Secrets of the Majestic
An exhibition at Harrogate’s Mercer Art Gallery
15th November 2024 to 31 March 2025
Open Tuesday - Sunday 9.30am - 5pm
Free Entry

"Dare you enter... the toilets?"
This exhibition shows comic artwork inspired by the famous Gents’ washroom of the Majestic Hotel - an opulent porcelain palace of gilded splendour.

Secrets of the Majestic is an 88-page comic book anthology of stories set in, and based around, this wondrous space and seeking to answer one burning question... Why are they like that?!
The Majestic opened in 1900 as a grand new hotel for Harrogate’s affluent spa visitors. Famous for its plush décor and splendid service, the Majestic became a major landmark in the town, a by-word for classy luxury. Bizarrely, the hotel’s spacious, ground floor men’s washroom became a famous destination in its own right, with its black and white chequer-tiled floor, elegant wood panelling, Victorian brassware, and even a bench for visitors to sit and admire the magnificent surroundings.
For the past few years, artists and illustrators, too, have marvelled at these Gents loos, when the Majestic has hosted of the annual mid-convention party for Thought Bubble, the UK’s largest festival of comic art which draws international artists and fans to Harrogate each November.
Sheffield-based artist Chris Mole was inspired to put together a collection of short stories by comic artists, each exploring different explanations and theories for such an opulent porcelain palace, running the gamut from horror to action to science fiction and fantasy. Secrets of the Majestic was successfully funded on Kickstarter in November 2023 and will debut at Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival 2024, accompanied by this exhibition of selected original artwork and pinups at the Mercer Art Gallery.
Supported by DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic.

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