.

Barnsley’s Radical Collector: The Sadler Gift from Turner to Bloomsbury

From the remarkable art collection at The Cooper Gallery experience an exhibition featuring instinctive sketches, atmospheric watercolours and bold modern paintings.

Sadler, Barnsley's Radical Collector features work from renowned artists such as Edward Wadsworth, Jacob Kramer, Vanessa Bell and many more. This collection of British art was gifted by Sir Michael Ernest Sadler who was born and raised in Barnsley.

We are delighted to also welcome on loan paintings and drawings from the Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery at the University of Leeds, all gifted by Sadler in 1923. These works focus on the strong and experimental work of the Bloomsbury Group artists and the beautiful sketches of Bernard Meninsky.

Research on the collection took place in 2024 and 2025, with an online catalogue being created. This has been funded by the Trustees of The Cooper Gallery and Barnsley Museums and Heritage Trust. We will be sharing this online shortly along with an online exhibition.

Exhibition highlights