Jersey Museum and Art Gallery

Find out why Jersey remained loyal to the English Crown despite being so close to France; listen to Jersey-French being spoken; learn about the Island's traditional farming industry and watch fascinating archive footage of the early years of tourism.

On display in the Art Gallery you will find the work of Claude Cahun, recognised worldwide as one of the leading artists of the Surrealist movement. Jersey Museum cares for one of the largest collections of Cahun's work, which comprises photographs, original manuscripts, first editions, some of her books and personal material. You will also have a chance to explore the perfectly restored Victorian Merchant’s House with traditional gas lamps and period furniture transporting you back to Victorian times.

This year, on display for the first time, is the famous painting by Copley – The Death of Major Peirson. Normally hanging at the Tate Britain this exceptional painting has been loaned to Jersey Heritage and is on display in Jersey. This painting represents the Battle of Jersey in 1781, a pivotal point in Jersey’s history. John Singleton Copley captured the spirit of this event in his painting The Death of Major Peirson. This is the most important painting to the history of the Island. It portrays those that fought and died to keep Jersey special. This iconic painting represents in pictorial form, our nationhood, our Island status and allegiance to the Crown.

In the temporary exhibition space visit Occupied Behind Barbed Wire and find out about the artwork and artifacts made by Channel Islanders deported and interned during the second world war. The artifacts were items recycled out of Red Cross parcels, such as the cardboard parcels, the string, the cellophane packing material, the tins themselves and the wooden parcel crates. These items tell the story of internment. They speak of the experience of deportation and internment of these 2,200 people deported from the Channel Islands during World War II.