoons which give rise to a small chuckle.
Sir Alfred Munnings’ former studio stands in the grounds of Castle House with ponies looking on from the paddocks nearby. The studio still contains his props and painting tools.
Events
Tickets are available for our 2025 programme of events. There are familiar painting days alongside tours, talks and creative workshops relating to the special exhibition.
Feeling inspired
Learn to paint and draw horses at home with Jim Power.
This four-part series of pre-recorded workshops will take you through the basic steps needed to successfully draw and paint horses.
Session 1: Basics of Drawing the Horse
Session 2: Adding colour and form to the Horse
Session 3: Looking more closely at the horse’s head.
Session 4: Painting the horse’s head in oils.
Not brave enough to pick up a paintbrush? Listen and watch to find out more about the man and his work
Curator’s Talk: The Life and Work of Sir Alfred Munnings
Pre-recorded ONLINE event.
Marcia Whiting, Curatorial Associate, provides an overview of Alfred Munnings’ life and work.
You will be sent a link to play the film via Vimeo (installation not required). Recording lasts 41 minutes.
Art History Festival 2024
The sport of Kings inspired the painter Sir Alfred Munnings to create some of his most well known paintings. See how these pictures were created and how they have travelled the globe, inspiring the artists of today. For the Art History Festival 2024 Art History: Local to Global, we present this short film in partnership with Art Historian, Christopher Garibaldi and the National Sporting Library and Museum, Virginia, USA.
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