Bowes Museum

The Bowes Museum stands in Barnard Castle, County Durham, as a public art gallery built to house the collection of John Bowes and his wife Joséphine. Designed by Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson, the building blends French Second Empire style with landscaped gardens. It opened in 1892, though construction began in 1869 after Bowes and his wife left an endowment and 800 paintings. The museum’s collection includes works by El Greco, Goya, Canaletto and François Boucher, alongside decorative arts like porcelain, textiles and clocks. The museum is worth visiting for its remarkable automaton, a life-size silver swan from the 18th century that periodically moves and appears to catch a fish. A previously unknown Anthony van Dyck portrait of Olivia Porter was identified in the museum’s storeroom by art historian Dr Bendor Grosvenor in 2013. The painting had been covered in varnish and dirt and was initially valued at between £3,000 and £5,000. Temporary exhibitions have featured works by Monet, Raphael, Turner and Toulouse-Lautrec. Inside, visitors find galleries dedicated to fashion, silver and English interiors, along with study and learning spaces. The second floor houses three updated art galleries. The building’s scale and style have drawn contrasting opinions, from admiration for its grandeur to criticism for seeming out of place in a small English town. Its landscaped gardens and large windows add to the experience, offering a setting where art and architecture come together.