Fireworks and Bonfires

A reminder that not all fireworks and bonfires are linked to 5th November, but some do.

Artists featured in this Curation: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004), Pietro Fabris, Aert van der Neer (1603–1677), John Constable (1776–1837), John Wilson Carmichael (1799–1868), John Everett Millais (1829–1896), J. S. Holmes, unknown artist, James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), Edgar G. Brown, and 37 more See all

53 artworks

Storyline Album Showcase

Fireworks 1972
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004)
Oil on hardboard
H 17.8 x W 25.4 cm
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust

© Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust. Image credit: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust
Firework Display, Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome 1768–1778
Pietro Fabris (active c.1740–1804)
Oil on canvas
H 72.5 x W 92 cm
Government Art Collection

Image credit: Government Art Collection
River Scene with a Bonfire, Moonlight 18th C
Aert van der Neer (1603–1677) (style of)
Oil on panel
H 21.2 x W 29.4 cm
The Bowes Museum

Image credit: The Bowes Museum
Hampstead Heath, with a Bonfire c.1822
John Constable (1776–1837)
Oil on canvas
H 27 x W 32.1 cm
Yale Center for British Art

Image credit: Yale Center for British Art
Queen Victoria's Arrival in Edinburgh c.1850
John Wilson Carmichael (1799–1868)
Oil on canvas
H 71.1 x W 116.8 cm
York Museums Trust

Image credit: York Museums Trust
Autumn Leaves 1856
John Everett Millais (1829–1896)
Oil on canvas
H 104.3 x W 74 cm
Manchester Art Gallery

Image credit: Manchester Art Gallery
Fireworks 1867
J. S. Holmes (active 1850–1867)
Oil on board
H 40 x W 58 cm
Hartlepool Museums and Heritage Service

Image credit: Hartlepool Museums and Heritage Service
A Farmer Burning Leaves, Ashridge Park 1870
unknown artist
Oil on canvas
H 63 x W 74 cm
Hertfordshire County Council

Image credit: Hertfordshire County Council
Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge c.1872–5
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)
Oil on canvas
H 68.3 x W 51.2 cm
Tate

Image credit: Tate
Nocturne: Black and Gold - The Fire Wheel 1875
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)
Oil on canvas
H 54.3 x W 76.2 cm
Tate

Image credit: Tate
Stephenson Centenary Festival 1881
Edgar G. Brown
Oil on board
H 35.4 x W 25.5 cm
Chesterfield Museum & Art Gallery

Image credit: Chesterfield Museum & Art Gallery
Fireworks, Cremorne Gardens before 1877
Walter Greaves (1846–1930)
Oil on canvas
H 61 x W 76 cm
The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

Image credit: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow
Lindisfarne Castle and Abbey, Holy Island, by Moonlight 1877
John Moore of Ipswich (1821–1902)
Oil on canvas
H 101.5 x W 127 cm
National Trust, Lindisfarne Castle

Image credit: National Trust Images
In the Fields 1886
Frederick Hall (1860–1948)
Oil on canvas
H 80.5 x W 38 cm
Penlee House Gallery & Museum

Image credit: Penlee House Gallery & Museum
Jubilee Bonfire on Hampstead Heath 1897
Robert Finlay McIntyre (c.1846–1906)
Oil on card
H 26.2 x W 35.2 cm
Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre

Image credit: Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre
Street Scene late 19th C
unknown artist
Oil on canvas
H 51 x W 76 cm
North Yorkshire Council

Image credit: North Yorkshire Council
Watching the Fireworks at Saint-Cloud, France
Charles Conder (1868–1909)
Oil on canvas
H 46.5 x W 60.7 cm
Sheffield Museums

Image credit: Sheffield Museums
Landscape with Bonfires
unknown artist
Oil on cardboard
H 24.5 x W 34.5 cm
National Trust, Shaw's Corner

© the copyright holder. Image credit: National Trust Images
Burning Autumn Leaves 1902
George Cartlidge (1868–1961)
Oil on canvas
H 27 x W 35 cm
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

© the copyright holder. Image credit: The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
On the East Heath, Hampstead, London 1907
Francis Colmer (1873–1967)
Oil on canvas
H 46 x W 39.4 cm
Wycombe Museum

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Wycombe Museum
A Firework Display at the Crystal Palace 1908
Frederick George Cotman (1850–1920)
Oil on canvas
H 24.2 x W 39.2 cm
Bromley Historic Collections

Image credit: Bromley Historic Collections
Fireworks in Hyde Park, London, on Peace Night, 26 July 1919 1919
Joseph W. Simpson (1879–1939)
Oil on board
H 38.8 x W 61.8 cm
Museum of London

Image credit: Museum of London
Firework Display in Hyde Park, London 1919
Charles William Wyllie (1853–1923)
Oil on canvas
H 40.5 x W 60.5 cm
Museum of London

Image credit: Museum of London
The Bonfire
Félix Pissarro (1874–1897)
Oil on canvas
H 46.2 x W 55.1 cm
Manchester Art Gallery

Image credit: Manchester Art Gallery
1929 (fireworks) 1929
Ben Nicholson (1894–1982)
Oil on wood
H 29.5 x W 46 cm
The Pier Arts Centre

© the estate of Angela Verren Taunt. All rights reserved, DACS 2025. Image credit: The Pier Arts Centre
Carnival Night, Memorial Park, Coventry 1937
Walter Ashworth (1883–1952)
Oil on canvas
H 50.9 x W 61.5 cm
Herbert Art Gallery & Museum

Image credit: Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
Street Bonfire
unknown artist
Oil on board
H 61 x W 92 cm
University of Dundee, Duncan of Jordanstone College Collection

© the copyright holder. Image credit: University of Dundee, Duncan of Jordanstone College Collection
The Bonfire
Elinor Bellingham-Smith (1906–1988)
Oil on canvas
H 56 x W 67.5 cm
Government Art Collection

© the artist's estate. Image credit: Government Art Collection
Bonfires in the Paragon, Blackheath 1951
Derek Cooper
Oil on canvas
H 36 x W 46 cm
Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust
HMS 'Corunna' and 'Agincourt' at Hastings, East Sussex, during the Coronation Celebrations 1953
Arthur Spencer Roberts (1920–1997)
Oil on canvas
H 41 x W 50 cm
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery

© the artist's estate. Image credit: Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Coronation Fireworks 1953
Frederick John Pym Gore (1913–2009)
Oil on canvas
H 60.8 x W 82.8 cm
Government Art Collection

© estate of Frederick Gore. All rights reserved, DACS 2025. Image credit: Government Art Collection
Burning the Leaves 1955
Mary Potter (1900–1981)
Oil on canvas
H 70 x W 80 cm
Museum & Art Swindon

© estate of Mary Potter. All rights reserved, DACS 2025. Image credit: Museum & Art Swindon
Men of Straw 1957
Richard Ernst Eurich (1903–1992)
Oil on wood
H 50.8 x W 101.6 cm
Nottingham City Museums & Galleries

© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Nottingham City Museums & Galleries
Firework Reflections, Versailles, France 1964
Stuart Robinson (b.1914)
Acrylic on board
H 106 x W 76 cm
Herbert Art Gallery & Museum

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
Burning Mountain (Bonfire) 1964
Kenneth Cozens (1920–2000)
Oil on canvas
H 118.5 x W 80.9 cm
The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds

© the copyright holder. Image credit: The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds
Feux d'artifices sur la principauté (Fireworks over the Principality) 1970
Danielle Baron (b.1944)
Oil on canvas
H 25.1 x W 60.7 cm
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
The Gondoliers and Fireworks 1970s
Leonard Henry Rosoman (1913–2012)
Oil on canvas
H 45.2 x W 42 cm
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum

© the artist's estate. Image credit: Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
Bonfire 1974
Mary Potter (1900–1981)
Oil on canvas
H 101.6 x W 151.8 cm
Tate

© estate of Mary Potter. All rights reserved, DACS 2025. Image credit: Tate
Bonfire Night 1975
Frederick C. Johnston (d.1983)
Oil on board
H 49 x W 74 cm
Chenderit School

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Chenderit School
Bonfire Study 1976
Boyle Family (active since mid-20th C)
Coal, wood, stones, ash & earth on fibreglass
H 182 x W 182 x D 6.5 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre

© Boyle Family. All rights reserved, DACS 2025. Image credit: Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London
Fireworks over Cyfarthfa Castle
Peter Price
Acrylic on canvas
H 101 x W 80.6 cm
Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery
Bonfire Party 1989
Vivienne M. Luxton (b.1942)
Oil on canvas
H 101.5 x W 121.5 cm
Stroud District Council

© the artist. Image credit: Stroud District Council
Gathered Leaves Burning 1992
Philip Braham (b.1959)
Oil on paper
H 40.6 x W 54.7 cm
Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums

© the artist. Image credit: Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums
The East Garden, Kingston Lacy, Dusk, Bonfire after the Storm 1990
Pip Todd Warmoth (b.1962)
Oil on board
H 38 x W 25 cm
National Trust, Kingston Lacy

© the artist . Image credit: National Trust Images
Fireworks 1994
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004)
Oil on canvas
H 68.4 x W 88.8 cm
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust

© Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust. Image credit: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust
Fireworks at Queen's Festival
Joseph McWilliams (1938–2015)
Oil on board
H 51 x W 51 cm
Queen's University Belfast

© the artist's estate. Image credit: Queen's University Belfast
Boys at the Bonfire
Betty Brown (b.1956)
Acrylic on canvas
H 25.4 x W 30.5 cm
Royal Ulster Academy Diploma Collection

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Royal Ulster Academy Diploma Collection
Winter Bonfire 2003
David Hillhouse (1945–2013)
Acrylic on gessoed MDF
H 41.5 x W 38 cm
Grosvenor Museum

© the artist's estate. Image credit: Grosvenor Museum
Bonfire 2004
Molly E. Harris (b.1946)
Acrylic on paper
H 20 x W 23 cm
Guernsey Museums and Galleries

© the artist. Image credit: Guernsey Museums and Galleries
Watching Fireworks (Spain) c.2005
Mick Rooney (b.1944)
Oil on canvas
H 188 x W 134 cm
Jerwood Collection

© the artist / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Jerwood Collection
Gateway to Cornwall 2006
John Dyer (b.1968)
Acrylic on canvas
H 61 x W 61 cm
Falmouth Art Gallery

© courtesy of the John Dyer Gallery. Image credit: Falmouth Art Gallery
Firework 2007
Angela Corbett and Prestwich Creative Living Centre
Oil on board
H 19 x W 39 cm
Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

© the copyright holders. Image credit: Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust