Watermark Gallery Harrogate celebrates re-opening by winning major exhibition

A Harrogate art gallery that had just re-opened following the national Covid-19 lockdown has secured a major national exhibition featuring award-winning artist Jane Ray.

Watermark Gallery on Royal Parade will be exhibiting the British illustrator and children’s book author, a major coup for husband & wife owners Liz & Richard Hawkes who had only opened the independent gallery days before the country went into national lockdown in March.

The exhibition will run from Sept 4th-30th and there will also be a chance to meet Jane – also the 2018 nominee for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Awards – who is travelling from her London base to support the showcase.

Jane has illustrated over 60 children’s books and worked with some of the biggest named authors such as Jeanette Winterson, Carol Ann Duffy and former children’s laureate, Michael Rosen. She is also the author and illustrator of her own books in a career spanning several decades.

Said Watermark owner Liz Hawkes: “We chose Jane for our inaugural exhibition as she was one of the first artists to work and support us when we started out as an online gallery. We still have a signed copy of one of Jane’s books she gave us when our son Henry was born – that was almost 20 years ago – and we have followed her career ever since.

She added: “Jane’s exhibition is a real coup, not just for Watermark, but for Harrogate and Yorkshire as a whole. The art world can be very London/South East centric, and so we are very excited to have someone with Jane’s reputation and talent supporting the northern art scene.”

Watermark Gallery started as an online gallery in 2016 and moved into the former post office premises on Royal Parade after a three-month refurbishment; creating an airy exhibition and private event space. It now features more than 40 professional artists and makers from across the UK. Jane Ray is their first major exhibition.

Other artists that are and have featured on the walls at Watermark include: David A Parfitt RI, Fred Ingrams, Janine Baldwin PS, Andrew Farmer ROI, George Hainsworth and Michele Bianco.