The Hillingdon Art Collection consists of around 100 oil paintings illustrating how Uxbridge and its surrounding areas were in the past. Made up of paintings from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, it is strong in early twentieth-century works by local artists depicting local scenes. Established in 1929 from a personal donation by Harry Hamson, editor of the Uxbridge Gazette 1906–1947, the collection has grown principally by means of donation. Examples are Maud Button’s impressionistic landscapes and town scenes painted between 1918 and 1921 depicting the local mills and yards of Uxbridge, as well as other paintings that record the story of the town and its people. There are some fascinating portraits of local characters such as Brying’s ‘George ('Nobby') Casey of Rockingham Street, Uxbridge (1813–1867)', a Victorian gentleman with a clay pipe in his hand, and George Veal’s 'W. Marshall, Innkeeper of the 'Railway Arms' in Vine Street, Uxbridge', a painting of a local innkeeper driving a horse drawn carriage.
Uxbridge Library, 14–15 High Street, Uxbridge, London, Greater London UB8 1HD England
archives@hillingdon.gov.uk
01895 250702
The Hillingdon Local Studies, Archives and Museum Service is based in the Central Library, Uxbridge, and most of the art collection is kept in store. The art collection can be seen only by appointment.