Barnett Freedman at the Pallant House Gallery

 by Sam Lewis

(image: Sam Lewis)

During the Lockdown last year, many things were greatly impacted by Covid restrictions, none more so than museums and galleries. Art museums had to close their doors, but still had to pay to maintain their collections without their usual stream of income. This has proved incredibly problematic for museums across the country, especially smaller galleries that do not have such a reserve of money to help them through. This is why when the first lockdown ended, it was very surprising to see many galleries throughout the country not only reopen, but also host great new exhibitions despite the various challenges that they faced. One such gallery is the Pallant House in Chichester, which last year held an exhibition displaying the work of Barnett Freedman, a British Artist and Commercial designer whose iconic work was well known across the country in the 20th Century.

I was lucky enough to visit the exhibition in October 2020. I was unsure about how it would feel to be back in a gallery after the break, and if the exhibition would be popular or not, however, the space was designed and managed so well that it felt both completely natural to be back in a museum and safe to be there. The exhibition space also effectively showcased Freedman’s work, and detailed his life.

Barnett Freedman was born in London in 1901 and studied at the Royal College of Art. It was interesting to see that throughout his career he combined commercial design, book illustration and fine arts. For example, when you enter the exhibition the first thing you see is two lively posters promoting the London Underground (see picture), while elsewhere in the exhibition is a display of his book jackets and posters which he designed for cafes. In the Second World War, Freedman was also an official war artist and I really liked his portraits of aircraft factory workers and submarine crew because they gave an in-depth insight into their lives to make them feel real.

Overall, I really enjoyed the chance to be back in an art gallery, but sadly Chichester is back in lockdown, meaning the Pallant Gallery is now closed again. According to the Art Fund Charity, the consequences of medium to long-term closures could see many museums struggle to survive. I hope the Pallant Gallery and other museums will survive and that they can continue to host exhibitions like this in the future.