Rembrandt, Vermeer and Reynolds at Kenwood House

I walked from Hampstead tube station and across Hampstead Heath up to Kenwood House to see the art collection yesterday. A bit of culture with a great cafe and a nice walk thrown in is my kind of ideal day out!

I haven't been to Kenwood House in years and years but my other half had visited more recently and suggested the venue for our weekly "day out".

Which is how I came to be pictured with Rembrandt - by himself!

Me - writing a Facebook post about Rembrandt and Vermeer
in the Drawing Room of Kenwood House

Kenwood House was bought by Lord Iveagh (Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh 1847-1927) to save it from development. It subsequently became a place to display his amazing art collection - which was bequeathed to the nation on his death.

This was the most generous bequest of art in history - and was conditional on it being on display in the house for free!

On the left: The Guitar Player by Vermeer
On the right: Self Portrait with Two Circles by Rembrandt

It includes:

Rembrandt’s Self-portrait with Two Circles. READ ABOUT IT

Painted in around 1665, it was first reproduced as a print in the mid 18th century and was publicly exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in1877. As a consequence it was a famous and celebrated artwork when Lord Iveagh purchased it on 10 July 1888.

Rembrandt’s Self-portrait with Two Circles

I'm the sort of visitor who always likes to get a close-up of the brush marks!

Vermeer's  The Guitar Player

"....one of only 36 known paintings by Vermeer, an artist who specialised in depicting everyday life in domestic interiors. A young girl, possibly his daughter Maria, is interrupted from her guitar playing, as the string continues to vibrate. Vermeer has seated the girl so far to the left that her arm is cropped by the edge of the painting."

The Guitar Player by Vermeer

PLUS a very large collection of paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Franz Hals, Anthony Van Dyck, Thomas Gainsborough, George Romney and Albert Cuyp - amongst others.

There is in fact an exhibition which focuses on all the paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds who was Lord Iveagh's favourite artist - and who is celebratig his 300th anniversary of his birth in 2023.

Some of you will remember Reynolds as the chap whose statue is in the area in front of the Royal Academy of Arts as Reynolds was the very first President of the RA (Note: I find it really very sad that the entry for Reynolds on the RA website spends MORE space and text on the "RA Collections Decolonial Research Project - Extended Case Study" than it does on Reynolds and what he did and why he was important. There is something very wrong when perspectives on the past get this distorted.)

Speaking personally, I'm not so much a fan of Reynolds. While I do not doubt his skill as a painter, I find some of his paintings very whimsical. Apparently he was nearly as bad as Turner for trying to develop new ways to paint - which cause his paintings to be something of a challenge on the conservation front.

Margaret Hyde "Daisy" Leiter (1898)

who became Margaret Howard, Countess of Suffolk

by John Singer Sargent

I very much liked the John Singer Sargent painting on the Deal Staircase of the Margaret Hyde Leiter, Countess of Suffolk who it is suggested was the sister of Mary Leitner - the role model for Lady Cora, the Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey - an American who married Lord Curzon who became Viceroy of India!

It seems there's a bit of a tradition for Americans marrying into the aristocracy!

Art Galleries and Museums in London are open again!

Just a reminder - as if you needed one(!) - that the larger art galleries and museums (i.e. those which are not commercial/retail art galleries) have reopened today and you can now visit art exhibitions and permanent art collections!

See also my earlier post about Art Exhibitions in London opening in May 2021

 

The National Gallery - photographed before recent times

In general, in order to contain numbers, timed tickets are required for all visitors - which need to be booked in advance - hence details of how to contact in listings below

THE FOLLOWING REOPENED IN LONDON AFTER LOCKDOWN ON 17TH MAY 2021.

Below is a reminder of art galleries and museums in London.
This is by no means an exhaustive list - but hopefully might remind people of a few places which need their support - and a visit!

Later this week I'll be looking at the Art Fund's Summary Report of "Looking ahead: Museum Sector Research May 2021 Summary Report.

The future is not completely bleak - but neither is it totally rosy!

The past year has given many organisations an opportunity to refocus and experiment. They are determined to show their resilience, to evolve and carve out new futures. However, this is tempered by significant levels of overstretch and exhaustion.

Central London

Free to all | Some exhibitions have priced entry | Opening this week

British Museum

Great Russell Street, London, Greater London, WC1B 3DG
020 7323 8181 | Website

Opening times:  Daily: 10.00–17.00 

National Gallery

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London, WC2N 5DN
020 7747 2885 | Website
Opening times: Daily 11am-6pm (Fri 11am-9pm) 

A different way round the National Gallery

Tate Modern 

Bankside, London, Greater London, SE1 9TG
020 7887 8888 | Website
Opening times: Daily 10am-6pm 

Tate Britain

Millbank, London, Greater London, SW1P 4RG
020 7887 8888 | Website
Opening times: Daily, 10am – 6pm (last admission 5.15pm) 

Bankside Gallery

Thames Riverside, 48 Hopton Street, London, Greater London, SE1 9JH
020 7928 7521 | Website 

 

The Queen's House

Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London, SE10 9NF
020 8858 4422 | Website
Opening times: Daily, 10.30am – 4pm (reduced hours due to COVID-19). 

 

William Morris Gallery

Lloyd Park, Forest Road, Walthamstow, London, Greater London, E17 4PP
020 8496 4390 | Website
Opening times: Opening 18 May 

 

Within The Reach of All: The Century Guild at the William Morris Gallery

V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum)

Cromwell Road, London, Greater London, SW7 2RL
020 7942 2000 | Website
Opening times: Temporarily closed - Opening 19 May 

Sir John Soane's Museum

13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, Greater London, WC2A 3BP
020 7405 2107 | Website
Opening times: Opening 19 May 

 

South London Gallery (Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020)

65-67 Peckham Road, London, Greater London, SE5 8UH
020 7703 6120 | Website
Opening times: Opening 19 May 

 

Whitechapel Gallery

77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London, Greater London, E1 7QX
020 7522 7888 | Website
Opening times: Opening 19 May 

  

 

Priced entry | Opening this week 

 

Barbican Art Gallery

Level 3, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, Greater London, EC2Y 8DS
020 7638 8891 | Website

 

Garden Museum

Lambeth Palace Road, Lambeth, London, Greater London, SE1 7LB
020 7401 8865 | Website
Opening times: Daily 10.30am-5pm

Queens Gallery 

Buckingham Palace, Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA 

website

Opening times: 10am - 5.30pm (last admission 4.15pm)

Design Museum

224-238 Kensington High Street, Kensington, London, Greater London, W8 6AG
020 3862 5900 | Website
Opening times: Opening 18 May  

• 10.00 – 18.00 (Sunday - Thursday)
• 09.30 – 21.00 (Friday - Saturday)

Apsley House

149 Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner, London, Greater London, W1J 7NT
020 7499 5676 | Website
Opening times: Opening 19 May

Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art

39a Canonbury Square, London, Greater London, N1 2AN
020 7704 9522 | Website
Opening times: Temporarily closed - Opening 19 May

Reopening on future dates

 

A few galleries and museums are opening at a later date. They're listed below in order of their date of opening

Royal Academy of Arts

Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, Greater London, W1J 0BD
020 7300 8090 | Website
Opening times: Opening 18 May 

 

Dulwich Picture Gallery

Gallery Road, London, Greater London, SE21 7AD

02086935254 | Website

Opening times:Temporarily closed - Opening 19 May

Whitechapel Gallery

77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London, Greater London, E1 7QX

020 7522 7888| Website 

Opening time: Temporarily closed - Opening 19 May

Guildhall Art Gallery

Guildhall Yard, London, Greater London, EC2V 5AE
020 7332 3700 | Website
Opening times: reopening on 2nd June

The Wallace Collection

Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, Greater London, W1U 3BN
020 7563 9500 | Website
Opening times: reopening on 3rd June

Leighton House Museum

12 Holland Park Road, London, Greater London, W14 8LZ
020 7602 3316 | Website
Opening times: Temporarily closed - Re-opening 9 October 

The Courtauld Gallery

Somerset House, Strand, London, Greater London, WC2R 0RN
+44 (0) 20 3947 7600 | Website
Opening times: Temporarily closed for a major transformation project. DUE TO reopen in late 2021.

Temporarily Closed and not reopening this year

British Museum: Prints and Drawings - The Solution!

Yesterday I highlighted the problems with accessing the Virtual Gallery of the Prints and Drawings held in the permanent collection of the British Museum. 

Today I have the solution

This page provides the Collection search guide.  It's one of those guides which provides a lot of information for what is obviously a really big database of images.

Collection online has been completely redeveloped, making it much easier to find what you want. It allows access to almost four and a half million objects in more than two million records. The search is more intuitive and now offers suggestions as you type.

Unfortunately they completely forgot to provide a shorthand version - with links to certain specific types of drawings e.g Drawings or Prints.

It's almost as if 

• they've started off from the perspective of the complexity of their collection 
• rather than 
• EITHER asking people what they'd like to search for 
• OR done any analysis of the search queries that bring people to the British Museum website. 

The latter is the one which keeps me on my toes in terms of me tweaking my own website to make the most popular also the most accessible!

Progressive refinement of key words and filters

However if you start at this Explore the Collection Page and put "drawings" in the search window you get this

• So I then selected "objects" as the filter type on the left - and got a lot of objects some of which clearly were NOT drawings. So I think I'd suggest a quality audit of the referencing by key words!
• Rather annoyingly the feedback link for the individual pages which are not relevant to drawing goes to the "Sorry we can't find that page" - suggesting somebody needs to do a major audit for DEAD LINKS!!

Started again and selected 'paper' as the filter (under 'drawings') and got a rather better set of results

I then added 'flower' as an additional key word - and got an even better set of results - given I'm particularly interested in flower / botanical drawings and came across some 17th century Persian Drawings of flowers that I've never ever seen before.

Artists

I next tried Artists. The trick appears to be quite precise as to what you want to see - and remember/spell names correctly!

Do NOT use quotation marks around the artist's name - I got a nil result when I tried it with one artist.

So for example, if you add in an artist's name e.g. Thomas Rowlandson - you get a great collection of Rowlandson's pen and ink and wash drawings

I added in Ehret and got nine examples of works by or associated with one of my heroes Georg Ehret ( see About Georg Ehret on my website) 

The quality of the digital image is FABULOUS!  But you must first click on the image, go to its individual page and use the plus (+) icons to go in as far as the image will let you.

Drawn by Georg Dionysius Ehret
collection of the British Museum

I tried again and inserted Joseph Mallord William Turner and got some fabulous watercolour sketches and painting which allow you to see his technique up close. 

crop of a Topographic representation of: River Washburn by Joseph William Mallord Turner collection of the British Museum

The total number of items related to Turner exceeds 3,000!  That's because - although he painted a LOT - the search query also picked up people like John Sell Cotman who created drawings "after Turner".

Conclusion

There is undoubtedly lots of wonderful things to see in database of digitized images of items in the Permanent Collection of the British Museum.

For me it'll be one of those links I'll bookmark and try out while having a cup of tea - to see what comes up under different queries and keywords. I think there are lots of surprises.....

Here's a few more I found 

• Hindu and Persian Miniatures and Penmanship
• Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual
• Tempera
• Rembrandt (3,206 objects)

One interesting fact - there are 12,595 objects related to Painting - but only 200 of these are oil paintings - one of which is a very fine paintings of Portrait of: Dr Robert Anderson (Director of the BM) by Tom Phillips RA who has 55 items in the British Museum.

It's the ultimate surfing sinkhole!

Home Is Where The Art Is: The Copyright Artists (series 2, Episode 3)

One of the nice aspects of Home Is Where The Art Is is the opportunity to see existing art in the homes of the client art collectors - especially when you've never seen their artwork before.

So this post is about the Copyright Artists - who also get a listing in the credits at the end (see Home Is Where The Art Is (Series 2) for more on the topic of TV credits for artists.)

Specifically it's about the artwork in the home of the art collectors in Episode 3 - who like art by northern artists. (I come from the North West - and spent seven years travelling in and out of Manchester by train to go to School - hence my interest)

I don't have a clue who the art collectors are - but they've got an impressive art collection in terms of the calibre of these northern artists. Some of whom have already had a mention on this blog

The Copyright Artists

The artists are - in alphabetical order:

• Taro Chiezo
• Reg Gardner
• Russel Howarth (it's not mispelt)
• Tony Noble
• Emma Rogers
• William Selby
• Stuart Walton

All but one of them were born in the north and all still have some sort of connection with the north. Here's a bit about each of them. A link to their website (if they have one) is embedded in their name. Most have their work sold through art galleries.

Taro Chiezo (1962-present)

Taro Chiezo is a Japanese artist based in Manhattan.

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1962, he studed art in New York.

His works include Super Lambanana, a sculpture in Liverpool, England. He's exhibited his work in solo and group exhibitions all over the world and his work is in several public collections.

A small version of the Super Lambanana was seen in the show.

Super Lambanana (1998)
 Painted Concrete

A replica of the 17ft (5.2m) high Superlambanana sculpture is to be created in Liverpool after six months of negotiations saw permission given.
The popular Merseyside artwork will then go on public display for the next 80 years.
The current version was limited to a 10-year display licence and will be handed back to its creator, Japanese artist Taro Chiezo. 

Superlambanana proved popular in Liverpool last year when the Go Superlambananas Parade saw 119 scaled-down models hit the city for 10 weeks in the summer and was hailed as one of the key highlights of the Capital of Culture celebrations. The models were eventually auctioned and raised £600,000 in one night for a Lord Mayor's Charity Appeal.  BBC Merseyside 2009 

Reg Gardner (1948-present)

Reg Gardner is a British Postwar & Contemporary painter. His artwork reflects the urban landscape of the North West, capturing the homely yet industrial feelings of Manchester and Stockport

• born in Prestwich in 1948 to a working class family but spent his formative years in Ardwick.
• age 12 he won his first art competition in the Manchester Evening News. 
• At the age of 14 he won a scholarship to the HIgh School of Art in Manchester.
• He has painted professionally since his first exhibition in the Colin Jellicoe Gallery in Manchester in 1969.
• Between 1973 and 1980 he mounted several one-man shows in venues like Stockport Art Gallery, Rivington Great House, The Barbican and the National Theatre in London. 
• He sells his work through art galleries.
• His work also sells in auctions - consistently above mid-estimate

extract from Invaluable site re works sold at auction

Russel Howarth (1927-present)

Russel Howarth has perhaps been the most geographically dedicated painter in the north of England over the past century. His 70-year commitment of unwavering effort to draw and paint the Saddleworth area of Oldham must be regarded as a great artistic compulsion.

Examples of work by Russell Howarth at the Castlegate House Gallery - who have sold a lot of his work

• 1927 - born on 28 May 1927 in Glodwick, Oldham
• 1937 - moved to Waterhead, Oldham - in a house he has lived in ever since, living with his parents until they died in 1975
• 1941 - left school (age 14) and became an apprentice toolmaker 
• studied at night school to achieve various qualifications and skills. 
• after the war began working for Platt Brothers, a huge textile machinery manufacturer in Werneth. His draftsmanship and technical skills meant he worked in the drawing office
• late 1940s Russel took some evening watercolour classes
• began painting scenes of Saddleworth after work and at the weekends (he never married)
• 1951 joined The Saddleworth Group of Artists
• 1961 - became a member of the Saddleworth group of Artists
• 1980 - retired from being an engineer
• He also taught pottery for 30 years until..... 
• 1992 - retired age 65.
• 2017 Russel Howarth - Saddleworth in a Lifetime - Retrospective Exhibition - Saddleworth Museum and Gallery - 7th April - 8th May 2017
• He's still painting.....

His subject is the rugged landscape of The Pennines in general and Saddleworth in particular - for 70+ years. His artwork is painted in oils on boards - in very muted tones - using predominantly earth colours. Like LS Lowry, he maintained a full time job and painted in evenings and at weekends

For thirty years he taught art part time, and exhibited his own work with various one man shows and at numerous exhibitions, including the Royal Society of British Artists, Uppermill Gallery and Tib Lane Gallery, Manchester.

His work is now increasingly sought after.

There's an excellent account of his life in an article about him for his retrospective exhibition in 2017

I was very impressed with this painter - which is slightly odd as I usually like more colour in paintings. However his compositions are fabulous and he draws you into the landscape. I'm not of the Pennines but I know them well enough to know that he is capturing them perfectly. He may be older than my mother but his work has a contemporary edge - perhaps because of skills as a draughtsman?

Tony Noble

Tony Noble is an artist living & working in Batley, West Yorkshire. He graduated with a BA (Hons) in fine art from Loughborough College of Art. He used to work as a primary school teacher but has been a full time professional artist since 2008. 

He has an EXTREMELY impressive track record of exhibiting in national open exhibitions and art competitions - I've seen few as good - including The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2015, 2016, 2019) ; The John Moores Painting Prize Exhibition(2014); The BP Portrait Award Exhibition, The National Portrait Gallery (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013); The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013); The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition (2010 (winner of The Meynell Fenton Prize), 2011, 2013, 2014); The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition, (2013, 2019); The Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Exhibition, ( 2011); The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition (2009, 2010, 2019) and The Royal Society of British Artists Exhibition (2011).

The couple in the episode had a LOT of this artists paintings

When I like a painter's work I always look back to see if I have identified him before as producing good work - and lo and behold there he was

National Portrait Gallery not reopening - until 2023

The National Portrait Gallery is now closed for three years - until at least Spring 2023.

However there is some GOOD NEWS - SEE BELOW! - concerning:

• Inspiring People Project
• Collaborations with regional museums and galleries on future displays of key works
• The Really Good News re.
• David Hockney exhibition
• BP Portrait Award

No more portraits on view at NPG Gallery for 3 years

It was always intended that the Gallery would close for its ambitious rebuilding project at the end of June 2020. So the announcement yesterday that the Gallery will not now be reopening for the rest of June came as no surprised - but means no more portraits for three years!

My concern right now is how  the pandemic will affect the length of the building project. 

• It might start on time - and it may not. 
• It might take the original planned length of time - but it may not 

In addition, my career experience (of major building projects taking three years) is that if it's a big project on a major site with major access issues then the project very often slips and is often not finished by the target date. That's not me being negative - that's just me relaying my experience of such projects - and I've known a few!  (I'm also wondering whether the cut through from Cass Arts to the back of the National Gallery will remain open for the duration)

So be aware and prepare for the fact it MAY be more than three years before we can visit the National Portrait Gallery again

Inspiring People Project 

When we do we'll be entering via a different entrance - located on the north side of the building and looking across a more spacious area and up Charing Cross Road.

The new entrance looking north up Charing Cross Road

direction of approach to new entrance to the National Portrait Gallery

You can see more about the building project on the NPG website - see Inspiring People. It will be biggest ever development since the building in St Martin’s Place opened in 1896.

Archives of British Art and Funding Opportunities at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

On trips around various art websites, I sometimes find some real goldmines of art history. Such as happened today when I came across the Archive Collections associated with British Art on the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art website

[PS The next blog post about the Summer Exhibition will be tomorrow - it's taking rather longer than I expected]

It's a bit of heaven for those who like researching British Art! Thus we have just a few examples....

Art Prizes

• Hunting Art Prize - material relating to the Hunting Art Prizes (HAP) which ran from 1981 to 2005. Spot a young looking Lord Gowrie and Daphne Todd below

Art Critics

• William Packer - relates to William Packer's work as an art critic and includes his copy for published articles of art criticism, mainly prior to editorial intervention.
• Brian Sewell (1931 - 2015) - 70 boxes - which he had organised himself (and I assume "edited")
• articles pertaining to art and the arts (boxlist 1)
• a smaller group of materials concerning his writings on any other subject matter (boxlist 2).
• material covers every other aspect of Sewell’s life, from childhood to death (boxlist 3).

Brian Sewell (1931 – 2015) was a British art historian, author, critic, and media personality. After graduating from the Courtauld Institute of Art, he worked at Christie’s (1957-1967); as an independent dealer (1967-1980), and as a journalist, most notably for the Evening Standard (1984-2015).

Art Historians

• Paul Oppé - 34 boxes of material that reflects his work as an art historian, critic, museum official and art collector

He also inaugurated the study of British drawings as a scholarly pursuit.

• Benedict Nicholson - archive comprises seventeen personal diaries, six folders of correspondence and a small amount of reference and research material.

Lionel Benedict Nicolson (1914–1978) was a British art historian and author. He was the elder son of authors Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West. He was Deputy Surveyor of the King’s Pictures (1939-1947), serving in British Army Intelligence for the duration of the Second World War. He was editor of the Burlington Magazine (1947-1978). 

• Roy Strong - 34 boxes containing research papers relating to Strong's publications and other research

Sir Roy Colin Strong (b.1935) is art historian, museum director, writer and broadcaster and landscape designer. He was Assistant Keeper (1959-1967), then Director (1967-1973) of the National Portrait Gallery and Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum (1974-1987).

Scholarship

The Centre has a Funding Programme which supports scholarship, academic research and the dissemination of knowledge in the field of British art and architectural history from the medieval period to the present. Awards are made twice a year, in Spring and Autumn.

All supported topics must have a historical perspective and all applications must demonstrate that there is a substantial element of British art and/or architectural history to their project.

The next round of funding opportunities close on the 31 January 2020! 

In this round you can apply for:

• Senior Fellowships
• Mid Career Fellowships
• Postdoctoral Fellowships
• Junior Fellowships
• Rome Fellowship
• Terra-PMC Fellowship
• Research Support Grants
• Event Support Grants

This is the Guidance for Individuals.

Where to find The Paul Mellon Centre for British Art

The Paul Mellon Centre for British Art can be found:

• Address: Paul Mellon Centre, 16 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3JA, United Kingdom
• website: https://www.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePaulMellonCentre/

Drawings and prints - an exhibition in Brooklyn

Two weeks ago today, I saw the Rembrandt to Picasso: Five Centuries of European Works on Paper exhibition (June 21–October 13, 2019) at the Brooklyn Museum.

Images of my photos of the exhibition

Today I've loaded my photos from the exhibition into an album on my Making A Mark Facebook Page - also called Rembrandt to Picasso: Five Centuries of European Works on Paper  - for all those who love drawings and prints but were unable to see the exhibition.

The exhibition included fine art prints - using various methods by

• Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)
• Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 -1669)
• Honore Daumier (1808 - 1879)
• Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917)
• Paul Cezanne (1839 - 1906)
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919) 
• Paul Signac (1863 - 1935)
• Henri de Toulouse Lautrec (1864 - 1901)
• Pierre Bonnard (1867 - 1947)
• Edouard Vuillard (1868 - 1940)
• Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954)

Plus drawings in different media and watercolour sketches by

• Rosa Bonheur (1822 - 1899)
• Jean-Francois Millet (1814 - 1875)
• Paul Cezanne (1839 - 1906)
• Berthe Morisot (1841 - 1895)
• Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)
• Suzanne Valadon (1865 - 1938)
• Kathe Kollwitz (1865 - 1945)
• Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
• Amadeo Modigliano (1884 - 1920)

I looked through their Collection categories but they don't have a category for drawing (1751 items) and/or print (3052 items) and/or works on paper. More's the pity. However you do get to see rather a lot of unsorted works which fall within these categories - and it's worth taking a look.

They've also got lists of the titles and dates of past exhibition - but no digital archives of the works that were on show in these exhibitions.

I do hope that museums will soon realise that by showing digitised images after the event that will generate more visitors in the future!

Films about artists - Mrs Lowry & Son

Those of us with northern roots will be interested to know that The Gala Premiere of Mrs Lowry & Son is next Tuesday 27 August 2019 at the Lyric Theatre at The Lowry in Salford.

The film is about the relationship between L. S. Lowry, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century and his bed-ridden mother Elizabeth.  Timothy Spall plays Lowry and Vanessa Redgrave takes on the role of his mother, Elizabeth.

Below you can see view:

• a trailer video of the film
• a video of a Curator at the Lowry commenting on the paintings seen in the film
• a video which compares the paintings with what the places look like now
• where you can see LS Lowry Paintings - in art galleries, online and in my blog posts
• where you can find out more on the dedicated social media sites
• where you can see the film
• PLUS Artists and Art on Film: my past blog posts

JMW Turner's Travelling Watercolour Paints

Yesterday I visited the Permanent Collection in the NEW Collection Gallery at the Royal Academy of Arts (one of the new developments). This is free to visit for everybody.

I viewed (amongst other items) the travelling watercolour set of JMW Turner RA which is currently part of a temporary display. Below you can see my photos of:

• his travelling watercolour set - with cakes of paint and a section for paper for trying out colours before he used them
• his porcelain watercolour colour mixing palette
• the inevitable colour swatch of colours - to remind himself of what they looked like when clean

The travelling watercolour set of JMW Turner RA ca. 1842
Dimensions: 296 mm x 317 mm x 9 mm

The set was given to the RA by Given by Mrs Hilda Félicité Finberg in 1940

Watercolour palette owned by J.M.W. Turner, R.A.
175 mm x 148 mm x 4 mm

This porcelain watercolour palette was also given to the RA by Mrs Hilda Félicité Finberg in 1940. It's in remarkably good condition if a little scratched.

The imprint on Turner's palette for watercolours

It's clearly marked as being made by RB Newsom. This is what the online resource British artists’ suppliers, 1650-1950 maintained by the National Portrait Gallery has to say about this gentleman.

Richard Bowden Newsom, 14 Wellington St, Borough, London 1834-1837, oilman and artists’ colourman; 7, 8 and 9 Leyland St, Vauxhall 1837, candle maker and preparer of canvas and mill boards for artists; 9-10 Leland St, Lambeth 1839 candlemaker and colourman. Post-1839, see below.

Richard Bowden Newsom (1806-80) led a varied career over many years in retailing and manufacturing. He was christened on 22 January 1806 at St Mary Scarborough, the son of Joseph Newsom and Sarah Maria, née Bowden. He was apprenticed in 1820 to his father, a grocer and tallow chandler of St Albans, Hertfordshire, and a Citizen and Cordwainer of London, and was admitted in 1827 to the freedom of the Company of Cordwainers. His father set up as a tea dealer in the Borough in 1823.

Richard Bowden Newsom married Mary Wright in 1830 and they had eight surviving children. He traded from 14 Wellington St, Borough as an oilman and artists’ colourman from 1834 to 1837, and was specifically listed as an artists’ colourman in Pigot’s 1836 London directory. He was followed at this address by Frank Livett, oilman and artists’ colourman, in 1838. Newsom moved to 7, 8 and 9 Leyland St, Vauxhall, where he took out insurance as a patent wax candle maker and preparer of canvas and mill boards for artists in May 1837 (London Metropolitan Archives, Sun Fire Office policy registers, 564/1250680). In Pigot’s 1839 directory he was described as an artist, colourman and manufacturer of improved imperial wax and sperm candles, his last listing as a colourman.

His partnership with William Bayley the younger as goldbeaters at 79 White Lion St, Pentonville, and woodcutters in Hoxton, was subject to bankruptcy proceedings in 1860 (London Gazette 5 June 1860). Described as of Orpington, he was made bankrupt again in 1865, when in partnership with William Maslen and Thomas Tillam, gas apparatus manufacturers (London Gazette 7 February 1865). In census records he can be found in Lambeth in 1841, in Plaistow in 1851 as a ‘collector wine trade’ and in 1871 in Orpington as a retired grocer. He died in January 1880 at the age of 73, leaving an estate worth under £100.

Activities as an artists’ supplier: A porcelain watercolour palette once owned by J.M.W. Turner can be dated to the mid-1830s since it bears an oval printed label: R.B. NEWSOM/ 14 BOROUGH/ Requisites for/ Drawing & Painting. (Royal Academy, 03/7070). (see British artists' suppliers, 1650-1950 - N)

Watercolour swatch taken from travelling watercolour watercolour set owned by JMW Turner

This is described by the as the Watercolour test paper taken from travelling watercolour box owned by J.M.W. Turner, R.A.

Their photo on the website is considerably lighter than mine. I'm wondering if they're trying to give the impression of what it would have looked like when paper was white. So I had a go at changing the colour of the paper today - as viewed in a dimmish gallery - to one which was lighter and brighter.

Watercolours if paper is nearer to white (adjusted via Photoshop Levels)

The colours of the watercolour pans he used are as follows:

TOP ROW (left to right)

• Carmine
• Purple Madder
• Purple Madder
• Orange Chrome
• Vermillion
• Permanent Blue

ROW 2 (left to right)

• Burnt Sienna
• Burnt Sienna
• Brown Madder
• Yellow Ochre
• Raw Sienna
• Cobalt (Blue)

ROW 3 (left to right)

• Ivory Black
• Purple Carmine?
• Crimson Lake
• Roman Ochre
• Vandyke Brown
• empty space

ROW 4 (left to right)

• Burnt Umber
• Intense Brown Madder
• empty space
• empty space
• empty space
• green colour no name

ROW 5 (left to right)

• Burnt Umber
• Intense Brown Madder
• indecipherable writing (a mix?)
• Olive Green
• Yellow Lake
• Lae Lake

ROW 6 (left to right)

• Indigo
• Indigo (lighter)
• Yellow Lake
• Brown Pink
• Gamboge
• Lae lake

You can see these items for yourself in the new Permanent Collection Gallery at the Royal Academy of Arts - which the RA seems determined to keep obscure as I can't find a reference to the space on their website. 

A gem of an art collection and maybe a Titian?

This morning I went to see a painting and found an extremely impressive art collection as well.  You can see both at Apsley House and the permanent collection - like those at the Wallace Collection and the Courtauld - is an absolute gem.

A painting from the Titian Workshop

The painting is called Orpheus enchanting the animals. It celebrates the civilizing power of music and its capacity to create peace. English Heritage have been working on its conservation for the last 18 months - and they are now confident of attributing the painting to the workshop of Titian (1490-1576).

Orpheus Enchanting the Animals AFTER TREATMENT
(c) English Heritage, The Wellington Collection, Apsley House

The ancient Greek god and poet Orpheus is seen charming the animals by playing the a Lira di Bracchia which was a four stringed instrument popular in the 1560’s in Venice when the painting was made. His music has united the Lion and the Unicorn who are traditional foes.

There are a lot of animals in the painting - everything from iguanas and turtle doves to dragons, dogs and tortoises!

Orpheus hanging on the wall of the Waterloo Gallery

In 2018 the decision was made to conserve Orpheus Enchanting the Animals. The conservation involved:

• removal of the old, yellowed varnish with swabs dipped in solvent mixtures. 
• a specialist liner relined the painting as the old lining canvas was failing. 
• old damages filled with chalk putty and retouched with easily removable, synthetic pigments which will not discolour like oil paint does
• finally the painting was revarnished. 

Conservator Alice Tate-Harte restores 'Orpheus Enchanting the Animals'  
Working on the Conservation
(English Heritage | Apsley House)

The quality of the figure can now clearly be seen as the removal of dirty varnish revealed some subtlety in the shading and modelling of the figure.

New art historical research also found

• An old inventory number was discovered on the back which linked it to the Spanish Royal Collection. This placed the painting in the Duke of Infantado’s collection in Spain from 1601 (meaning that its previous attribution to an artist called Padovanino is now unsustainable since he was only 13 when this was written!)
• infrared examination of the work revealed an underdrawing - but also pentimento (significant changes between the underdrawing and the final painting). 

Some experts now believe that, at the very least, the figure and the red cloth are of sufficient quality to be painted by Titian himself.

The question of attribution is so tricky but by looking at technical and historical evidence we were able to pin it down at least to Titian’s workshop, although the process in Titian’s studio was very collaborative and Titian may well have done some of the underpainting or added some finishing touches. It is now over to connoisseurs of Titian to decide. Alice Tate-Harte, Fine Art Conservator, English Heritage 

The Apsley House Collection

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND art fans visit the art collection hung on the walls of this very prominent house. I had no idea that Apsley House has what is called the "the Spanish Gift".

These are 82 paintings which were removed from the Spanish Royal Collection by Napoleon and then rescued from Napoleon by the Duke of Wellington who tried to return them to the Spanish King.

King Ferdinand VII however considered that the Duke of Wellington had rescued Spain from the imperial ambitions of Napoleon and he was gifted the paintings - which became known as "The Spanish Gift".  They now form the core of the permanent art collection of Apsley House

This important collection of fine art, includes paintings by Velazquez, Goya, Titian, Rubens, Brueghel, Jan Steen, Sir Thomas Lawrence alongside an absolutely outstanding display of porcelain and silver (I thought it more posh than Buckingham Palace!). 

I came away with the impression of a house which has an outstanding art collection.

The Waterseller of Seville by Diego Velaquez

Entering the Ark by Jan Brueghel the Elder

Danae by Diego Velaquez

See Wellington's Titians revealed to be the real deal which talks about the conservation work done on this painting which proved that this is the painting which Velaquez sold direct to the Spanish King Philip II.

Apsley House

Apsley House is located at Hyde Park corner was purchased in 1817 by the 1st Duke of Wellington after his victory at Waterloo. 

As the victor of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, he had been voted £700,000 by Parliament to build a new ‘Waterloo Palace’. Instead of embarking on a new building, however, he submitted an anonymous bid to buy Apsley House (from his elder brother) for £40,000 to help resolve his brother’s financial difficulties.

The house became known as ‘Number 1 London’ although more conventionally it's located 149 Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner, London, W1J 7NT. It is open Wednesday-Sunday from April until 22 December.

You can read more about on the Apsley House website about

• the history of the house
• the collection