Category Archive for ‘Gallery’ at Countryside La Vie Magazine

Gallery

Portraits from Chequers

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on July 6, 2008

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Kings, Queens and Revolutionaries Compton Verney, Warwickshire 7 June – 14 December 2008

Portraits from Chequers presents a rare opportunity to view a select group of historically significant works from the official country residence of Prime Ministers since 1921. The portraits, which have not been seen in public for almost a century, are displayed within the British Portraits Gallery, alongside Compton Verney’s paintings of Edward VI, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Included in the display at Compton Verney are Charles I and Henrietta Maria both by Anthony Van Dyck; The Children of Charles I after Van Dyck; Lord and Lady Lee at Chequers by Philip Alexius de László; John Pym, a miniature by Samuel Cooper; Lady Mary Grey attributed to Hans Eworth; Elizabeth Claypole, Daughter of Oliver Cromwell by Jacob Huysmans; Mary I after Antonis Mor; Oliver Cromwell attributed to Robert Walker; Queen Elizabeth’s Locket Ring, containing portraits of herself and her mother, Anne Boleyn; Lady Margaret Beaufort and James I both by unknown artists.

Chequers is one of Britain’s most famous houses, yet as the country seat of the Prime Minister, it is not open to the public. It has an important collection of paintings, furniture and decorative arts. The house, which was built in the sixteenthcentury, remained in the ownership of a single family, passing through the female line. It was eventually taken on a long lease by Sir Arthur Lee, later Lord Lee of Fareham, who was seeking a country retreat, and he finally purchased the property in 1917.

The post World War 1 era brought about a new breed of politician; one who did not possess the country houses of previous prime ministers to entertain foreign dignitaries or relax from the affairs of state. Following discussions with the then Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, Chequers was given to the nation as a country retreat for the serving Prime Minister, as a result of the Chequers Estate Act of 1917, initiated by Lord and Lady Lee who had extensively restored the property. Since then, Chequers has become pivotal in the public and private lives of British Prime Ministers’, and has become the setting for many significant moments in political history.

Portraits from Chequers provides rare public access to a number of key works normally only on private display, and also signals the start of a series of interventions within Compton Verney’s six permanent collections.

Contact: Ina Cole, Communications Manager, Compton Verney, Warwickshire, CV35 9HZ

Tel: 01926 645540; Email: ina.cole@comptonverney.org.uk

Unique, Unrecorded 1863 Penny

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on May 9, 2008

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A unique and unrecorded 1863 English Penny with a die number 5 below the date will be sold by auction in Tennants Auctioneers specialist Coin and Stamp Sale in Leyburn, North Yorkshire on Wednesday, 4th June 2008.

In the early 1860 s the Mint introduced numbering dies on a number of coins, although the purpose of this remains unclear. Die numbers 2, 3 and 4 have already been recorded by Michael Freeman in The Bronze Coinage of Britain and Michael Gouby in The British Bronze Penny , however a penny with a number 5 die number has so far not been recorded.

This coin has been inspected by Royal Mint authorities including the Chief Engraver, who shares the view that the figure beneath the date is indeed a 5, thus making this find numismatically important. The coin is expected to sell for between £4,000 and £5,000.

Also in this sale will be a large collection of proof gold coins with a value of over £100,000 and several volumes of bank notes including English, Scottish, Commonwealth and Foreign notes, all in extremely fine condition. In addition, an extensive collection of commemorative medallions in gold, silver and bronze including most of the coronation issues, are also being offered for sale.

Entries are being invited for Tennants Coin and Stamp Sale to be held on 4th June 2008. For a catalogue or more information please contact Jeff Gardiner at Tennants on +44(0)1969 623780, visit www.tennants.co.uk or email enquiry@tennants-ltd.co.uk

Hidden art could be revealed by new terahertz device

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on May 8, 2008

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Like X-rays let doctors see the bones beneath our skin, “T-rays” could let art historians see murals hidden beneath coats of plaster or paint in centuries-old buildings, University of Michigan engineering researchers say.

T-rays, pulses of terahertz radiation, could also illuminate penciled sketches under paintings on canvas without harming the artwork, the researchers say. Current methods of imaging underdrawings can’t detect certain art materials such as graphite or sanguine, a red chalk that some of the masters are believed to have used.

The team of researchers, which includes scientists at the Louvre Museum, Picometrix, LLC and U-M, used terahertz imaging to detect colored paints and a graphite drawing of a butterfly through 4 mm of plaster. They believe their technique is capable of seeing even deeper.

In March, the scientists took their equipment to France to help archaeologists examine a mural they discovered recently behind five layers of plaster in a 12th century church.

“It’s ideal that the method of evaluation for historical artifacts such as frescoes and mural paintings, which are typically an inherent part of a building’s infrastructure, be non-destructive, non-invasive, precise and applicable on site. Current technologies may satisfy one or more of these requirements, but we believe our new technique can satisfy all of them,” said John Whitaker, who is a research scientist and adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at U-M.

The device used for this research is a hybrid between electronics and lasers. It was developed by the Ann-Arbor based company Picometrix. It’s called the T- Ray“ system, and it uses pulses from an ultra-fast laser to excite a semiconductor antenna, which in turn emits pulses of terahertz radiation. The rays permeate the plaster, and some reflect back when there is a change in the material. When they bounce back and how much energy they retain depends on the material they hit. Different colours of paint, or the presence of graphite, for example, cause tell-tale differences in the amount of energy in the returning waves. A receiver measures this energy, and the scientists can use the data to produce an image of what lies beneath.

G rard Mourou, a U-M electrical engineering professor emeritus, said he believes this technique will be especially useful in Europe, where historic regime changes often resulted in artworks being plastered or painted over. This was common in places of worship, some of which switched from churches to mosques and vice versa over the centuries.

“In France alone, you have 100,000 churches,” Mourou said. “In many of these places, we know there is something hidden. It has already been written about. This is a quick way to find it.” And Leonardo DaVinci’s “The Battle of Anghiari,” for example, is believed to lurk beneath other frescos at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy, Mourou said.

HRH The Prince of Wales: An Exhibition to Celebrate his Sixtieth Birthday

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on May 7, 2008

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The Drawings Gallery, Windsor Castle 16 May 2008 – 22 February 2009 To celebrate the 60th birthday of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in 2008, a special exhibition will be shown at Windsor Castle, the royal home where The Prince spent much of his childhood. Photographs from the Royal Photograph Collection will document major public and family events in His Royal Highness’s life – his Investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969, marriage to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, the births of Princes William and Harry, and his marriage to the

Duchess of Cornwall in 2005, while works of art and memorabilia selected from the Royal Collection and from The Prince’s own personal archive will reflect many of His Royal Highness’s lifelong interests.

Prince Charles Philip Arthur George was born at Buckingham Palace on 14 November 1948, the eldest son of Her Majesty The Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was christened in the Music Room at the Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher, on 15 December. To mark the occasion, his great grandmother, Queen Mary, gave him a magnificent 18th-century silver-gilt cup that had been a christening present from George III to his godson in 1780. The cup will be shown with other gifts for the young Prince, including a silver carousel made for the christening cake by wounded ex-service men.

visitor information and opening hours:
www.royalcollection.org.uk.

Chloe Lamb

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on May 2, 2008

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New figurative and landscape works

Tuesday 6th May - Saturday 17th May 2008 is your chance to visit Chelsea’s Cricket Fine Art at Langton Street Gallery, dealers in contemporary British and Continental painters and sculptors, to view an exhibition of oil paintings and pastels by accomplished artist Chloe Lamb. This is Chloe’s long awaited second one-woman show here in the UK, the first one having achieved total sell-out

Exhibiting regularly in the UK and in the USA, Chloe comes fresh from her most recent exhibition in New York in Autumn 2007, where her work was described in The New York Times by Benjamin Genocchio as having: “…a mercurial quality, evoking windswept landscapes beneath changing skies, the artist working in a loose and painterly style that sometimes veers into near abstraction.”

Working instinctively and with the sensuality of her materials, the artist says: “I start with areas of colour and lines of direction that I then build on, the way the paint behaves often dictating the path I follow, as well as the end finally reached. What is left undone or unfinished is important, to allow for space and air. The density of colour, its transparency or opacity, is part of the solution to the puzzle. This is often a protracted journey and sometimes the end frustratingly elusive.”

“I get inspiration from the land around me and the people I observe – both here and afield. With my figurative work it is the intimacy between people; the closeness or distance, activity or stillness and - as with the landscapes and abstracts - the forms within the flat surface of the canvas that engage.”

Viewing her work as an ongoing journey, Chloe feels fortunate to work with Robin Child at the internationally acclaimed Lydgate Art Research Centre in Wiltshire.

Don’t miss this latest collection. With its muted tones and tranquil feel, it will not disappoint those who have come to know and love the evocative work of this artist who paints with such empathy and sure skill.

Opening times: Monday to Friday
10.00 am to 6.00 pm and Saturdays 11.00 am to 4.00 pm.

Tennants First Specialist Toy Sale

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on February 2, 2008

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Tennants saw a busy start to the year with their first specialist Toy Sale of 2008 on Saturday, 12th January in North Yorkshire.

The oldest toy in the sale and, in fact, one of the oldest ever seen at the saleroom, was a Georgian Dissected Puzzle dating from 1812 – a forerunner of today’s jigsaw puzzle – which sold for £420, more than double it’s lowest estimate. Amazingly still complete after almost 200 years, the puzzle was entitled ‘My Pony’ and its mahogany box was inscribed showing that it had been given to a young boy by his governess.

Other highlights were seen in the ever popular Diecast Vehicles section - lot 230, a collection of 21 early boxed Matchbox vehicles, sold for £700 (estimate £300-£500), lot 235, a boxed Corgi car transporter and six cars gift set sold for £440 (estimate £200-£300) and lot 270, an American cast iron Yellow Cab sold for £340 (estimate £100-£200).

In the Comics and Annuals section, lot 179 included 12 Eagle annuals and a large collection of Eagle comics from 1955 to 1969 which sold for £500 (estimate £200-£300), lot 180 was The Magic Beano Book 1948 and being in very good condition it doubled its highest estimate and sold for £300. Lots 182 and 183 were early Rupert annuals from 1937 and 1938 and sold well for £200 and £160 respectively.

Other very popular toys were the model trains, which consistently sold for good prices and also plastic figures including the Starwars action figures which all sold over their estimates. Today, plastic toy figures are proving more popular at auction than the old lead figures, as collectors prefer toys that they remember from childhood.

Entries are being invited for Tennants next Toy Sale in late spring/early summer 2008. For more information please contact Nick Lambert at Tennants on +44(0)1969 623780, visit www.tennants.co.uk or email enquiry@tennants-ltd.co.uk

The Artist Lucy Kinsella

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on November 17, 2007

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Born in Hampshire in 1960, Kinsella moved to Leicestershire where she gained a BA Hon’s in sculpture at Loughborough University. She was awarded the Dante Alighieri Travelling Scholarship which took her to Florence, and the Dennis Holt Travelling Bursary spent in southern Ireland.

After graduating, Kinsella determined to develop her skills as an animal sculptor, drawing inspiration from Barye, Degas and Bugatti, and the contemporary work of Jonathan Kenworthy.

Kinsella’s work ranges from delicate table-top bronzes to life size and monumental sculpture. Maquettes modelled directly in wax offer her simple but effective means of viewin composition and structure. Larger pieces are worked in clay with a bold, spontaneous treatment of the surface. Kinsella’s trademark lies in the expressive handling and fine detailing that captures the movement and energy of her chosen subject.

Kinsella’s work is held in many private and public collections both in the UK and around the world, including France, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, United States, South Africa, China, Japan and United Arab Emirates.

Recent Exhibitions:

Art London, Chelsea
Newby Hall, North Yorkshire
Callaghan Fine Paintings, Shropshire
Hancock’s & Co, Burlington Arcade
Byard Art, Cambridge
Blake Gallery, York
Osborne Studio Gallery, London
Compton Cassey Gallery,
Gloucestershire
Chelsea Flower Show
RHS Flower Show, Tatton
Sausmarez Manor, Guernsey
Burghley Sculpture Park, Stamford
Pride of the Valley Sculpture Park,
Surrey

AllPosters, The World’s Largest Framed Art and Poster Shop

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on November 5, 2007

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AllPosters.co.uk is an American phenomenon that is taking the UK by storm. The world’s largest framed art, print and poster shop is making art accessible to all and revolutionizing the way UK consumers decorate their homes.

Established in California in 1998, AllPosters offers over 500,000 posters and prints to the UK market. Available to purchase online or via a complimentary catalogue, the astounding variety of artists, genres, movements and collections is inspiring creativity in people’s homes across the nation.

The appeal? AllPosters allows busy consumers to select from the world’s largest collection of posters from the comfort of their own home. Customers can browse nearly half a million reasonably priced prints online and can even seek art inspiration from the lifestyle photography featured in AllPosters’ seasonal catalogues. Once customers have chosen their artwork, they can mount and frame their selection courtesy of the AllPosters bespoke framing service. With an array of options for frames and mounts, the brand even provides a virtual wall, enabling consumers to compare their selection against the colour of their wall at home.

Convenience is paramount to AllPosters, so why purchase your print, visit a framer, wait for two weeks and collect your artwork, when the world’s largest framed art, print and poster shop can deliver your framed poster direct to your door and ready to hang? What’s more, if the customer is not 100% satisfied with their choice, they can request a full refund within 30 days of purchase. A discount is given when ordering through the website.