Welcome to the Curwen Archive

The Curwen Print Study Centre holds the Curwen Archive, a freely accessibly resource with over 1500 prints made at the Curwen Studio from the late 1950s to 2014. The Archive also holds photographs, Studio Diaries, Objects and documents from the Studio's history. This archive is a unique collection to help preserve and protect the legacy of fine art printmaking in the UK. The gallery space, nestled between our two functioning studios has four large display plan chests where all visitors can view many of the archive prints from Curwen Studio's history. We hold changing archival exhibitions throughout the year and encourage all our visitors and artists to look at and learn from the art in the archive. Artists include Dame Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Ceri Richards, Dame Paula Rego, David Hockney, Dame Elisabeth Frink, Basil Beattie, Lynn Chadwick, Richard Deacon, Ana Maria Pacheco and many more.

The relationship between artist and printer was crucial to the collaborative printmaking ethos at the Curwen Studio, and the archive holds many working proofs and annotations from the studio while the editions were works in process. The archive is open to view free of charge in the gallery, we welcome appointments to view specific items. These pages are an independent archival resource dedicated to the documentation, preservation and study of printmaking and related cultural materials and has been catalogued with funding from the Art Fund and Jerwood Foundation to whom we are very grateful for the support. All images, artworks and media displayed on this site remain the copyright of their respective owners unless otherwise stated. Images are presented for educational and research purposes only. We strive to provide accurate attribution and credit for all works. If you are the copyright holder and believe that any materials has been used incorrectly or without proper credit, please contact us so we can address the issue promptly. No infringement is intended.