Bob Abley was a retired secondary school teacher, taking on the role of voluntary curator when our gallery first opened.
He brought together local artists to display their work and the first exhibition he curated in June 2011, celebrated Spennymoor’s art heritage arising from the Settlement Sketching Club started in 1931.
The artists associated with the Settlement were represented – Bert Dees, Bob Heslop, Jack Roach, Norman Cornish, Jack Green and Tom McGuiness – and the exhibition created a huge amount of interest and, as a result, Bob recruited several gallery volunteers.
Coun Clive Maddison, George Teasdale, Bob Abley and Coun Jim Smith were the original champions of the gallery and instrumental in creating it in 2011.
The artists associated with the Settlement were represented – Bert Dees, Bob Heslop, Jack Roach, Norman Cornish, Jack Green and Tom McGuiness – and the exhibition created a huge amount of interest and, as a result, Bob recruited several gallery volunteers.
Coun Clive Maddison, George Teasdale, Bob Abley and Coun Jim Smith were the original champions of the gallery and instrumental in creating it in 2011.
In 2013, a gallery room was named after Coun Smith, who sadly died in 2012, in honour and recognition of his contribution.
The then Settlement Art Group exhibited work there, placed alongside a retrospective exhibition of the art of Bob Heslop and Tom Alderson, who worked at the Settlement in the 1950’s. This coincided with Heslop’s family donating much of the artist’s unsold work.
In 2014, the Committee Room was named after Heslop and an exhibition entitled “A Putter’s Art” opened by the artist’s children. By that time, ill-health had forced Bob Abley to retire and the Council agreed to name the gallery “The Bob Abley Gallery at Spennymoor Town Hall”.
The then Settlement Art Group exhibited work there, placed alongside a retrospective exhibition of the art of Bob Heslop and Tom Alderson, who worked at the Settlement in the 1950’s. This coincided with Heslop’s family donating much of the artist’s unsold work.
In 2014, the Committee Room was named after Heslop and an exhibition entitled “A Putter’s Art” opened by the artist’s children. By that time, ill-health had forced Bob Abley to retire and the Council agreed to name the gallery “The Bob Abley Gallery at Spennymoor Town Hall”.
Bob died in 2014, while planning an exhibition combining his love of history and art with his love of his hometown. Spennymoor’s Great War exhibition [marking the centenary of the start of World War One] was completed by his colleagues. It was seen as a memorial to Bob, as well as to those who suffered in the war and its aftermath.
Since then, the Town Council has managed the Bob Abley Art Gallery, which has grown in size and reputation, into one of the largest and busiest in the North East.
Visitors and investors travel from across the globe for local and internationally renowned artists’ work, it is a destination of choice for those who love to view, enjoy, and invest in art.
Since then, the Town Council has managed the Bob Abley Art Gallery, which has grown in size and reputation, into one of the largest and busiest in the North East.
Visitors and investors travel from across the globe for local and internationally renowned artists’ work, it is a destination of choice for those who love to view, enjoy, and invest in art.
