Shrewsbury Arts Trail brings 'Manchester's Monet' to town for its sixth summer

Shrewsbury Arts Trail has become one of the fixtures of summer in the county town, and its sixth edition in 2026 took the theme 'Impressions'. The trail's mission, in its own words, is to bring unique and high-quality art to the town to be enjoyed by the public for free, through exhibitions and events at venues right across Shrewsbury.

The centrepiece this year was An Ancient Stronghold in France by Wynford Dewhurst, secured on loan from the Cartwright Hall Gallery in Bradford. Dewhurst (1864 to 1941) was known as 'Manchester's Monet'. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, championed impressionism in Britain and exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts. The oil painting shows the ruined Château de Crozant in the Creuse valley in France.

The loan began with a personal moment. Trail founder Jess Richards first saw the painting at a special exhibition at York Art Gallery. "I had gone to see Monet and I turned around and there it was," she said. "It was so beautiful, I started crying. I couldn't get it out of my head."

British abstract expressionist painter Ian Rayer-Smith was commissioned to create a large new painting in response to the Dewhurst, using the same colour palette, and the two works were shown together at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery.

Alongside that headline show, the Open Exhibition gathered work by local and regional artists at the museum and The Parade Shops. It had no set theme, so artists could submit the work they most love making, and the organisers say it welcomes work from a wide range of artists, including children and people with learning or physical differences. The summer exhibitions ran from 4 July to 31 August.

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings joined as a new venue, hosting a major exhibition by children from the six schools of the Severn Bridges Multi Academy Trust. The participating venues list also took in Theatre Severn, St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury Market Hall, Shrewsbury Cathedral, the Bear Steps Gallery and several studios, and there were workshops, demonstrations, talks and a children's treasure trail.

Organiser Phil Langstaff described the excitement of seeing the Open Exhibition submissions arrive and "the wealth of artistic talent and creativity that we have in the region." The team paused the outdoor sculpture trail this year and is instead working on plans to bring a permanent major artwork to Shrewsbury as a legacy of the trail.

To find out more, support the trail or follow plans for next year, visit shrewsburyartstrail.com.