ALTHOUGH he spent 18 years as a restaurateur Philip Stroud will be remembered for establishing the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester. This was initially to house the collection of Chichester’s great patron of the arts, Dean Walter Hussey, but thanks to Stroud’s drive and enthusiasm the gallery soon attracted other major collections and, since it opened its doors in 1982, it has established itself as a significant collection of modern art.
Earlier, the local council had lost a golden opportunity to show the Edward James Collection of Surrealist art, which was subsequently auctioned off to big museums and collectors. A group of Cicestrians, including Philip and Elizabeth Murray, district councillor and former Principal of Bishop Otter College, decided that Chichester should not lose out on