THE international impact of rural Ryedale radical Herbert Read is celebrated in a new exhibition, Yorkshire Modern, which runs until September 4 at Ryedale Folk Museum in Hutton-le-Hole.

The exhibition brings together major works by artists, including Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Sir Terry Frost and others on loan from the Tate’s collection, and represents the extent of Herbert Read’s impact on the direction and development of British modern art in the 20th century.

Poet, critic, military hero and pacifist, thinker and philosopher, Herbert Read used his gift as a writer to communicate the power of modern art to others.

“This exhibition is an opportunity to highlight the historical significance of a native of Ryedale, Herbert Read and to bring works of national and international significance to rural North Yorkshire,” said curator, Andy Dalton.

“We hope to bring Read’s writings to new audiences and to raise awareness of his legacy within his home district.”

In the 1920s and 30s, Read was a supporter of the Modern Movement, helping to establish the careers of artists such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Paul Nash.

He edited the celebrated Unit 1 modernist manifesto in 1933 and helped organise the first Surrealist exhibition in Britain in 1936.

Read’s lifelong sympathy for anarchist philosophy and his interest in psychoanalysis powerfully informed his writings about art. After the Second World War, Read joined forces with Roland Penrose and Eduardo Paolozzi to found the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London.

Despite being one of the most famous writers in England, Read always maintained a special relationship with his Stonegrave home in Ryedale and, although establishing himself as a vanguard figure of international social and cultural causes, he remained at heart a rural radical.

Activities surrounding the exhibition include a family friendly Poetry Week from August 14-20, which celebrates the work of various local writers.

This exhibition is part of Art in Yorkshire, supported by Tate, a yearlong celebration of the visual arts throughout Yorkshire.

Admission to the gallery is free, daily opening times are 10am-dusk.

For more information, phone 01751 417367, email gallery@ryedalefolkmuseum.

co.uk or visit www.thegalleryatryedalefolkmuseum.

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