Often called ‘God’s Country’, Yorkshire is a wild, picturesque, and diverse area of Britain, characterised by extremes, from the dramatic coastline to the rugged moorlands and rolling countryside. Once at the industrial heart of the nation, it is also a place of breathtaking natural beauty.
Beyond the rolling hills of the National Parks and the cosy log fires in the many historic pubs, there is also much to see and do. With so much inspiration on offer, it’s of little surprise that Yorkshire has cultivated a rather captivating art scene, from sprawling sculpture gardens to fascinating exhibitions looking at the life and works of some of the country’s greatest artists.
Ready to see what has put Yorkshire on the creative map? Here are some of the best art galleries to explore while soaking up the county’s breathtaking scenery.
York
This stunning historic city is well known for its magnificent 13th-century Gothic cathedral York Minster, towering city walls, and beautifully preserved medieval streets, which have been used in countless movies including Harry Potter.
The age and beauty of York are also reflected in its wonderful art galleries, which gather together some of the local masters as well as important pieces from across Europe.
York Art Gallery
Exhibition Square, York YO1 7EW
The paintings in York Art Gallery span more than 600 years of artistic endeavour and since it opened its doors in 1879, it has amassed a wide range of classical and modern works. From 14th-century Italian panels and 17th-century Dutch masterpieces to Victorian portraits and 20th-century works by LS Lowry and David Hockney.
The gallery also cares for the most extensive and representative collection of British Studio Ceramics, thanks to the acquisition of collections from Dean Milner-White, WA Ismay, and Henry Rothschild and the recent long-term loan of Anthony Shaw’s collection.
Housed in an elegant Neo-classical building, the gallery looks out over Exhibition Square with its cafés and restaurants perfect for people watching, and views beyond to the city walls and York Minster. The centrepiece of the square is a statue of York artist William Etty, which was erected in 1911.
There are regular feature exhibitions, workshops, talks and events throughout the year.
Pyramid Gallery
43 Stonegate, York YO1 8AW
Taking up two floors of a 15th-century building owned by the National Trust, the Pyramid Gallery is a privately owned shop and gallery in the heart of medieval York, not far from the Minster.
Opened in 1982, Pyramid offers one of the country’s finest selections of British-made contemporary crafts, jewellery, and original prints and, best of all, all that you see could be coming home with you!
The gallery displays work by many leading designers and makers who work in glass, ceramics, wood and metal as well as work by designer jewellers in a warm, quirky, and inspiring space.
Beningbrough Hall, Gallery and Gardens
York YO30 1DD
This stunning National Trust property on the outskirts of York is surrounded by 8 acres of landscaped gardens. Inside Beninbrough Hall, the architecture, which includes baroque interiors, cantilevered stairs, and opulent wood carvings and collections on the ground floor, tells the story of this historic country house and the people who have shaped it.
The Reddihough Galleries on the first floor hosts changing exhibitions of contemporary and traditional artwork, often with a botanical theme, tying the house to the gardens that surround it. The large number of family portraits is impressive too!
Leeds
The city of Leeds is the largest in Yorkshire and is a surprising mix of the modern and the historic, with a skyline of breathtaking architecture. It is considered the foodie capital of the North and has some wonderful Victorian shopping arcades packed with enough international brand names to satisfy the most harden shopaholic!
Leeds’ art scene is one of the best too, as there is a wealth of culture to explore with many theatres, museums, and galleries calling the city their home. Sculpture, award-winning architecture, and public art can be seen throughout the city, with street art bringing a burst of colour to the city’s buildings, such as the UK’s tallest mural ‘Athena Rising’ by artist, Nomad Clan.
Harewood House
Harewood, Leeds LS17 9LG
Harewood House, designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam between 1759 and 1771, sits in the heart of Yorkshire just outside the city of Leeds and has been described as one of the Treasure Houses of England. It also houses a collection of art that would rival some of the finest museums in Britain!
Harewood House is home to an astounding collection of paintings, furniture, and ceramics. There are breathtaking paintings by masters of the Italian Renaissance, family portraits by Reynolds, Hoppner and Lawrence, and modern art collected by the current Earl and Countess.
Edward ‘Beau’ Lascelles, who built the house, was a patron of JMW Turner, who painted Harewood and its landscape as a young artist, aged just 22. And if that wasn’t enough, the house is also full of Chippendale furniture!
In 1767, Thomas Chippendale, who would become the greatest and most famous English furniture maker, received the largest commission of his career, worth more than £10,000, to furnish the newly built Harewood House. The project took the master craftsman and his son 30 years to complete and today, Harewood House is home to some of the most outstanding pieces of Chippendale furniture ever produced.
Leeds Art Gallery
The Headrow, Leeds LS1 3AA
Discover a world of art in the heart of the city! In 1997, the British Government designated the assembly of 20th-century art in Leeds Art Gallery as a collection of national importance.
Housed in a Grade II listed building that opened in 1888, you will find an inspirational range of work collected through its long history in this Yorkshire city. The gallery has also recently introduced ‘The Picture Library’, which means that you can actually borrow hundreds of original works of art.
Whether you’re into landscapes or abstracts, historic or contemporary art, crazy about Matisse or passionate about Moore, there’s a work of art for everyone to take home and enjoy!
Henry Moore Institute
74 The Headrow, Leeds LS1 3AH
The Henry Moore Institute, which stands close to Leeds Art Gallery, is one of the largest sculpture galleries in Europe with three dedicated exhibition spaces. It has recently completed a major refurbishment, reopening in July 2024.
The institute is run by the Henry Moore foundation, which was formed by the artist and his family in 1997. It aims to encourage public appreciation of the visual arts and supports many diverse sculptural projects around the city, as well as showcasing new exhibitions and revisiting the legacy of Henry Moore himself, one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century.
Moore produced over 10,000 pieces in his lifetime, including sculptures, drawings, tapestries and textiles. He became best known for his semi-abstract, monumental bronzes, which can be seen all over the world.
Bradford
This multicultural city was once at the centre of the textile industry in Yorkshire and a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution. Today, it has a small artistic centre, which includes its cathedral, a few surviving medieval buildings, and Bradford Industrial Museum, which exhibits displays of textile machinery, steam power, and engineering. There is also the National Science and Media Museum, which focusses on photography, film, and television and, of course, some interesting art galleries…
Cartwright Hall
Lister Park, Bradford BD9 4NS
Cartwright Hall, which opened as a gallery in 1904, sits within the stunning Lister Park, a short walk from Bradford City Centre.
Visitors can find incredible paintings, drawings, and sculptures from the district’s own world-class art collections. This city was one of the UK’s first local authority museums to start collecting works by South Asian and black artists and Cartwright Hall now showcases this amazing collection.
In addition, the gallery’s collection now includes artworks by Lowry, Warhol, Lichtenstein and Anish Kapoor and the Hockney Gallery, dedicated to Bradford-born artist David Hockney, gives a playful introduction to his life and art, with a particular focus on Yorkshire and Bradford.
Fuse Art Space
7 Rawson Place, Bradford BD1 3JP
Fuse Art Space has supported and produced groundbreaking art, music, dance, film and literature in Bradford since 2013. This free, creative, and community-supportive space hosts exhibitions of pioneering art from around the world, concerts of electronic, experimental, and other music/sound, and workshops in visual arts and sound-making.
The gallery has regularly showcased exhibitions of groundbreaking art from around the world, including collections of Syrian protest art, feminist activist media, immersive installations and much more. Watch this space for exciting ideas and multidisciplinary art!
Wakefield
This little city in West Yorkshire is known as the home of rhubarb and sits beside the gushing River Calder, which is crossed by the 400 years old Chantry Bridge. Wakefield Cathedral boasts the tallest spire in the country and The Ridings Centre in the heart of the city was the very first shopping centre to open in the UK.
Surrounded by picturesque vales, secluded woods, and vibrant towns, the vivid and varied landscapes of Wakefield have been an inspiration to artists for centuries.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
West Bretton, Wakefield WF4 4LG
This amazing sculpture park covers a staggering 500 acres of parkland and is filled with monumental work from leading artists from around the world. The Yorkshire Sculpture Park opened in 1977 as the UK’s first open-air sculpture park and it is still magical to explore the wonderful and diverse installations, all while surrounded by such delightful scenery.
Many of the pieces have been designed to fit into and complement the landscape. There are enormous bronzes that look as if they belong in a Greek temple, works made from carved stone or wood, and playful installations that really engage the observer.
Visitors can discover more than 90 sculptures made by artists from across the globe, including Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, South Korea, the UK and the USA.
The Hepworth
Gallery Walk, Wakefield WF1 5AW
Situated just beside the River Calder, this gallery takes its name from Barbara Hepworth, the famous sculptor who was born and educated in the city before making a name for herself in Cornwall.
Opened in 2011, The Hepworth is one of the area’s newer galleries. An unusual Brutalist structure composed of ten trapezoidal blocks, its upper-level galleries are lit by natural light from large windows in a sharply pitched roof.
Its collection is unique too, spanning the 16th century to the present day and much of it due to the generosity of one man.
In 2016, former BBC news writer and art collector Tim Sayer gave his entire collection of more than 400 works of art to the Hepworth as a bequest in his will. The "Tim Sayer Bequest" includes pieces by David Hockney, Gerhard Richter, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, and Bridget Riley and has been hailed as one of the most generous of its kind.
Kingston Upon Hull
Kingston Upon Hull, often just shortened to Hull, is a port town and the fourth largest city in Yorkshire, founded by monks in the 12th century. It was named the UK’s ‘City of Culture’ in 2017 and has hosted the prestigious Turner Prize in its Ferens Art Gallery. It now has a thriving street art culture for the intrepid to explore!
Bankside Gallery
Various locations around Hull
Bankside Gallery Hull is a gallery with a difference – it isn’t actually inside a building at all, it’s on them! This is an expansive, outdoor space for street artists to express themselves in a legal way.
Discover a scattered collection of walls, doors, and underpasses where graffiti covers surfaces that have been sponsored by local businesses as canvases for special commissions. The art is concentrated around the River Hull, with the locations pinned on the Bankside Gallery Hull interactive map – this is a really useful guide as the artwork is constantly evolving.
It all began in 2017, during Hull’s year as Capital of Culture, when a Banksy artwork appeared overnight in the city. Stencilled onto a permanently raised bridge, the mural is of a young boy riding another artist’s tag and wielding a sword above his head with the words ‘Draw the Raised Bridge’ painted next to him. Banksy acknowledged the work on his social media and the result was a frenzy of attention on street art and so the idea for the Bankside Gallery was born.
Ferens Art Gallery
Queen Victoria Square, Carr Lane, Hull HU1 3RA
Step inside 700 years of art and imagination from across the world! From late medieval paintings to modern art, there is something to suit every taste inside one of the UK’s finest art collections at the Ferens Art Gallery.
Discover 12 different exhibition spaces, each focussed on a different period or theme, including maritime art, contemporary painting, photography, Victorian, Edwardian, Dutch masters and Baroque. There is even a dedicated Children’s Gallery with activities to encourage kids to explore artworks through line, shape, colour and texture.
Sheffield
Sheffield is a South Yorkshire city not far from the Pennines. It’s a surprisingly green place, surrounded by national parks. In May 2022, it was named a ‘Tree City of the World’ in recognition of its work to sustainably manage and maintain urban forests and trees.
Today Sheffield has a large population of amateur, working, and professional visual artists and artworks as can been seen from its galleries.
Millennium Gallery
48 Arundel Gate, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 2PP
Sheffield has a long history of steel and metal working so the Millennium Gallery’s Metalwork Collection is one of the finest in the world. You can see over 800 examples of the cutlery, flatware, and tableware that have made the city famous, as well as beautiful objects collected from every continent.
The gallery is also home to the Guild of St George’s unique Ruskin Collection. Spanning art, illustrated manuscripts, and minerals, the collection was established in the 1800s to inspire the people of Sheffield. Today, it’s showcased through regularly changing displays celebrating the contemporary relevance of Ruskin’s visionary ideas.
Graves Gallery
Surrey Street, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 1XZ
Graves Gallery is the proud home of Sheffield’s visual art collection and was officially opened in July 1934, dedicated to ‘the service of knowledge and art’. The founder John George Graves, a Sheffield businessman, donated more than 700 pieces of his own art collection to the public, much of which can still be seen today.
Situated above the Central Library, the Gallery is a peaceful haven for visitors to enjoy the city’s art and explore the series of temporary exhibitions.
Famous names on show at the Graves Gallery include Turner and Sisley, while more recent artists include Bridget Riley, Sam Taylor-Wood, and Marc Quinn. There are local heroes too, including Henry Moore, George Fullard, Derrick Greaves and Stanley Royle.
Explore Yorkshire’s wonderfully varied art scene yourself with an unforgettable stay in one of our beautiful holiday cottages.
