The Bermuda National Gallery has added a series of new acquisitions to its permanent collection, including major contemporary works by local artists, amongst them sculptor Desmond Fountain, photographer Graeme Outerbridge and painters Alfred Birdsey and Edward James.

Gallery curator David Mitchell said: “These acquisitions, which have been generously bequeathed to the Gallery as gifts by owners and artists, really are important to the gallery as they help us tell the story of art in Bermuda - something we do on a continuous basis alongside our international shows.”

Gallery director Laura Gorham said: “As Bermuda's National Art Museum, the Bermuda National gallery is home to the Island's national art collection and as such it is our duty to ensure that we acquire a wide range of work that represents Bermuda's artistic depth and diversity. These acquisitions are part of our continuing efforts to ensure that present and future generations have an opportunity to appreciate the development of Bermudian art through the work of some of our most influential and internationally recognised artists.

“We and the people of Bermuda are extremely grateful to the owners and artists who responded to our requests for specific pieces with such generosity and recognise the historic, cultural and educational importance of including these works in the Island's foremost public collection.”

The new acquisitions include:

'Spirit of Joanna' - a lifesize bronze sculpture by Bermudian Desmond Fountain, c.1990, currently on display at City Hall.

'St. George's Harbour' - 1865 watercolour by British painter Edward James, currently on display at the gallery.

Five silk screen prints of photographs by Bermudian Graeme Outerbridge, c.1984-1996. The gallery is presently seeking additional funding to frame these works for future display.

'Woman on path to Beach'- oil on masonite by Bermudian Alfred Birdsey, c.1970s

'Hunter Gatherer' - a mixed media piece by British-born artist Will Collieson, c.1999, currently on display.

'Queen of Bermuda'- watercolour, sepia and ink painting of the famous ship by Charles Lloyd Tucker, c.1962. The painting will be on display from September.

More than 75 developmental sketches and scraperboard originals by Bermuda illustrator Catherine Draycott for the children's books ‘Nothin But a Pond Dog' and ‘Fires of Pembroke'. Some of these will be included in the gallery's forthcoming ‘House and Home' exhibition in September.

'Sidney the Sailboat' - original illustration for the children's book by Bermudian Patricia DeCosta, c.1993-4.

'Drawing of a young girl' - Jazmyne Saltus, a drawing of a visiting student by award-winning American children's book illustrator Jerry Pinkney during last year's Once Upon a Time exhibition, c.2003.

The additions represent a wide cross-section of mediums and styles, from the internationally acclaimed work of local artists such as sculptor Desmond Fountain and photographer Graeme Outerbridge, to the influential and distinctive works of Will Collieson and the late Alfred Birdsey.

Historically, they range from Edward James, the internationally recognised 19th Century watercolorist who painted in Bermuda from 1861-1877 through Charles Lloyd Tucker, Bermuda's first successful black professional artist, to the recent illustrative work of Catherine Draycott and Patricia DeCosta, seen in last year's popular Once Upon A Time exhibition of children's storybook illustrations.

Gallery chairman, David L. White, donated the James, Tucker and Birdsey works. Queen of Bermuda is the third Tucker piece to be acquired by the gallery.

The Fountain sculpture of a windswept woman carrying a basket, which is presently on display in the foyer of City Hall, was one of two commissioned by local Canadian resident John Scrymgeour of his late wife, Joanna. The second is in Rodia, Northern Peloponese, the Greek village of Joanna's birth where it is said villagers keep fresh flowers in her basket.

Dr. Charles Zuill, a founding trustee of the gallery, donated Will Collieson's Hunter Gatherer, while all other pieces were donated by the artists.

Photographer Graeme Outerbridge, who donated five works from his personal collection including four of his distinctive Bermuda architectural abstracts and an iconic image of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge from his book, Bridges, said it was an honour to be asked to include some of his work in the Permanent Collection. Mr. Outerbridge was the first artist to use Bermudian architecture in a contemporary composition using new techniques such as silkscreen printing to achieve an almost surreal manipulation of colours and contrasts.

He said: “I think it's important for an artist, if he or she is serious, to be collected by the major institutions in his or her country. I'm glad that the Bermuda National Gallery is that interested in my work that they would want to have it in their permanent collection.”