HAS NEWSLETTER   -   WINTER 2011

After a sunlit Autumn, l think 
Winter has finally caught up! 
It’s cold, and snow threatens… 
have you consulted your check 
list…stocked up with tins of 
food, salt for gritting, 
draught excluders etc.etc? 
That’s all very sensible, but
make sure you have a plentiful 
supply of white paint for your 
creative needs too; never mind 
enough boards to paint on, if 
you’re spending time indoors!

Presidents’ Prize Show-up. (1st Oct)

Exhibition at Harrow Arts Centre ( 12th – 30th October)

Capturing the Natural World, demonstration by Andrew Forkner (5th Nov)

Interiors/ Still Life, All-Day workshop with Linda Zelin
(19th Nov).

Demonstration of Portraiture in Watercolour with Freda Anderson (3rd Dec)

Out and About – Autumn / Winter 2011

Though it was quite busy, it was possible to take one’s time and stand and stare at these beautiful paintings, and to go round again without getting exhausted. Of the Vermeers, “The Lacemaker” is on loan from the Louvre and in the UK for the first time.

I had only seen reproductions of this work, which I’ve loved for as long as I can remember, and was amazed at its size – barely over 10 x 8 inches. By contrast “The Music Lesson” is a large work and dazzlingly beautiful with light pouring in from the windows on the left contrasting with the richness of the colours in the heavy Persian carpet draped across the table on the right.

Other artists represented include Pieter de Hooch, and Gerard ter Borch, and all the works reflect the theme of women’s activities in their private domestic spaces – scenes which would not normally be seen by an outsider. There is a very interesting introduction to the exhibition on YouTube (The Big Picture); it closes on January 15th.

I wonder how many of us have been to the Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery. I haven’t yet, but am hopeful it will be possible in the New Year, even if it means queuing for day tickets. It’s on until February 5th. On a radio discussion of this event, I was amused to hear the speaker point out that people were walking past magnificent 17th century Dutch paintings in the adjoining room without a glance, steadfast in their determination to get to the blockbuster.

The National Gallery also has a programme of free talks and daily tours of the highlights of its collections – many appealing events are planned for Christmas and the winter months. Have a look at their website: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on.

Good news for those of you who are considering submitting work for the many open competitions coming up in 2012: a number of these are followed by exhibitions at the Mall Galleries, organised by the Federation of British Artists, and it is now possible to enter online: the Federation is introducing a new online registration and two-stage digital pre-selection process for society members’ open exhibitions. This process allows you to register online and to upload a digital image of each submission onto a dedicated web page.

For full information, go to http://www.mallgalleries.org.uk. – or get on their mailing list and they’ll send you a leaflet. There is also a full list of deadlines for the main national open competitions to be held in 2012 published in the January edition of Artists & Illustrators (out now).
Sheila Ruffle
 
 

A little bit of History (Art in Harrow before 1914)

Grander 18th century houses were a focus for art, notably Canons (‘the most splendid house in England’ – Defoe). Built after 1713 for the Duke of Chandos, it was dismantled after his death, but he was also responsible for St Lawrence’s, Little Stanmore, whose wonderful decorations still delight. Drummond, the Duke’s banker, established himself at Stanmore Park; Zoffany painted Drummond’s family in the garden there, and also an itinerant family on the road to Stanmore. Gainsborough may similarly have painted the Hallets at the house which replaced the mansion at Canons.

These great houses and Harrow Hill were featured in numerous topographical engravings from about 1800 onwards. Thomas Wood, drawing master at Harrow School, was among the artists behind them. From this time too there are countless drawings and watercolours of local scenes, some by the daughters of local families, among them Lady Anne Rushout’s views of Harrow Hill. (Her family home was a treasure trove of paintings, including works by Raphael and Titian.) Such local views beguile the local historian: artists may prefer a simple Cotman of trees at Harrow. Also significant are the watercolours produced for Soane’s work at Bentley Priory.

Railways brought more artists to Harrow. Frederick Goodall (for whom Norman Shaw built Grimsdyke) made his name and fortune with Egyptian scenes but also showed local views at the Royal Academy. His patrons included Blackwell, of Crosse & Blackwell, who lived at the Cedars near Hatch End. Stanmore Park was decorated by William Morris: its tapestries (some now in Birmingham Art Gallery) combined Burne Jones figures with Morris flowers and foliage. Others came to make engravings: those of Frederick Albert Slocombe, of Hendon, are particularly appealing. Yet others came to paint, among them Helen Allingham, whose flowery cottages including East End Farm Cottage in Pinner was created on the spot, and her friend Kate Greenaway.

As to local residents, in 1901 Pinner was home to 10 people described as artists, some now forgotten. They included Louis Davis, famous for stained glass. Before World War I they were joined by John Sturgess (d. 1908), famous for hunting and racing picures, and the Heath-Robinsons, while Horace Mann Livens, who had been a friend of Van Gogh in their formative years and had painted him, moved into Hatch End, which he would later paint. Meanwhile a young lady named Edith Gray was travelling from Pinner to paint horses under the tuition of Lucy Kemp-Welch in Bushey, that unexpected centre for art just over the Hertfordshire border, and the young Whistlers (Rex and Laurence) were growing up at Pinner Wood.
Thamar Maciver
 
 

New Members

Looking forward to seeing you at our events.
 
 

* PLEASE NOTE---

A Reminder! Harrow ART Society Social.

There will be some refreshments provided. However if you’d like to bring food, please let me know in advance.

We are looking for any volunteers who would like to add some variety with a song, musical piece, poem etc in the form of an informal entertainment.
Come on...don’t be shy.

Reply to:      Lindachainey@aol.com
 
 

And Finally...

From your chairperson,