Thurston Hopkins: Moments of Happiness

1 April - 10 May

Photograph by Thurston Hopkins © Thurston Hopkins / Getty Images

This exhibition brings together a selection of images by the great photojournalist Thurston Hopkins. Taken for Picture Post magazine between 1950 and 1957, Hopkins's photographs capture the revived spirit of British life as it emerged from the austere aftermath of World War II. This was a time of simple pleasures gratefully taken, a time of relative innocence and unselfconsciousness. Hopkins's wonderful images reflect this broad human experience with great energy, warmth and gentle humour.

Exhibition organised in association with Photoworks.

The Quentin Follies

15 May - 11 July

Drawing by Peter Blake courtesy of private collection

At the Quentin Follies Art Auction you can bid for original works of art, donated by local and established artists. The 2008 auction, featured work by Quentin Blake, Maggi Hambling, Patti Smith, Duncan Grant and Zandra Rhodes. Artwork will be on display in the Charleston gallery from 15 May to 11 July and on the Charleston website from the 1 May 2009. The Quentin Follies is the main fundraiser for the Quentin Bell Commemoration Fund, set up to acquire paintings that were originally at Charleston.

Maurice Cockrill RA

16 July - 31 Aug

Little Miss Quickly by Maurice Cockrill © Maurice Cockrill

Frequently referred to as a 'painter's painter', Maurice Cockrill is an artist with a long-established commitment to the medium of paint and a master of colour theory and practice. He is one of the most original artists working in Britain today and his paintings are at once restless, lyrical and challenging. Cockrill is an inspiring teacher at Royal College of Art, Central St Martins and, since 2004 as Head of the Royal Academy Schools and Keeper of the Royal Academy of Art.

Fragments

10 Sept - 1 Nov

Textile, Charleston reserve collection © The Charleston Trust

The cupboards and drawers at Charleston contain an extraordinary collection of rarely seen textiles put together by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant during their long occupation of the house. This exhibition will draw on these, including unfinished canvas work projects, fragments of their own designs, and elaborate beaded pictures. It will provide a unique insight into Grant and Bell's interests and experiments as designers, giving visitors the opportunity to look in detail at some of their most enduring textiles from conception to conservation.