11 
FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 
OF THE 
Corporation Art Gallery Committee. 
HE Art Gallery Committee have much pleasure in presenting their 
Fourteenth Annual Report to the Town Council. As usual, a 
comparative table of the visitors for the last three years is given below. 
1893-94 | 1894-95 | 1895-96 
| Visitors to Autumn Exhibition ..| 20300 | 17747 | 17707 
. Spring y se -.| 20840 | 18070 17300 
P Summer 5 ae ..| 13156 | 11980 12150 
Total Visitors.. ..| 54296 | 47797 | 47157 
nieien a 
Total Days Open by Payment .. oe 164 160 164 
55 rk Free we we 86 89 87 
Total Days Open ta 250 249 251 
Average on Paying Days 6 ai 83 68 62 
ii Free Days .. oe oe 473 415 425 
There is nothing special to remark with respect to these figures, 
except that the number of visitors on the free days slowly increases, while 
that on the paying days as slowly diminishes. The total number of 
visitors to the Gallery since its opening is now 533,649. 
The deficit to be paid by the Council is about £10 more than last 
year. The pictures sold at the Exhibitions totalled the catalogue value of 
£373 11s. Od., being £132 less than last year, but the result is perhaps as 
good as can be expected, and is considerably better than that of many 
larger towns. The Art Union realised £87 9s. Od., £12 more than in 1895. 
Every effort has been made to keep up the standard of the pictures 
exhibited, and the Committee believe that end has been attained. The 
Autumn and Spring Exhibitions reached a high level of merit, and the 
Hanging Committee had a much larger number of pictures submitted 
than they could place, a gratifying proof of the rising estimation in which 
the gallery is held by artists generally. The Summer Exhibition consisted 
of Photographs, and the pictures exhibited were both interesting and of 
