The Sidney Sime Gallery at Worplesdon, near Guildford in
Surrey, houses a major collection of the
fascinating and highly characteristic work of Sidney Sime (1865-1941),
the famous artist, illustrator and caricaturist.
The Gallery will have to remain closed until mid May following the COVID
announcement on February 23rd. Whilst we had
hoped it would be sooner, our main priority must be the welfare of our loyal
volunteers and you, our visitors. We do
hope you will enjoy looking at Sime's artwork on our website. On Sunday 23rd May,
we will be commemorating Sime's 80th Anniversary of his death (22 May 1941) so
watch this space for opportunities to visit the Gallery that weekend. Our
annual children's workshop has had to be postponed but is being planned for later in
the spring/summer depending on
restrictions. We hope to hold a few smaller outdoor childrens' activities when we
can reopen. Donations are always
welcome towards restoration of some of our paintings especially during these
challenging times. Please email
enquiries@sidneysimegallery.org.uk
for bank details or send to The Sime Gallery, Worplesdon Memorial Hall, GU33RF
Watch and Listen to a narration of Sidney Sime Carricatures
Persons over 18 years of age who book an appointment to visit the Sime Gallery
from
now until 16th December 2020 on Wednesdays and Sundays between 2-4pm and leave
their
email address will be entered into a draw to win this Snow globe gin that light
ups
ready for the festive season. We look forward to seeing you and welcoming you to
enjoy Sidney Sime artist master of the mysterious.
Sidney Herbert Sime
Sime owned a cottage at Worplesdon - Crown Cottage
- and spent much of his time there during
the latter part of his life.
The gallery is on the first floor of
Worplesdon
Memorial Hall
and was opened in 1956 with proceeds from the sale of Crown Cottage,
on the death of Sime's widow Mary.
Mary bequeathed all those of her late husband's pictures that remained in her
possession to the Trustees of the Worplesdon Memorial Hall
for the creation of such a gallery.
Sime Gallery Trustees
In 2019, the Trustees were successful in obtaining a Resilient Heritage grant
from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Gallery has recently become a
separate Sime Gallery Trust (CIO).
Paintings and drawings
There are 88 hung works on view, including theatrical caricatures, caricatures of
local Worplesdon residents
and landscape paintings in oil and watercolour. In total there are over
500 catalogued items.
To view a selection of our pictures online, go to our online
gallery page.
The oil paintings in our collection can be viewed in their entirety
through the
Art
UK website.
The Trustees pursue a continuing programme of restoration and
conservation. They would like to express their gratitude
to the many organizations and
individuals who have supported this programme through grants and
donations.
Furniture
The gallery also contains some furniture used frequently by Sime: a
gate-leg table, which contains two portfolios of Sime's work and also
various publications of interest; a Windsor chair; and a tallboy
containing his original sketch books, numerous oil paintings, etchings,
watercolour sketches,
drawings and caricatures, and press cuttings.
Visiting the gallery
The Gallery is normally open, from 2 to 4 pm, on Sundays and Wednesdays with
prebooking required.
The Gallery is also open throughout the annual Guildford Heritage Weekend in
September and can be visited at other times by appointment.
For details of where we are and how to contact us, see our visiting the gallery page.
Worplesdon Memorial Trustees
The Memorial Hall and the contents of the Sidney Sime Gallery are in the care of
the
Worplesdon Memorial Trustees, a registered charity (CIO). More details can be
found on the
Worplesdon
Memorial Hall website.
KEEPING IN TOUCH
If you would like to hear about forthcoming events and the latest
developments at the Gallery, then please join our mailing list
by completing
this form and returning it to us.
"The Art of Sidney Sime, Artist and Philosopher"
This 50-page illustrated booklet is available at �5
plus postage and packing.
Please contact us
for details.
BOGEY BEASTS
The Gallery has produced the first ever video presentation of the
1923 book Bogey Beasts by Sidney Sime and Joseph
Holbrooke!
Find it on our YouTube
page.