Falmouth Art Gallery lands its first work by Grayson Perry

A framed map of somewhere that has never existed on any atlas has just gone into one of Cornwall’s most important art collections. It charts fear, memory, cliché and desire instead of roads and rivers, in the unmistakable hand of one of Britain’s best known contemporary artists.

Falmouth Art Gallery has acquired one of just fifty editions of Map of an Englishman by Sir Grayson Perry, the first time a work by the Turner Prize-winning artist has entered a public collection anywhere in Cornwall.

The acquisition brings a significant piece of contemporary British art to the county, where it can be seen free of charge by residents and visitors alike once it goes on display.

An imagined map of the human mind

Perry made Map of an Englishman shortly after winning the Turner Prize in 2003, in what became his first major venture into fine art printmaking. Working alongside master printmaker Hugh Stoneman, he took the familiar visual language of a historical map and turned it inward, building an imagined landscape of the mind out of territories named for fears, desires, memories and the sprawl of personal identity.

The print is now recognised as one of the defining early works in Perry’s career, and only fifty copies were ever made.

The collaborator missing from Cornwall’s biggest print archive

The acquisition also completes something closer to home. Map of an Englishman was produced with the late Hugh Stoneman, whose internationally significant archive of prints has been held at Falmouth Art Gallery since 2008.

Stoneman worked with more than seventy leading contemporary artists from his Cornwall studio, helping to revive fine art printmaking in Britain. The Stoneman archive is regarded as one of the country’s most important collections of contemporary prints outside London, but one major name had always been missing from it: Grayson Perry. That gap has now been closed on the wall of a Falmouth gallery that already holds one of Britain’s great print collections.

📷Jean Woodroffe from the Arts Society Falmouth, former mayor Geoffrey Evans MBE, Collections Manager Jacob Moss and Falmouth Mayor Alan Jewell at the private view of Map of an Englishman.

Free to see, from January

The print goes on public display at Falmouth Art Gallery from January 2027, as part of the Gallery’s collections display, where it will stay on view for six months.

The acquisition was made possible primarily through grants from the Art Fund and the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, together with a contribution from Falmouth Town Council and gifts from local supporters.

Jacob Moss, Collections Manager at Falmouth Art Gallery, said: “This is a landmark acquisition for Falmouth Art Gallery and for Cornwall. Not only is this the first work by Grayson Perry to enter a public collection in the county, but it also significantly enriches our archive of prints by Hugh Stoneman, who worked from his studio in West Cornwall alongside an international roster of major contemporary artists. We are delighted that people across Cornwall will be able to experience this extraordinary work free of charge.”

Rachael Browning, Director of Programmes and Policy at Art Fund, said: “Created in collaboration with master printmaker Hugh Stoneman, Grayson Perry’s Map of an Englishman offers a fascinating insight into printmaking and Cornwall’s artistic heritage. Thanks to the generosity of our National Art Pass members, we’re delighted to be able to support this important acquisition by Falmouth Art Gallery. It is a significant addition to their already outstanding collection, giving audiences across Cornwall and beyond the opportunity to experience a major work by one of Britain’s most celebrated contemporary artists.”

Building a programme around the map

The Gallery, which is owned and operated by Falmouth Town Council, plans to use the print as the centrepiece of a wider programme of exhibitions, workshops and community projects exploring identity, place, memory and printmaking. Schools, families and community groups will be invited to create their own personal maps in response to Perry’s work, while the display will also mark Stoneman’s enduring contribution to Cornwall’s artistic legacy and the continuing growth of the Gallery’s collection.

Artwork details

• Artwork: Map of an Englishman by Sir Grayson Perry
• Medium: etching, edition of 50
• On display: Falmouth Art Gallery, January to June 2027
• Funded by: Art Fund, the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Falmouth Town Council and local supporters

A private thank you before the doors open

Before the public display opens in January, the Gallery hosted a private viewing in September to thank the individuals and organisations whose support made the acquisition possible.

Fifty editions of Map of an Englishman were ever printed. One of them now hangs in Cornwall, free for anyone to go and see.