May 2016 – Toovey’s Blog

Capability Brown: a Generous Revolutionary

Petworth House united with its landscape

Petworth House and Park are celebrating the 300th anniversary of the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-1783). A series of revolutionary, interactive installations make up the exhibition ‘Petworth Park Revealed: The Naked Landscape’. They chart this remarkable English landscape gardener’s involvement at Petworth in the mid-18th century.

The National Trust’s Regional Archaeologist, Tom Dommett

I am in the company of Tom Dommett, the National Trust’s Regional Archaeologist. He explains that these installations represent the culmination of three years of practical archaeology involving extensive excavations, geoarchaeological and geophysical surveys. Tom says “The project owes much of its success to the hard work and dedication of the team of some 120 volunteers.” This community archaeology initiative was funded by the Monument Trust and the exhibition is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Before Capability Brown arrived at Petworth there were formal parterre gardens with canals and lines of trees next to the house. The gardens led into the commercial park. Here deer were farmed beside brick kilns, stables and a dove cot.

Tom comments “Capability Brown’s designs mark a huge philosophical shift in what a park should be and give expression to the mood of an age.” He continues “The formal gardens were only completed twenty years before he embarked upon changing this landscape on an extraordinary scale. The working park was moved completely.”

As we walk out into the park in conversation I remark upon the beauty of the view towards the serpentine lake and how Capability Brown seems to be a generous revolutionary in English garden design. Tom smiles in agreement and responds “The geoarchaeology has revealed how whole ridges have been removed to open views. Originally there was a ridge in front of the house which was moved to reveal the lake which he also created!”

Brown’s landscape design at Petworth works in concert with the house and its art.

Capability Brown’s landscape at Petworth

Capability Brown exercised a grammatical approach to creating his naturalistic, poetic landscapes in the English Romantic tradition. This effortless look required an incredible knowledge and understanding of how to make landscapes work. Tom tells me that there are miles of tunnels which ferry water to the lake.

Unexpectedly Tom reaches into his pocket and pulls out his smartphone. Excitedly he explains how they have hidden discrete Wi-Fi hotspots, powered by solar energy, in the landscape. ‘Park Explorer’ is a safe and secure network which allows visitors to hear Tom’s commentary, whilst interactive images depict views and archaeology. As you move your fingers across the screen it even reveals impressions of earlier views!

Back in the house cutting edge digital technology allows you to create your own virtual ‘Brownian’ landscapes using a sandbox, whilst interactive visual displays convey the history of Petworth and its park.

As we part Tom enthuses “Landscape archaeology really excites me. Petworth Park’s landscape appears frozen time but it has changed so much over the last 800 years.” His excitement is infectious. I feel certain that Capability Brown would have loved Tom’s revolutionary exhibition.

The interactive installations engage the visitor in a remarkable way giving us unparalleled access to the hidden layers of history revealed in this landscape. Capability Brown was the most remarkable of English landscape gardeners. His sheer ability, self-belief and scale of vision is revealed in the parkland landscape at Petworth. ‘Petworth Park Revealed: The Naked Landscape’ opens this Bank Holiday weekend on the 28th May 2016 and, together with a series of associated events, continues until 6th November 2016. Tom Dommett, the National Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Monument Trust are deserving of our thanks.

For more information go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth-house.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.

Bring your toys and come and play

Toovey’s toy specialist, Christopher Gale, offering advice on a collection of toys

Toovey’s specialist toys valuer, Christopher Gale, is returning to the Horsham Museum & Art Gallery this coming Saturday, 21st May 2016, between 10am and 12noon. He will be providing free auction valuations and advice on your toy trains, cars, teddy bears, dolls and collectors’ toys. Chris Gale says: “A third of the seller’s commission for items subsequently auctioned by Toovey’s will be donated by us to Horsham Museum to help with its important work.”

A Märklin for Bassett-Lowke gauge O electric 4-2-0 locomotive

I ask Chris what toys he hopes to see this weekend. He replies “I’ve discovered some fine toys at these Horsham Museum valuation events like the Steiff teddy bear which Toovey’s sold for £1800!” He pauses and continues “We have had a number of exceptional Bassett-Lowke toy models come to auction recently.” Bassett-Lowke were toy retailers from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. Their knowledge of British railway design and influence over the market was huge. They often commissioned these toys from German manufacturers like Märklin. Chris comments “These models were wonderful in their proportion and expensive so they were usually looked after. Condition and originality is really important to today’s collector but even playworn examples fetch a good price. A toy’s box and packaging will also have a positive effect on value.” The Bassett-Lowke O gauge electric train shown here in Southern livery was manufactured by Märklin. It came with a reproduction box and realised £460.

A Bassett-Lowke live steam model 'Fast Motor Boat Streamlinia'

Chris explains that although Bassett-Lowke is famous for the toy trains it commissioned and made it also produced battleships and model boats. The Bassett-Lowke live steam model ‘Fast Motor Boat Streamlinia’ had a wooden deck, cream painted superstructure and hull with brass fixings and working rudder. Measuring 100cm in length and complete with its original box it made £1800.

A pre-war Dinky Toys No. 28h delivery van 'Sharp's Toffee Maidstone'

Chris continues “Toy cars and tin plate toys always have a strong following. Dinky cars, ships and planes, for example, delight grown-up collectors as they did when they were boys. And they love rare models like the pre-war ‘Sharp’s Toffee Maidstone’ van which Toovey’s sold for £460.”

Bring your toy trains, cars, teddy bears, dolls and collectors’ toys and come to play with toys specialist Chris Gale between 10am and 12noon this Saturday, 21st May 2016, for a morning of fun and free pre-sale valuations at the Horsham Museum & Art Gallery, The Causeway, Horsham, RH12 1HE. Who knows, your old toys could just be your hidden treasure! A third of the seller’s commission for items seen at the event and subsequently auctioned by Toovey’s will be donated to the Friends of Horsham Museum. Sellers will receive the full amount they would normally get but they will know that they have helped the Museum as well. The toy displays at Horsham Museum have just been refurbished so there is much to delight and see as well!

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.

Little Thakeham, The Finest of Sussex Homes

Ashleigh Wigley seated in the oriel window at Little Thakeham

This week I am with Ashleigh Wigley the current owner and custodian of Little Thakeham which was designed Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1902. The house and gardens come to the market this week providing a once in a generation opportunity to buy one of the most architecturally important homes in Sussex.

Sir Edwin Lutyens designed a number of buildings and memorials of great importance to our nation. These included the Cenotaph in Whitehall and the Viceroy’s House in New Delhi.

In addition to these public commissions Lutyens designed private houses for a cohort of wealthy, progressive clients at the turn of the 19th century. Amongst these houses was Little Thakeham. Lutyens described it as the ‘best of the bunch’. It combines the architectural vocabulary and attention to detail which makes his work so important and distinctive.

I have known and been involved in Little Thakeham’s story for more than twenty-five years. The front entrance never fails to excite me. The house clearly fits into the procession of English vernacular architecture. For Lutyens tradition was a vital and living thing. And yet his dramatic, architectural, spatial sequences were admired by the modernist architects, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. These qualities are apparent as you process from the gate into the garden court and through the arch into the house itself.

Little Thakeham from the Gardens ©Anthony Bianco 2016

Like those in the Arts and Crafts movement Lutyens was as concerned about the aesthetics of the interiors of his buildings as he was with their exteriors. His remarkable attention to detail is apparent everywhere you look.

Ashleigh Wigley is Little Thakeham’s current custodian. Her delight and care for the building and its place is immediately apparent. As we sit drinking tea and chatting in the Great Hall she remarks “It has been beyond my wildest dreams to live somewhere so beautiful – it’s a place never to take for granted.” Ashleigh acknowledges the keen eye and unwavering support of her partner, Nigel Roberts, and says “English Heritage are delighted with what we’ve done at Little Thakeham.”

There is a restrained grandeur to the house and yet it is a place designed to be a home. Ashleigh talks of the fun her two children have had growing up at Little Thakeham. A smile crosses her face as she exclaims “It’s the best place ever for hide and seek!”

The Great Hall ©Anthony Bianco 2016 — The Great Hall, Little Thakeham ©Anthony Bianco 2016

Ashleigh admits how moved she was when the stone oriel window in the Great Hall was revealed after its restoration. The south-facing oriel window fills the hall with a warm light. Light was very important to Lutyens’ architectural compositions and this is apparent throughout this generous home.

An archway into the garden at Little Thakeham © Anthony Capo-Bianco 2016

An intimate inner hall has the type of plain oak doors and beautiful latches that you find in most of the rooms. They were designed to provide a simple daily pleasure. From here an arched doorway leads into the south-facing gardens. As you look back at the house you see a fine example of the asymmetrical designs for which Lutyens is famed. The vocabulary of different facades used to form complimentary compositions delights the eye and works in concert with the lie of the land. The tiles and sandstone are typical of this part of Sussex and again speak into the vernacular tradition.

As we stand in the spring sun light I comment that my experience of Little Thakeham is that it quietly works its way into your very personhood and reveals its qualities with increasing richness over time. Ashleigh responds “I agree. It gets under your skin. It’s a generous place, a house for celebrations. It allows people to grow.” She pauses to reflect and continues “Being here has been a great privilege.”

Little Thakeham has a stillness out of time. This is a once in a generation opportunity to own one of the finest and most architecturally important homes in Sussex. Little Thakeham is being marketed by Strutt & Parker London with a guide price of £5.95 million. For more information telephone 0207 629 7282, email london@struttandparker.com, or visit www.littlethakeham.com and www.struttandparker.com.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.

The British Landscape Tradition

Thomas Gainsborough, ‘A Suffolk Lane’, 1750-60 © Pallant House Gallery

A new exhibition at Pallant House Gallery, ‘The British Landscape Tradition: From Gainsborough to Nash’, opens on the 11th May 2016 in the intimate environs of the De’Longhi gallery. It articulates the importance and procession of landscape art to our nation, with particular reference to watercolours and drawings.

The British landscape watercolour tradition of the 18th and early 19th centuries was a moment where our artists found their own unique and influential voice in European art history. The landscape tradition and romanticism grew out of recording the topography of the Grand Tour. A reverence for nature and the landscape emerged in the 18th century. As Wordsworth, wrote in 1798 ‘Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.’ As artists and their patrons returned from the Grand Tour they began to see our native landscape afresh through the eyes of the poet and the artist.

One of the earliest exponents of this tradition in Britain was Thomas Gainsborough. He often journeyed into the English countryside to sketch directly from nature, recording the picturesque. His delight in the scene, ‘A Suffolk Lane’, is complimented by the immediacy of this pencil sketch which, despite its apparent stillness, is filled with life.

John Robert Cozens, ‘View over Greenwich’, 1791 © Pallant House Gallery

It was Dr Thomas Munro who identified the genius of the artist John Robert Cozens. Munro was the chief physician at the Bethlem (Bedlam) Royal Hospital. Suffering a nervous breakdown after his work was rejected by the Royal Academy Cozens was committed to the Bethlem asylum. Munro encouraged him to paint as a form of therapy and would eventually buy Cozens’ collection of work.

Munro’s patronage had an influence on many of Britain’s leading artists of the time. J.M.W. Turner and his contemporary Thomas Girtin both worked in Munro’s informal academy in 1795. Turner was exposed to John Robert Cozens’ landscapes whilst at Munro’s and would later acknowledge the importance of these works on his own development as an artist. The exquisite watercolour of Greenwich by Cozens brings our senses alive in our imaginations as light and breeze play upon the trees and the horizon merges with the sky in that very English way.

John Sell Cotman, ‘Capel Curig’, 1807 © Pallant House Gallery

John Sell Cotman also spent time with Munro. Cotman, a leading member of the Norwich School of artists, is celebrated for his use of blocked in colour, which is apparent in his landscape ‘Capel Curig’, which still seems modern to our eyes today.

The exhibition importantly displays how the procession of British artists working on paper continues into the 20th century. John Piper considered his fellow artist Paul Nash to be part of the romantic landscape tradition. Nash, however, like Gainsborough before him, was keen to emphasise the ‘poetic’ in his work. He sought to look beyond the immediate to what he referred to as the ‘genius loci’, the spirit of the place, to ‘a reality more real’. Paul Nash was drawn to objects sculpted by nature, exemplified by the windswept trees in his landscape ‘Wittenham’. It serves to highlight the poetic nature of his painting and how firmly rooted he was in the English tradition.

Paul Nash, ‘Wittenham’, 1935 © Tate Gallery

The beautiful works in this exhibition allow us to see how British artists have sought to record our human engagement with nature and the landscape. These watercolours and drawings engage our senses and our emotions. They record not only places and things, but something of life itself.

‘The British Landscape Tradition: From Gainsborough to Nash’ runs at Pallant House Gallery, 9 North Pallant, Chichester, PO19 1TJ, from the 11th May to 26th June 2016. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors De’Longhi entrance to this superb exhibition is free. For more information go to www.pallant.org.uk or telephone 01243 774557.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.