Broughton House & Garden, since reopening in August, has gone from strength to strength. After a difficult year for the National Trust for Scotland, including many tough decisions taken due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic,
The property was opened safely and securely at weekends, with the garden also open throughout the week. While income is much reduced on previous years, visitor numbers have been strong and daily income — especially generous donations to the garden – show a marked improvement on previous years.
The National Trust for Scotland’s Operations Manager, Sam Gallacher said:
“It is a real credit to the staff, at Broughton, across the region and Trust-wide, and to our local volunteers and steadfast supporters, that we’ve managed to end the season on such a positive note.
“Visitors and locals alike have enjoyed having the property open throughout the summer, and that is why we’re extending opening throughout the winter, for both the house and garden.”
Broughton House will remain open for weekends up to and including Sunday, 13 December 2020 (advance booking required) and will reopen for weekends from Saturday, 16 January 2021, 10am to 4pm each day. The garden will remain open Thursdays to Mondays, until Friday, 18 December 2020 and reopen on 11 January 2021, from 10am to dusk each day.
With ongoing travel restrictions in place, locals in Dumfries & Galloway will be the first to see a new Hornel painting donated to the collection this year by the late Dr Margaret Stobo Hall of Edinburgh. A Japanese Garden (1922), has just undergone conservation work with the generous support of the Friends of Broughton House & Garden and will take pride of place in Hornel’s famous Gallery in coming weeks.
Sarah Beattie, the National Trust for Scotland’s Curator at Broughton House said:
“Painted in 1922, shortly after Hornel’s second visit to Japan (1921), this painting is an excellent completed example of the influence of Japanese culture and photography on Hornel’s later work.
“This work would have been painted in the Studio at Broughton and may have been displayed for sale in the Gallery. The inclusion of a lantern in A Japanese Garden makes a direct reference to Hornel’s interest in Japanese gardens and can be related not only to his artistic practice but to the Japanese influence on the garden at Broughton House.
“With the addition of A Japanese Garden we would be able to chart Hornel’s working practice through similar unfinished sketches, to more complete works then onto the final saleable product of a finished framed work.”
Of course, this isn’t the only highlight for fans of E.A. Hornel with the National Trust for Scotland opening its keenly awaited exhibition on Glasgow Boy, E.A. Hornel at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre and the publication of an important new collection of essays about Hornel and his work.
Sam Gallacher adds:
“This exhibition has been an incredibly exciting opportunity for the National Trust for Scotland to undertake a large-scale exhibition of Hornel’s paintings and photography and one of Scotland’s top cultural venues.
“This places Hornel, Broughton House, and Kirkcudbright at the centre of the capital city, raising our profile and hopefully engaging new audiences. This project has been fully supported by the team in Dumfries & Galloway, as well as across the Trust, but we’re particularly grateful to the excellent work of the exhibition curators Ben Reiss and Antonia Laurence-Allen for all their excellent work to pull this off, even in the midst of a pandemic.”
With so much to celebrate after a challenging year, the team at Broughton are excited to launch a special Christmas campaign to support the property.
They are offering a “Broughton Bundle” Christmas hamper with £72 worth of exclusive Broughton House merchandise, including the new publication, E.A. Hornel: From Camera to Canvas, all for £50. Purchase at the property or order by emailing [email protected].
This will make a great gift for any art-lovers or fans of Hornel, but also given real support to the ongoing sustainability of Broughton House & Garden this winter.
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