Dr Jeffrey Sherwin started collecting art after seeing an exhibition of British Surrealist art at Leeds Art Gallery in 1986. “Ruth and I went around and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be rather nice to have one or two examples in our own home?’,” he told the BBC.
This modest start soon turned into an all-consuming passion. Sherwin’s collection now features around 300 pieces, the largest in the UK. The now retired doctor has become an authority on British Surrealism, with a rather open understanding of the movement. He owns an early collage of Damien Hirst, for him a Surrealist. “A cow and calf cut in two in formaldehyde? Is that not [surreal]?,” he said.
Sherwin has lent pieces to institutions such as the Tate and MoMA. The entire collection will go on display at Abbot Hall Gallery in Kendal, Cumbria, from April 11.