Rupert Toovey’s Articles – Page 28

Old Masters and the Modern Art Show

Jean Antoine Watteau, Etude de Quatres Personnages, avec Deux Femmes Assises, c.1708, Sanguine chalk on paper © Pallant House Gallery

This week I am returning to Pallant House Gallery in Chichester to see Old Masters, Modern Masters, Drawings from the Hussey Bequest.
This small, jewel like exhibition showcases some of the most beautiful and significant objects in the gallery’s collection. The selection of old master drawings, ballet prints and British landscape watercolours are taken from The Very Reverend Dean Walter Hussey’s collection.

In the exhibition’s accompanying essay Simon Martin, Director of Pallant House Gallery, explains that by their very nature drawings are vulnerable to light and can only be exhibited very occasionally. He describes them as ‘hidden secrets’. So it is a great treat to see so many on display at one time.

Walter Hussey’s collection of artworks became the founding collection of Pallant House Gallery some 40 years ago.

Hussey held the conviction that so long as the quality was right there was no barrier to placing art of different periods side-by-side, a principle he applied to his commissions of Modern British Art at Chichester Cathedral during his time there as Dean.

Hussey often selected works on the advice of the modern British artist who he worked with. The beautiful sanguine chalk drawing of a group of figures by the French rococo artist Jean Antoine Watteau from 1708 is a good example of this. He purchased the drawing on the advice of the sculptor Henry Moore. The accomplished depiction of the drapery of the ladies’ dresses gives them form. Henry Moore often incorporated figure groups into his own work.

Henry Moore, Two Sleepers, 1941 Crayon, chalk and wash on paper © Pallant House Gallery

This is apparent in the study Two Apprehensive Shelterers from 1942. Henry Moore’s depiction of these two vulnerable figures has a poignancy which speaks into our own times with the experience of the people of Ukraine. It is one of a body of work known as his Shelter Drawings which Moore produced as a war artist during the Blitz. Returning to his studio, the Shelter Drawings were often made from his memory of the experience of people sheltering underground as the bombs fell on London and elsewhere. The figures are depicted with dignity recording feelings of confinement and claustrophobia. Whilst the figures are anonymous the relationships between them is clear.

Other drawings on show include Hussey’s passion for Old Masters and the British landscape with watercolours by Giulio Romano, Thomas Gainsborough, John Robert Cozens, Paul Nash, Graham Sutherland and others.

Old Masters, Modern Masters, Drawings from the Hussey Bequest, provides an insight into the tastes, influences and thinking of one of the 20th century’s most important patrons of art. It runs until 10th April 2022.

Shipley Arts Festival 2022 Launched at Toovey’s

Andrew Bernardi and Maria Marchant at the 2022 Shipley Arts Festival launch

Community and enduring friendships were celebrated through the music of Andrew Bernardi’s Shipley Arts Festival which this year was launched at Toovey’s Washington salerooms.

The celebration began with a dinner in support of Chestnut Tree House at Arundel Castle. Mike Rymer, Chair of the charity’s trustees, greeted guests in the library before the dinner which was hosted by Henry, Earl of Arundel who spoke passionately about the work of our remarkable children’s hospice.

Malcolm Singer, the former Director of Music at the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music and current Professor of Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London had written a remarkable piece for this year’s festival with solos for Andrew and his Stradivarius violin and one of the talented young musicians at the heart of Andrew’s work, Grace Shearing. The piece is profoundly moving capturing the joys and sorrows of our human experience of the world. The violin solos are light-filled dancing hopefully above an underlying lament which draws on the Jewish tradition. Malcolm said “It was very special to première Eli, Eli Fantasy at Arundel, and it was a lovely experience working with those young musicians and Andrew.”

At the Festival launch on Sunday evening at Toovey’s Andrew Bernardi was once again joined by the acclaimed Sussex born British pianist Maria Marchant whose performance of Roderick Williams’ Goodwood by the Sea (written for the festival and Maria) delighted the festival supporters and friends. It was lovely to see another celebrated Sussex musician, Victoria Greenwood, returning to the festival. Victoria with her Viola played Rebecca Clarke’s I’ll bid my heart be still, inspired by the Thomas Pringle Poem of love and loss was beautiful, timely and moving.

Grace Shearing, a member of Andrew’s String Academy showed a maturity beyond her 15 years. She captured the audience with her passionate rendition of the 2nd movement of Bruch’s violin concerto.

Andrew and Maria transported us with Edward Elgar’s Sospiri Op.70 The festival launch concluded with Andrew an Maria treating us to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending.

The festival celebrates the local, national and international qualities of our nation gathering a community of many of the nation’s leading musicians whilst providing pathways to emerging talent. This work is recognised and supported by the Arts Council of Great Britain.

Speaking about the festival’s sponsors Andrew says “What we have in common with our sponsors, musicians and supporters is that we care about people and bringing our communities together.”

As the longest standing sponsor of the Shipley Arts Festival I am delighted that Toovey’s and myself remain at the heart of this remarkable celebration of music and community. Together with our fellow sponsors Kreston Reeves, Nyetimber, NFU Mutual at Henfield and Chichester, Wakefields and YuYuan Art, we look forward to West Sussex continuing to be at the centre of our nation’s musical life thanks to the determination and talent of Andrew Bernardi.

For more information on the forthcoming Shipley Arts Festival concerts go to www.bmglive.com.

John Hitchens: Inhabiting the Landscape through Art

Artist John Hitchens in his Sussex studio © Anne-Katrin Purkiss

Nothing can prepare you for the scale, drama and beauty of John Hitchens’ work. Following on from his important and celebrated retrospective exhibition Aspects of Landscape at Southampton City Art Gallery in 2020 John Hitchens’ work is the subject of a selling exhibition, Convergence, at the Felix and Spear Gallery in London.

Born in 1940 John Hitchens has spent most of his life living in the Sussex landscape which continues to inspire him.

The perspective of the paintings and three-dimensional works converge gifting the viewer with a sense of inhabiting, of being present in a landscape. The show focuses on John Hitchens’ artistic output during the first decades of the 21st century.

A period of aerial photography over the South Downs and a love of maps with their contours were the catalysts for these increasingly abstract landscapes from the last twenty years. Forms are reduced to a series of lines, dots, circles and patterns which provide motifs for the shapes created by ploughing and harvesting. The dots and the black areas in the compositions recall burnt stubble, a sight no longer part of our landscape. As you stop and stare subtle details reveal themselves. They reflect our human relationship with the land and our influence on the landscape. These qualities are reflected in the painting Convergence with its dramatic charcoal ground. The dots and furrows are expressed in earth hues.

Throughout his career John has often renewed his exploration in art by putting to one side those things which have been central to his work, brushwork, the relationship of the sky to the land, in order to develop and evolve his artistic voice and creativity. He has described how, in order to move forward, he got rid of the skyline by ‘tipping the land up’.

John Hitchens – Convergence, oil, circa 2001 © the artist

Although these points of decisive change can appear revolutionary he is a processional artist whose art remains about the landscape he is rooted in. His early work was painted en plein air but today John works in his studio giving voice to the unspoken conversations between found objects, nature, the landscape and music in his art.

John Hitchens’ prodigious creativity is born out of a generous discipline of ‘looking quietly’. There is a profound sense of inhabiting, of being truly present in the landscape in his work. He describes painting as a ‘calling’. His artistic practice is driven by both curiosity and delight in the familiar woods, fields, coast and Downs of Sussex. His life and art lend credence to the truth that you can journey far by remaining in the same place.

John Hitchens – Convergence runs until 27th March 2022 and John will be at the gallery between 12 noon and 3.00pm this coming Saturday 12th March 2022. To find out more visit www.johnhitchens.com.

Dame Vera Lynn Jewellery to be Sold in Aid of Charity

A number of pieces of Dame Vera Lynn’s jewellery are to be sold by auction in aid of charity at Toovey’s Washington salerooms in West Sussex on Wednesday 16th March 2022.

Over many years I have admired and supported Dame Vera Lynn and the the work of her Charitable Trust.

During the Second World War Dame Vera was known as the Forces Sweetheart, a singer of undoubtable talent she became an icon of hope in the face of the sometimes seemingly insurmountable challenges of the Second World War.

In recent days there has been an almost tangible, sharp, intake of breath across a world shocked by Vladimir Putin’s actions. Against the backdrop of courageous protests in his own country Putin has brought his will and the Russian military machine to bear on Ukraine and her people waging war in Europe.

Dame Vera Lynn was always outward facing and generous using her gifts to make a difference to people’s lives, especially in the communities she was passionate about – those who served their country bravely in our Armed Forces, children with disabilities, and of course more recently those she described as ‘the silent soldiers’ in our marvellous NHS. It was a generous example.

It is that ability to press on, to do what is right in the service of others where we stand that gives dignity and purpose to our lives whether our inspiration is sacred or secular. And the more of us who actively choose this path the more evil is pushed back and hope is restored.

Dame Vera Lynn’s large diamond set heart shaped pendant locket being sold to benefit the Dame Vera Lynn Charitable Trust

The heart remains one of the definitive symbols of love and amongst the items entered for sale from the collection is a large late Victorian diamond set heart shaped pendant locket pavé set with old cut diamonds. It was during the Victorian period that the popularity of heart shaped jewellery really reached its heights influenced by the tastes of Queen Victoria. Dame Vera’s locket is a fine example. The smaller diamonds accentuate the principle stone at its centre within a shimmering field. The back is glazed and hinged with a locket compartment. It carries a pre-sale estimate of £7000-£10000.

Alongside the pendant locket are a number of rings, bracelets, necklaces and brooches from her collection.

Dame Vera Lynn and her husband Harry Lewis

Speaking to Vera Lynn’s daughter, Ginny, about the sale she said “Mummy’s jewellery reflected points of love in her life. Her charitable work was very precious to her too, so it is very fitting that the pieces of jewellery we have entered for auction at Toovey’s will benefit the Dame Vera Lynn Charitable Trust.” Through her life, work and the legacy of the Dame Vera Lynn Charitable Trust Vera Lynn remains an icon of hope.

To be notified as soon as the illustrated online catalogue goes live this weekend register at www.tooveys.com/auction-alerts or visit www.tooveys.com/online-catalogue.

“There is a Joy to Tin Glazed Delft Ware”

A Queen Anne English Delft charger decorated in the Chinese Transitional taste.

Tin glazed earthenware describes the method of decorating fine quality pottery using a technique first developed in Baghdad in the 9th century. In an attempt to rival the glossy whiteness of Chinese porcelain the earthenware was covered with an opaque white glaze.

The technique entered Europe through Spain which was under the rule of the Umayyad Muslim caliphate. Tin glazed earthenware arrived in Italy from Spain in the first half of the 13th century. From Italy the method spread throughout Europe.

The technique remained relatively unchanged into the 18th century. After the pottery has been fired it emerges from the kiln as a brownish earthenware. It is then dipped in a glaze made up of oxides of lead and tin combined with silicate of potash. This porous white coat can then be decorated with various metallic oxides, capable of withstanding the high-temperatures of the kiln needed to unite them with the tin glaze and fuse it to the surface of the clay. Blue comes from cobalt, green from copper, purple from manganese, yellow from antimony and orange from iron.

The colours are absorbed into the glaze as soon as they are applied. No corrections to the painted design is possible. Many art historians liken the process to that of fresco wall painting, rare Saxon examples of which are to be found in a number of Sussex churches. Once decorated the vessel is then given a second firing. This fixes the glaze to the object’s body and melts it to a glossy surface. Lead glaze is commonly applied before firing to enhance the finish.

Tin glazed earthenware is often known as delft. The name derives from the Dutch town of Delft which by the mid-17th century had become the most important centre for the manufacture of tin glazed earthenware.

An 18th century Dutch Delft tin glazed, tulip filled vase.

Many of my favourite examples of tin glazed delft are those from the 18th century made in the British Isles. Like the Dutch tulip filled vase they are frequently stylistically influenced by the Chinese imported porcelain of the same date.

The decoration of Chinese Transitional Period porcelain typically employs naturalistic themes depicting, beasts, flowers and most especially figure subjects. Figure subjects on Transitional wares are often united by a narrative following the traditions of Chinese opera as well as literary art forms.

The early 18th century Queen Anne English delft charger beautifully imitates these Chinese decorative motifs.

The finest examples of delft tin glazed earthenware realise tens of thousands of pounds but examples like these can still be bought at auction for low to mid-hundreds of pounds. They have a delightful provincial quality. Whilst their decoration often reflects the regions in which they were made they connect the collector with the international stylistic influences of their time. There is a joy to tin glazed delft ware. Perhaps it is time you discovered the delights of collecting tin glazed earthenware!