The Munnings Art Museum is at Castle House, the former home and working Studio of Sir Alfred Munnings PPRA (1878-1959) and his wife, Violet. The museum owns the largest collection of art made by this globally renown, prolific East Anglian artist and former President of the Royal Academy of Arts (1944-1949). The museum presents annual changing exhibitions of around 200 paintings, drawings and rare sculptures which often include important works borrowed from private and public collections. The furniture and objects around the house remain as they were when the artist and his wife were in residence.
Castle House is set in forty acres of beautiful countryside in the Dedham Vale, on the borders of Essex and Suffolk. This elegant Tudor and Georgian building was described by Munnings as “the house of my dreams” and he lived and worked here for over forty years until his death in 1959. It was his wish to leave his home and collection of his life’s works to the nation. So it was, that in 1961 Violet Munnings created the Castle House Trust, an independent charity, to open and operate the Munnings Art Museum for the enjoyment of everyone.
Munnings: Colour & Light
*Now closed* 5th April 2023 – 22nd October 2023
Alfred Munnings had a lifelong passion for seeing colour and light and an innate ability to capture these elements in his painting. Naturally gifted as a child, he honed his skills and gained the experience which made him one of the country’s foremost plein air painters.
In 2023, the special exhibition Alfred Munnings: Colour & Light takes you on his journey of discovery. With over forty paintings and much of the narrative in his own words the exhibition offers a very personal insight into his love of painting.
PAST EXHIBITION:
Alfred Munnings: The Art of the Poster
6th April 2022 – 23rd October 2022
In 1892, aged fourteen, Alfred Munnings moved from his home village of Mendham in Suffolk to the city of Norwich. He was apprenticed to the lithographic printers Page Bros. & Co., Ltd. where he learnt to design advertisements and posters. During the 1890s Munnings undertook work for large local companies such as Colman’s Mustard and Caley’s Crackers and Chocolates.
PAST EXHIBITION:
Yours With Love, AJ
2nd September 2020 to 6th November 2021
In 2021 the museum’s special exhibition showcases paintings from the early 1920s alongside original correspondence from that time.
PAST EXHIBITION:
Studio: Celebration of the 50th anniversary of Dedham Vale, Stour Valley and beyond, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
2nd September 2020 to 6th November 2021
PAST EXHIBITION:
Behind the Lines:
Alfred Munnings, War Artist, 1918
23rd March to 3rd November 2019
In the centenary year of their first exhibition at the Royal Academy, London in 1919, the Munnings Art Museum is privileged to have on loan from Canada forty-one of these war paintings. The vibrant colours and painterly style of these works is a striking contrast to the familiar black and white images of World War I. It is a rare opportunity to see these works, alongside sketches and paintings from The Munnings Art Museum’s own collection.
Munnings’ war works were much admired at the time and proved to be pivotal in the development of his career, helping to transform him from a successful provincial artist to one of international renown.
In his later life Sir Alfred Munnings reflected “I have often wondered had there been no 1914-18 war whether painting people on horseback would have absorbed the greater part of my efforts in the years that followed”.
The exhibition has been developed by the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, in partnership with The Munnings Art Museum and generously supported by The Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation.
PAST EXHIBITION:
Studio: Painting Winners
23 March to 3 November 2019
Adjoining the studio is the Café serving delicious homemade treats. The museum shop has a range of books, unique gifts and souvenirs.
PAST EXHIBITION:
Studio: Inspired by Behind the Lines
16 October to 3 November 2019
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