The Joash Woodrow Archive at 108 Fine Art

Since 2002, 108 Fine Art in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, has cared for and exhibited the Joash Woodrow Archive. For more than two decades, the gallery has researched, catalogued and preserved Woodrow’s work, working closely with the Woodrow family to build an archive that continues to develop today.

As we prepare this summer’s exhibition, we have returned to the gallery’s own archive. Among the photographs are early exhibitions on West End Avenue in Harrogate, the move to Cold Bath Road in Harrogate, and paintings that have since found homes in collections across the UK and internationally. Together, these photographs document not only the history of the gallery, but also the continuing development of the Joash Woodrow Archive.

Today, the archive remains at the heart of 108 Fine Art, bringing together original paintings, drawings, exhibition records, photography and research that continue to deepen our understanding of Joash Woodrow’s work.

The Beginning of the Archive

108 Fine Art was founded in 1997 by Andrew and Gillian Stewart, with an exhibition programme that introduced a range of contemporary artists to Harrogate. The gallery’s first exhibitions featured Scottish artists and graduates, reflecting a long-standing interest in supporting both established and emerging talent.

A few years later, the gallery began working closely with the Woodrow family to exhibit the work of Joash Woodrow. Living and painting in Leeds, Woodrow drew inspiration from the people, landscapes and everyday life around him, painting intimate portraits and still lifes to Yorkshire allotments and landscapes. Preparing the first exhibition involved much more than selecting paintings for display. Around twenty-five paintings, together with a number of drawings, were carefully catalogued, documented and curated, laying the foundations for what would become the Joash Woodrow Archive.

What began as an exhibition soon became a long-term commitment to researching, preserving and presenting Woodrow’s work.

108 Fine Art at West End Avenue, Harrogate

Building the Archive

As interest in Joash Woodrow’s work grew, so too did the archive itself. Cataloguing, photography, conservation, research and documentation became central to its development, creating a detailed record of Woodrow’s life and artistic practice. Alongside exhibitions and publications, the archive continued to expand, supporting collectors, researchers and institutions interested in his work.

As Gillian Stewart explains:

“Initially it was all on paper, then CDs, and eventually becoming digital. It’s a constant refresh and always being worked on…”

Saul Woodrow, brother of Joash Woodrow, at 108 West End Avenue, Harrogate

A Gallery Designed for the Collection

As the archive developed, so too did the gallery.

Following West End Avenue, 108 Fine Art briefly exhibited from Crown Place before establishing its long-term home at 16 Cold Bath Road, Harrogate. While the gallery has occupied different premises over the years, it has remained firmly rooted in Harrogate, a North Yorkshire spa town with a long-established reputation for independent galleries, antique dealers and private collecting.

The move to Cold Bath Road provided a setting that reflected the gallery’s approach to exhibiting paintings. High ceilings and period Georgian and Victorian architectural features allow visitors to experience the work in surroundings that feel both domestic and yet curated, echoing the way many collectors ultimately live with art in their own homes.

Original Joash Woodrow paintings, drawings, books and limited edition prints continue to be exhibited throughout the gallery, with displays changing throughout the year.

Beyond Harrogate, Joash Woodrow’s work has featured in exhibitions at institutions including the Royal College of Art in London, the Ben Uri Gallery in London and Manchester City Art Gallery. The archive has also supported collectors, students and researchers seeking to deepen their understanding of Woodrow’s work and its place within twentieth-century British art.

Working across portraiture, landscape, still life and abstraction, Woodrow produced an extraordinarily varied body of work. Bringing these different strands together within the archive continues to reveal new connections across his career.

Continuation of the Joash Woodrow archive

More than two decades after the archive first began to take shape, its story continues.

Today, the gallery is led by Gillian Stewart alongside daughters Scarlett and India, continuing the work first established by Andrew and Gillian Stewart. While each generation has brought new skills and perspectives to the gallery, the purpose remains the same: to research, exhibit and care for the Joash Woodrow Archive, ensuring one of the most significant and visionary British artists of the post war period legacy continues.

Whether you have visited the gallery for many years or are discovering Joash Woodrow’s work for the first time, we are proud to share the continuing story of the archive and the artwork that remains at its heart.

India, Gillian, and Scarlett – 108 Fine Art Directors

The Joash Woodrow Archive