Home » Exhibitions » The Anthony Ansell Modern Art Collection

This exhibition showcases the remarkable modern art collection of Anthony Ansell, a Leicester-based designer for the British Footwear Corporation whose lifelong passion was twentieth-century British art.

Over several decades, Ansell assembled an outstanding collection featuring works by more than 100 artists, creating a personal survey of some of the most significant names in modern British art. Following his death, he generously bequeathed the entire collection to Northampton Museum & Art Gallery, ensuring that it could be enjoyed by future generations.

The collection includes celebrated artists associated with the St Ives School, including John Piper and Terry Frost, alongside leading figures from the School of London, such as Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff. Artists best known for their sculpture are also represented through works on paper and prints, including Henry Moore, Dame Elisabeth Frink, and Sir Jacob Epstein. Reflecting the breadth of twentieth-century artistic practice, the collection spans a wide range of styles and approaches. Visitors will encounter figurative works by artists such as David Hockney and Paula Rego, alongside abstract compositions by László Moholy-Nagy and Victor Pasmore.

Ansell lived among his collection, carefully arranging works throughout his home. The exhibition recreates this personal approach to collecting by grouping artworks in the way he chose to curate them during his lifetime, offering a unique insight into both the collector and the art that inspired him.