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Welcome to the Victor Batte-Lay Foundation

Discover More about the Collection

The Victor Batte-Lay Foundation holds a varied and extensive art collection, which all together gives a powerful insight into East Anglian culture. The collection includes well-known and prominent artists, such as John Constable, Camille Pissaro, Paul Nash and John Nash, and Maggi Hambling.

Who was Victor Batte-Lay?

Formerly known as Clarence Victor Lay, Victor Batte-Lay was born in Colchester, Essex, in 1865 and went on to become a local dignitary. He was an avid collector of furniture and established the Victor Batte-Lay Trust. When he passed away his wife, Margaret Eleanore Batte-Lay, continued to take care of the collection for another 20 years before directing her trustees to provider a building in Colchester to house the unique collection. The organisation now has charitable status and is the Victor Batte-Lay Foundation.

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The Colchester Collection

The collection of artistic works is a celebration of Colchester’s creative past and is something every local resident and visitor can be proud of. There are very few collections in the world with a similar local focus, and this one is a cornerstone of our town’s heritage. Victor Batte-Lay grew up, went to school in Colchester and returned again in his adult life, making the Victor Batte-Lay Foundation collection a valuable treasure in our county’s crown.

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Latest News

  • New Acquisitions, on show at the Minories

    Portraits by Denis Wirth Miller, never seen before in public, are on show at The Minories, Colchester, during May. They are part of an exhibition of new acquisitions by the Victor Batte Lay Foundation which features work by a wide range of regional artists, including Richard Bawden, Simon Carter,...

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    Victor Batte-Lay Foundation