Firm Partners with Internationally Renowned Painter Ashley Jackson in Arts Sponsorship

July 2010

Reinforcing its long-standing reputation for innovative sponsorship of the arts, Leeds-based, national law firm Walker Morris is sponsoring a landmark exhibition by the internationally renowned Yorkshire artist Ashley Jackson.

The exhibition, ‘The Power and the Passion’, a collection of Jackson’s dramatic works of his favoured subject, the Yorkshire Moors, will open at the Mall Galleries, near Buckingham Palace in London, in October before moving to Yorkshire’s Temple Newsam later in the month for a protracted run through to May 2011.

Ashley Jackson has been labelled ‘the Turner of the 21st Century’ for his distinctive ability to capture the drama and beauty of the Yorkshire landscape and the exhibition will bring 35 of his favourite paintings of the wild countryside into the heart of the City, encouraging Londoners and overseas visitors to think again about the region as a tourist destination and its place at the heart of the UK. With the move to the Tudor-Jacobean Temple Newsam, near Leeds, the exhibition aims to encourage the people of Yorkshire to discover, or, indeed, re-discover the vastly varied and remoter corners of their home county.

This year will see Ashley celebrate his 70th birthday and mark more than 50 years as a professional artist. During that time he has gone from virtual unknown to an internationally collectable artist, television personality and has given painting demonstrations in the gardens of Highgrove, the home of HRH, the Prince of Wales, who is providing the forward to the exhibition’s commemorative brochure, for which funds raised will be donated to the Prince’s Trust.

Throughout all that time, the one constant in his professional life has been his absolute passion for portraying the dramatic landscapes of his home county, a calling that can see him out tramping the moors with his easel and paints in all weathers. Ashley is one of the few artists to paint to such a majestic size in watercolours with the white seen in the paintings being the white of the paper.

Walker Morris has been a significant provider of arts sponsorship for more than 20 years during which it has supported and developed a number of unique initiatives, from grass roots projects with primary school children through to events of international significance, all of which have helped bring art to the wider community and also demonstrate the firm’s belief in the importance of creative thinking in business.

This latest initiative follows the firm’s highly successful sponsorship of the inaugural exhibition ‘The Revolution Continues – New art from China’ at the new and acclaimed Saatchi Gallery in London in 2008. It attracted more than 400,000 visitors making it the most visited exhibition in the capital that year. When Walker Morris brought an earlier Saatchi Gallery exhibition, ’The Triumph of Painting’, to Leeds City Art Gallery in 2006 it, too, broke all records for that venue.

The latest sponsorship continues a 15 year association with Ashley Jackson through his role as judge in the annual ‘Children’s Calendar Painting Competition’ which the firm organises among primary school pupils in Yorkshire and the Humber.

One of the aims of the competition is to encourage an enthusiasm for and appreciation of art among the very young in the hope they will sustain the interest throughout their lives. During the period that the exhibition will be at Temple Newsam, Walker Morris and Ashley Jackson will be hosting two days of painting demonstrations for winning schools from this year’s Calendar competition. There will also be other days organised for further school visits.

Walker Morris Managing Partner, Ian Gilbert said:
“As a firm we have long supported the arts in all its disciplines as a way of illustrating our belief in the importance of creativity in all aspects of life. Our long term relationship with Ashley Jackson through his inspirational involvement in our annual Children’s Calendar Painting Competition is a perfect illustration of putting belief into practice to the benefit of the wider community.

“At its best art challenges perceptions and stimulates different ways of thinking. That is why, even at this time of economic challenge, it is important that support for the arts be maintained and we are delighted to make our contribution through this latest sponsorship.”

Ashley Jackson said:
“Walker Morris has been a tremendous supporter of the arts in this country for many years and I am delighted to be continuing my long term association with the firm through their sponsorship of this landmark exhibition. It is a connection I value highly and one which, I believe, has opened up the world of art and painting to a wide and appreciative audience.

“It is particularly important, given the difficult economic times we are experiencing, that business sustains support for the arts so that they can continue to enrich the cultural life of the nation.“