The History of Watts Gallery
People often wonder why the Watts Gallery exists in a place like Compton, tucked away in a one-time rural village. It is a fair point, since the collection is arguably of international importance.
Watts's health was not as robust as his paintings and his wife Mary worried about him during the cold winters and living with London's smog and pollution. Whilst his doctor suggested Brighton and Leighton typically advised Italy, the Watts's preferred to visit their friends, Andrew and May Hichens, who lived at Monkshatch, Compton. Whilst spending a day or two with them in the Autumn of 1890, Mary writes that, "it occurred to them to propose that we should try how the climate in Surrey would suit him for the winter, earnestly begging us to make use of their beautiful home during their absence in London". So this is what they did and Watts and Mary settled in to Monkshatch with canvases, easels and all.
The winter months passed well for them and the idea that they should have their own 'cottage' emerged. Mary seems to have been the driving force behind this, discussing the plans with Andrew whilst Watts went back to his painting. The idea of moving away from London must have been attractive to Mary - here she could have her 'Signor' to herself, away at last from the interference of next door neighbour Mrs. Barrington.
A piece of land was purchased from the squire of Loseley and Ernest George was asked to draw up some plans. The house was begun in April the following year. They decided to call it Limnerslease, limner being the old English word for painter and lease being from the old English word leasen which meant to glean (Mary wrote, "..our hope being that there were golden years to be gleaned in this new home). To them it was their country cottage, to us today it is an enormous mock Tudor house which now quite comfortably provides three private dwellings.
The Watts Gallery was purpose built a few years later in 1903-4 across the road from Limnerslease as a totally separate building, intended originally to be both public picture gallery and accommodation for Mary Watts's Pottery apprentices. The architect was a local man, Christopher Turnor, who built it in typical Arts and Crafts style, taking tips we believe from Lutyens himself. It houses Watts's studio collection and therefore ranges from his early pieces such as The Wounded Heron, his first Royal Academy picture exhibited in 1837, to the self portrait he was working on when he died. In addition to this we have a small collection of works by other artists of the period.
The door to the lower galleries is embossed with the words 'The Utmost for the Highest', Watts's motto, and his work here is surely a testimony to that.
