A ‘POWERFUL and fitting addition’ – Rugby Art Gallery and Museum has marked 80 years of collecting by acquiring a painting by a renowned British artist.
The gallery has added A Place to Rest (2025) by Hettie Inniss to The Rugby Collection, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary with the exhibition Unveiled.
A Place to Rest was selected following a consultation with gallery staff, friends of the gallery and borough councillors as an artwork which aligns with Rugby’s Collecting Policy, values and community ambitions.
Hettie has described the work as drawing on a memory of walking through Formby Pine Woods, triggered by the feeling of warmth from sunlight through a window, and says it offers a sense of calm, reflection and renewal.
Hettie said: “It is a privilege for my painting to be included in the Rugby Collection, my first work entering a public collection in the UK, and to be alongside so many artists who have influenced me and those I have only just discovered from recent visits to the gallery.”
A gallery spokesperson said: “Hettie’s practice explores the idea of Black Fluidity, treating identity as lived, layered and continually unfolding.
“Her work offered a fresh counterpoint to the collection’s historical emphasis on the figurative, introducing a form of emotional abstraction that is generous, sensorial and open to interpretation.
“Younger audiences found her work bold and relatable, while others described a sense of nostalgia and warmth that made the painting feel immediately welcoming.
“It was frequently described as a bridge between past and present, offering a new visual language while remaining true to the collection’s founding principle of collecting artists of promise and renown.”
The Unveiled exhibition brings together all 257 artworks from The Rugby Collection into the gallery for the first time in decades.
The Rugby Collection holds notable examples of 20th and 21st century British art, aiming to reflect ambition, innovation and the changing character of British creativity.
New acquisitions are guided by the principles that they should be by British artists of promise or renown, reflect the continuing development of British art, contribute to public engagement, education and cultural pride, and support representation, diversity and contemporary relevance.
Katie Boyce, Senior Exhibitions Officer at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, said: “This acquisition captures exactly what we hope The Rugby Collection can be. As we mark 80 years of collecting, we wanted this moment to feel inclusive and forward-looking.
“Inviting people to share their views on the shortlisted works was vital, and the connection visitors felt with Hettie’s painting was immediate. It speaks to memory, belonging and change in a way that feels very relevant today. We’re proud to see it join the collection at such a significant milestone.”
Coun Maggie O’Rourke, Rugby Borough Council’s spokesperson for Partnerships and Wellbeing, said: “This is a very special moment for Rugby. For 80 years, The Rugby Collection has grown, and Hettie Inniss’s A Place to Rest feels like a powerful and fitting addition at this milestone.
“It brings a contemporary voice into the collection while honouring its founding principles, and it shows our continued commitment to representation, creativity and public engagement.”
Her Liberal Democrat counterpart Coun Neil Sandison added: “I was pleased to view this wonderful new acquisition as part of the Unveiled exhibition, and urge all residents to take the time to visit.”
Unveiled runs at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum until June 6.
