Fry ArtGallery

The Fry Art Gallery opened in 1987 to hold the North West Essex Collection, built around artists who settled in the village of Great Bardfield from the 1930s onward. The collection centres on Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious alongside prints, illustrations, wallpapers and decorative designs by their contemporaries, and Arts Council England has accredited the gallery as a museum. Every invigilator and staff member is a volunteer, and admission is free with step-free access throughout the building. Around twelve thousand visitors pass through each year. The 2026 season runs from April to October and pairs an exhibition on the group's connections to popular art with a retrospective of Olga Lehmann, a designer and portraitist whose work spanned wartime propaganda and mural painting. The gallery closes on Mondays outside of bank holidays.