THIS week we were delighted to welcome visitors back to our three museums for the first time since March.

Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum has reopened with a new exhibition – A Welcome View – which showcases some of the most beautiful landscape paintings of Worcestershire in the City’s collection, many of which have not been on display for many years.

Visitors can take a moment to revel in the beauty of our beloved county as they enjoy scenes they may have been missing during the last few months.

It is a delight for us to invite visitors back to the gallery with an exhibition of works purely from our own collections which show our county at its best.

Alongside this selection, we are displaying our own take on a ‘Rainbow of Hope’ to thank our wonderful NHS and key workers.

During lockdown we shared an artwork on social media every week alongside #RainbowArt, each representing a colour of the rainbow. These artworks vary in time period, artistic style and subject but the rainbow theme pulls them together as a positive and beautiful reminder of the things we have come to find important during these last few months.

We hope you enjoy seeing them on display together for the very first time.

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During week six of our rainbow posts, for the colour indigo we shared this beautiful oil painting Irises completed by Charlotte Hodder in 1882. Charlotte and her husband Albert were art master and mistress at the School of Art and Science, part of the old Victoria Institute.

There are several artworks by Charlotte and Albert in the City’s collections, in addition to objects and accolades associated with their careers, including a wonderful silver medal awarded to Charlotte.

From the earliest bequests to more recent acquisitions, our fine art collection has always had a strong presence of local artists like Mrs Hodder and held many Worcestershire landscapes and cityscapes too.

If you would like to take one of these iconic landscapes home after visiting A Welcome View, look no further than our new beautiful museum shop which has also opened this week.

Prints of one of our best-loved Worcestershire landscapes, BW Leader’s Smooth Severn Stream, are available to buy and visitors can enjoy a host of new product ranges, beautiful gift ideas and a more open layout which shows off the building’s stunning architecture.

Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum is open Monday to Saturday, from 10.30am-4.30pm.

Plan a safe and enjoyable visit at all three of our museums by visiting museumsworcestershire.org.uk