Wolverhampton Art Gallery has acquired the painting Ann, 2022 by British artist Eugene Palmer (born 1955, Kingston, Jamaica) through London gallery Ed Cross Fine Art.

The work was first exhibited in Standing Still, Palmer’s highly successful solo exhibition for Ed Cross, which has now travelled to Wolverhampton Art Gallery. The exhibition opened on 18 February and runs until Sunday 8 May 2023.

Eugene Palmer is a figurative painter whose work explores the British black diaspora based on his own experience of leaving Jamaica for the UK at the age of nine to settle in Birmingham. Drawing on the experience of being immersed in British culture while remaining symbolically outside of it due to the colour of his skin, Palmer deals deftly with issues of race and representation without being didactic. Palmer taught at Wolverhampton Polytechnic during the 1980s and early 90s, during a transitional time for artists of colour, and he contributed to discussions and events organized by the influential Blk Art Group, which emerged from the Midlands at that time.

In Standing Still, Palmer presents paintings based upon two recent family celebrations: one the marriage of his youngest daughter, and the other a family reunion spanning four generations. Sourcing images from life, pop culture and beyond, Palmer begins with a photograph before passing it through his painterly filter, figuring his own family as a repository of cultural history and memory, archival images and family photographs have been at the core of his practice since the 1980s.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor Stephen Simkins said:

“It is fantastic that we are adding to the city’s collection so that future generations will see high quality artwork of today. We are very thankful to the Friends of Wolverhampton Art Gallery for their help in acquiring Ann, 2022.

“This stunning painting complements an earlier work by Eugene Palmer in the Gallery’s collection and shows we have an Art Gallery that truly represents its communities.

“Ann will be exhibited in the Georgian Room, alongside works by Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and other celebrated portrait painters.”

Ed Cross, Director, Ed Cross said: “Wolverhampton can be seen as one of the main birthplaces of the Black British art scene and its public gallery collected Eugene’s earlier work, so it is entirely fitting that Standing Still now moves from our gallery in London to Wolverhampton Art Gallery which has one of the finest collections of Black British Art in the UK, and that the gallery has acquired a key work from the show for their permanent collection. This acquisition marks an important step on the road towards Eugene Palmer getting the kind of recognition that he so richly deserves.”

Wolverhampton Art Gallery is open Monday to Saturday 10.30am until 4.30pm and Sunday 11am until 4pm. For more information on events and exhibition taking place visit www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk