I want to donate

300 Facts

Bluecoat's fascinating history revealed

Text Artefact

In the early 20th century, Picasso's work was exhibited twice at Bluecoat, in the 1911 and 1913 Post-Impressionist shows curated by Roger Fry, when Sandon artists showed alongside the Continental artist. His work was also included in shows in 1946, 1948

1910s

Text Artefact

Bluecoat alumnus Keith Piper, who first exhibited in Black Skin Bluecoat in 1985, returned in 2017 with the Arts Council Collection commission, Unearthing the Banker's Bones.

2017

Text Artefact

Prominent actors who have dined in Bluecoat's Sandon Dining Room, which attracted many key cultural figures in over half a century, included Dames Sybil Thorndike and Edith Evans, and Sir Laurence Olivier. Others who also signed the visitors book included

Mid 20th Century

Text Artefact

Bluecoat's Baby Book Club started in 2014 and has seen many parents, carers and babies discover a love of books.

2014

Text Artefact

Blue Coat School old boy, Richard Ansdell, became a successful artist and a Royal Academician. His 1861 painting, The Hunted Slaves, now hangs in Liverpool's International Slavery Museum.

1861

Text Artefact

Bluecoat began its 300th birthday celebration with an exhibition, Public View, of works from over 100 of its 'artistic alumni', artists whose work had been shown at the venue over the previous 50 years.

2017

Text Artefact

Bluecoat's Live from the Vinyl Junkyard live art commissions, made in response to the supposed death of vinyl, included Philip Jeck's installation of record players, Jane Sanders' hermaphrodite Elvis, John Campbell & Henry Priestman's tape loop of 'baby'

1996

Text Artefact

Following their breakthrough 1967 collection, The Mersey Sound, Liverpool poets Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten performed at Bluecoat on many occasions. Henri was also a regular exhibitor in the gallery. Patten returned to give a reading in

1967