Hair – The Art of Loss

Jul30

JANE WILDGOOSE – BEYOND ALL PRICE, Waddesdon Manor, Waddesdon, Near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, until 25^th October 2015

Wildgoose hair mirror
Jane Wildgoose, Beyond All Price, detail, 2015; hair-work flowers, feathers, mirror; © Jane Wildgoose; Photographed in the Green Boudoir, Waddesdon Manor by Mike Fear © The National Trust, Waddesdon Manor

It is appropriate that the State Bedroom and the adjoining Green Boudoir should be the centre for this installation which emotively explores the theme of loss, mourning and love, as the bedroom was where Queen Victoria rested and received Baron Ferdinand privately during her visit on 14^th May 1890.

Hair-work flowers, © Jane Wildgoose

While one may easily be forgiven for thinking that the idea of mourning could have originated with Queen Victoria’s grief following the death of her husband Prince Albert in 1861 this exhibition shows that in fact the origins are earlier.

The centrepiece in the Green Boudoir is a small photograph, perhaps from a locket, of Ferdinand’s wife Evelina and their stillborn child who both died in 1866 just eighteen months after their marriage.

One common theme in commemorating the departed was human hair and the artist Jane Wildgoose has created new works using hair and they are seen alongside items from Royal Collection, generously lent by Her Majesty The Queen, the Museum of London, the National Maritime Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Waddesdon and private collections.

Green Boudoir
Jane Wildgoose: Beyond all Price in the Green Boudoir at Waddesdon Manor.
© Jane Wildgoose. Photo: Mike Fear © The National Trust, Waddesdon Manor

Please note:

Artist’s Tour: Jane Wildgoose

Power House and House

Wednesday 9^th September

10.45-12.15 (coffee on arrival 10.15)

Join artist Jane Wildgoose for an introduction to her exhibition Beyond all Price with a chance to view the installation in the Green Boudoir in her company.

£15.00

www.janewildgoose.co.uk

www.waddesdon.org.uk

Sublime Gardens

Jul18

Painting Paradise: The Art of the Garden, The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London SW1, until11th October 2015

Marco Ricci, A View of the Cascade, Bushy Park Water Gardens, c.1715.
Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014

This is a great exhibition which celebrates the idea of the garden through paintings, drawings, books and the decorative arts from the 16^th to the early 20^th century.

Mir ‘Ali Sir Nava’l, Seven Couples in a Garden, c. 1510.
Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014

We see a Persian garden depicted in an Islamic manuscript, the gardens of Versailles and Hampton Court, Kew, Windsor and Osborne House. Works by Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Jan Brueghel the Elder as well as late 19^thand early 20^th century watercolours and a Fantin-Latour painting.

Jan Brueghel the Elder, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, 1615.
Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014

There is a wonderful selection of floral decoration on Bow, Chelsea, Meissen and Sèvres porcelains, textiles, furniture, silver, fans and jewellery, including pieces commissioned by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria and of course works by Carl Fabergé.

Workshop of Carl Faberge, Bleeding Heart, c.1900.
Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014

This engaging exhibition appeals to most tastes as it reveals the garden as a place of beauty, a place for research and science, a place to relax and enjoy and a place to wonder at the glories of nature.

Thomas Tompion, one of a pair of sundials, 17th century.
Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk

An April Shower of Fairs

Apr16

I thought I would share this cluster of fairs that are happening over the next ten or so days. All are well worth a visit.

The Chelsea Art Fair, Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Road, London SW3, April 16^th -19^th April 2015.

Faye Anderson
“Bert”
8″x6″ (20cmx15cm),
Egg Tempera
Courtesy of Cameron Contemporary Art

This is a popular fair, which has well over thirty galleries from the UK exhibiting and is best summed up by its director Ben Cooper “Since our revamp three years ago, the Fair has gone from strength to strength and we have very much established ourselves as the London Fair which offers Londoners a fantastic selection of galleries with a variety of works which appeal to a wide range of art lovers.”

www.chelseaartfair.org

The London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair 2015, The Showroom, Penfold Street, Marylebone, London NW8, 16^th – 19^th April 2015

Rare C19th Qashqai (Persia) bagface
Owen Parry.

This jewel of a fair offers a tempting array of rugs and carpets, textiles, tapestries and tribal weavings from all over the world. Among the twelve specialist dealers are two new exhibitors – Kennedy Carpets (London) and Hagop Manoyan (New York). The intimate bazaar-like setting compliments both the rare and decorative pieces available. Just as last year the Fair will be on view online too.

www.larta.net

Ceramic Art London 2015, Henry Moore and Gulbenkian Galleries, The Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London, SW7, 17^th – 19^th April 2015

Barbara Hast,
Teapot and Cup,
porcelain, thrown, modeled, relief painting, 5.5 inches.
Courtesy of Ceramic Art London

Some eighty ceramic artists from around the world will be showing here in this leading international fair. Whether you are looking for the more practical or decorative this is the place to come as you will discover both traditional and cutting-edge approaches to the making of wonderful ceramic objects. Pots rock!

http://www.ceramics.org.uk

Spring Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair, Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London SW11, 21st – 26th April 2015

c1920s sketch of a decorator’s scheme for an apartment
Charles Plante Fine Arts

The Spring edition of this enduringly popular and tempting Fair has the Passementerie Garden as its Foyer Exhibition. It promises to be fun with a wide array of antique and textile trimmings. A 19^th century room is being recreated by Charles Plante Fine Arts using extravagantly-trimmed curtains and textiles; a setting which will reflect his carefully chosen stock of watercolours and drawings of interiors, gardens and architecture. Who could ask for anything more?

www.decorativefair.com

The Other Art Fair, B1, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, London WC1, 23^rd – 26^th April 2015

Tommy Clarke
‘Entry’
C-type print, framed, 63.5 x 60 cm
Edition of 100

The Other Art Fair (TOAF) is an interactive experience because visitors can actually speak to the artists exhibiting there and learn more about the processes involved in creating these highly individual works of art. It is a great way to introduce younger members of your family to the world of art collecting as it is in a relaxed, more informal setting than many other fairs.

theotherartfair.com

The London Original Print Fair, Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1, 23rd-26th April 2015

Tommaso Piroli (1752–1824) after Friedrich Rehberg (1758–1835)
Emma, Lady Hamilton’s ‘attitudes’, plate III, 1794
Engraving and etching on ochre prepared paper, 26.3 x 20.1 cm
RCIN 655736
Purchased by the Prince Regent (later George IV) from Colnaghi & Co. on 15 April 1816 for 7s 6d (for the set)
Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2015

This exciting fair, covering both old and contemporary, is now in its thirtieth year a fact which is honoured by a loan exhibition of thirty prints from the Royal Collection. As always a must for devotees of this discipline.

James Gillray (1756–1815)
A New Edition Considerably Enlarged of Attitudes Faithfully Copied from Nature, plate III
1807
Etching on blue paper
25.9 x 19.6 cm
RCIN 655737
Purchased by the Prince of Wales (later George IV) from Hannah Humphrey on 24 April 1807 for 15s (for the set)
Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2015

londonprintfair.com

The Queen’s Gallery – I

Jan22

There is still time to see the two fascinating shows at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London SW1, until 22nd February 2015. Here is the first one.

Cairo to Constantinople: Early Photographs of the Middle East

The Prince of Wales and party among ruins in Karnak, Thebes, Egypt, March 1862
Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014

A twenty-year old Prince of Wales, who would become Edward VII, set out on a four month tour of the Middle East in 1862 and this exhibition celebrates it. What makes the tour special is that the Prince was accompanied by the photographer Francis Bedford who took the series of images seen here and which made it the first royal tour to be recorded in this manner.

Portrait of Abd al-Qadir, May 1862
Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014

As the images reveal, the Prince did not travel in pomp or splendour but rather by horse and he slept in tents. He did however meet rulers, politicians and other notable figures as he progressed through Egypt, Palestine and the Holy Land, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece.
The main reason for Bedford’s inclusion with the royal party was to record sacred and historic landscapes, which he did with great skill. These images are remarkable and give a haunting sense of place and time.

Gold brooch set with ancient Egyptian scarab dating from 700BC.
Royal Collection Trust / (c) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014

The Prince kept a journal of his travels and this is on show as are antiquities that the Prince acquired along the way.

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk

Royal Childhood

Aug22

Royal Childhood, Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, until 28^th September 2014.

Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace
Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014
Peter Smith

Buckingham Palace, as this view of the Picture Gallery suggests, is a veritable treasure house of Old Masters, English paintings, porcelain (especially French), great furniture, clocks and sculpture. To many of us it is the place where the Queen entertains visitors whether heads of state or more ordinary mortals invited to the annual garden parties and investitures. A seat of State and Royal business!

Handwriting practice of the five-year-old Prince of Wales (future George IV), 1767
Royal Collection Trust / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

Princess Victoria’s home-made wooden dolls
Royal Collection Trust / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

That is why this year’s exhibition Royal Childhood is special for it reminds us that it has also been a family home from the time George III purchased it in 1762. Indeed the east front with its famous balcony was commissioned in 1845 by Queen Victoria to give more ‘accommodation for our little family, which is fast growing up’. She and Prince Albert had nine children. In the last century Her Majesty the Queen and her sister Princess Margaret moved into the Palace in 1936 when their parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, and of course the Queen has raised her own children there since her own accession in 1952.

What huge fun this exhibition is for it reminds us that despite some of the necessary formalities, such as the birth announcement displayed on the easel in the forecourt as happened with the birth of Prince George of Cambridge last year, that children are very much the same in their love of dressing up, recording their growth in height, toy cars, rocking horses, exercise books, and making things such as pottery.

Cupboard door marking the heights of royal children, from Princess Elizabeth to Prince Andrew.
Royal Collection Trust / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

Fairy costume worn by Princess Anne
Royal Collection Trust / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

Among the highlights for me were the doll’s house belonging to two of George III’s daughters and the silver-gilt Lily Font used for royal christenings but these are just two of the many wonderful things reflecting nine generations of royal children. Certainly when I saw the pedal cars – there was a thunderstorm outside – I thought what fun it would be to race up and down the Picture Gallery in them. I hope that it proves as nostalgic and enjoyable an exhibition for all who visit it.

Silver-gilt Lily Font, 1841
Royal Collection Trust / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk

Toy soldiers belonging to Prince Edward, c.1960
Royal Collection Trust / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

Miniature Aston Martin DB5 presented to Prince Andrew, 1966.
Royal Collection Trust / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

Rocking horse presented by President Obama and Mrs Obama to Prince George, 2013
Royal Collection Trust / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

Blue glazed bowl made by Prince Harry, aged 11.
Royal Collection Trust / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

The First Georgians

Aug15

The First Georgians: Art & Monarchy 1714-1760, The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, until 12 October 2014

Studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland, Elector of Hanover, c. 1715
Image copyright of Royal Collection Trust/c Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013.

This exhibition celebrates the three hundredth anniversary of the Hanoverian succession to the British throne in 1714 and what a story it tells looking at the reigns of George I (r.1714-27) and his son George II (r.1727-60) it also reveals the somewhat problematical relationship both Kings had with their heirs.

Christian Frederick Zincke, George II, c.1727
Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

Over three hundred works from the Royal Collection are used to tell the tale, including the Jacobite claims from the ‘Old’ and ‘Young Pretender’ which culminated in the battle of Culloden in 1746. This is told through battle plans and military maps and includes a draft order of battle for Culloden which is thought to have been made by the Duke of Cumberland, George II’s son who led his troops to victory.

R Cattermole, The Cupola Room, Kensington Palace, c. 1817
Image copyright of Royal Collection Trust/c Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013.

George I favoured Kensington Palace as a residence and employed William Kent to decorate a series of State Rooms which the King had furnished with the best examples of British furniture and Old Master paintings. George II’s son Frederick Prince of Wales was also a collector of Old Master paintings and his purchases included Guido Reni’s Cleopatra with the Asp, c.1628. He also liked to entertain and the spectacular marine service by Paul Crespin and Nicholas Sprimont was made for use at his table. Frederick’s mother Queen Caroline was without doubt the dynasty’s most intellectual member and her interests in art, gardening and genealogy is revealed here.

Christian Frederick Zincke, Queen Caroline, c.1727
Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

An important development in 18^th century British cultural life was the slow move away from Court patronage as artists were able to achieve fame and success without the support of a royal patron. Satire, whether written or depicted became a favourite weapon ridiculing public taste and the emerging new leisure class provided good subject matter.

The Neptune Centrepiece, 1741-2
Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

There was an increasing demand for luxury items which drove British commercial enterprise to new heights and saw the development of such new enterprises as the Chelsea porcelain works which competed with the German Meissen factory, and whose products are still eagerly sought after today.

Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory, oval dish from a dessert service, 1752-6
Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

It really is a fascinating, wide-ranging exhibition which not only celebrates the first two Georges but also shows how it was the time when Britain started to become a cosmopolitan, liberal society, which embraced commerce, freedom of both expression and the exchange of ideas. So definitely worth commemorating!

Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto, London: The Thames from Somerset House Terrace towards Westminster, c. 1750.
Image copyright of Royal Collection Trust/c Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013.

www.royalcollection.org.uk

WARTS AND ALL – Philip Mould & Company

Nov13

WARTS AND ALL – The Portrait Miniatures of Samuel Cooper (1609-1672), until 7th December, Philip Mould & Company

In his lifetime Cooper was described as both the ‘the prince of limners’ and ‘Vandyck in little’. This remarkable loan exhibition fully allows us to celebrate the life and output of this highly skilled painter of miniatures.

Samuel Cooper, Self-Portrait, 1644, Oval, 74mm (2 7/8 inches) high,
Royal Collection.

His career spanned nearly fifty years at a time when England was in political upheaval, working for the court of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell and then Charles II. His work was eagerly sought after and not all were successful in becoming sitters. Samuel Pepys wrote on 2^nd January 1661/2 “I went forth by appointment to meet with Mr. Grant, who promised to bring me acquainted with Cooper, the great limner in little, but they deceived me. It was not until 16^th July, 1668 that he was able to write “Thence to Cooper’s and saw his advance on my wife’s picture which will indeed be very fine.”

Samuel Cooper, Margaret Lemon, c.1635, Oval, 121 mm (4 ¾)inches high.
Fondation Custodia, Paris.

As the exhibition’s curator, Emma Rutherford, says “it is impossible to imagine charting this significant period of British history without these memorable private images.” What a variety there is. Among them is a c1635 miniature of Van Dyck’s mistress, Margaret Lemon, in cavalier dress (male), one of Cromwell’s wife and daughter and one of Charles II’s illegitimate son James Scott, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch 1649-83. Cooper’s sketches are very rare, with only a handful surviving, but one from 1655 of the young Thomas Alcock is on display.

Samuel Cooper, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleugh (and detail), 124mm (4 7/8 inches),
Royal Collection.

The Duke of Buccleuch has loaned the famous portrait of Oliver Cromwell and the exhibition sets out to confirm that Cooper was the recipient of Cromwell’s wish to be depicted “warts and all”. Nearby, will be Lely’s identical portrait as well as Cromwell’s death mask.

Samuel Cooper, Oliver Cromwell, c.1650, Oval, 79mm (3 1/8 inches) high.
By kind permission of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry KBE.

This is the first show dedicated to Samuel Cooper since 1974 and its significance is clearly underlined by the many lenders, which in addition to the aforementioned includes, Her Majesty the Queen, Castle Howard, Burghley House, Warwick Castle , The Ashmolean Museum, The Fitzwilliam Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.

Samuel Cooper, Sarah Foote, later Mrs. John Lewis, 1647, 54mm (2 1/8 inches) high.
Private Collection.

As the gallery’s owner Philip Mould rightly says ‘We are overwhelmed by the generosity of private and public owners whose willingness to lend will allow us to graphically express how the British born Samuel Cooper is one of the greatest portrait painters in European art history.’

You know what? I totally agree!

philipmould.com

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Tag Archives: Royal Collection

Hair – The Art of Loss

Sublime Gardens

An April Shower of Fairs

The Queen’s Gallery – I

Royal Childhood

The First Georgians

WARTS AND ALL – Philip Mould & Company