Category: Rupert Toovey’s Articles

Remembering the Great War

Left to right: Jeremy Knight, Exhibition Curator, Jonathan Chowen, Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for Arts, Heritage & Leisure, and Philip Circus, Horsham District Council Chairman, beside ‘Poppies’, made by students of the Camellia Botnar Foundation

Horsham Museum & Art Gallery’s exhibition ‘The First World War 1914-1919 Memories and Memorabilia’ begins a year of commemorations in remembrance of the outbreak of the Great War on 28th July 1914. Three generations were united by the experiences of the First and Second World Wars, wars which for the first time brought industrialized might to the battlefield with terrible consequences.

Jonathan Chowen, Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for Arts, Heritage & Leisure, and Philip Circus, Horsham District Council Chairman, seen here with exhibition curator Jeremy Knight, are passionate historians. Winston Churchill was always influenced by the long shadow of history, mindful to heed the warnings the past offers to the present. Jonathan Chowen also understands the importance of history. “It is so important that each generation learns from history,” he remarks, “especially the First World War and the dire consequences of conflict. Acts of remembrance, like this exhibition, maintain our common narrative as a nation.”

First World War troops in the trenches on the Western Front
First World War troops beneath a pyramid in Egypt
‘Middle East in Convoy W.W.II’, a watercolour by Geoffrey Sparrow

The images of the Great War still have the power to shock a century later and they inform our perspectives and understanding of this period. Amongst sorrow, suffering, sacrifice, courage, duty and hope, however, there are the very human and personal stories. This excellent exhibition seeks to give us fresh insights. I grew up with men who had fought in the trenches, men who had experienced gas attacks and the heat of battle and their stories have stayed with me. During the 1970s Jane Bowen interviewed and recorded the recollections of a number of soldiers, which have been transcribed for this exhibition. I had pictured troops in the trenches for months at a time whereas these recordings reveal that troops were in fact rotated on a regular basis. On average, a battalion could expect to spend ten days a month in the trenches and four to five days a month continuously in the firing line. Such care for our troops stands in contrast to the huge loss of life at the Battle of Mons and elsewhere. Their recorded memories give a very human account of the realities of life in the trenches.

Christ’s Hospital school has generously loaned the uniform of Edmund Blunden, the celebrated war poet and a former pupil of the school. Blunden cycled from Horsham to Chichester to sign on and the war played a key part in his life and poetry.

Along with such memories there is a remarkable selection of objects, which provide a tangible connection with the past. These include a First World War periscope, valentine cards, silk handkerchiefs, uniforms and knitwear. There are also the medals awarded to Dr Geoffrey Sparrow, who settled in post-war Horsham, along with a rare copy of On Four Fronts, his account of the war. The watercolour of a convoy in the Middle East, painted by Sparrow during the Second World War and auctioned at Toovey’s last year, adds richness to the photograph of troops beneath an Egyptian pyramid, taken during the Great War, which is included in the exhibition.

Jonathan Chowen concludes, “I am keen to encourage and make visible the extraordinary number of acts of remembrance which are taking place across the Horsham District. The outbreak of the Great War one hundred years ago will make Remembrance Sunday and Remembrance Day particularly poignant this year.” I agree. I have not been called to serve my country on the field of battle. I feel a debt of gratitude to those who fought in the two World Wars and those who serve in our armed forces today, so that we may live in relative peace and security.

This is an exceptional exhibition and thanks must go once again to curator Jeremy Knight.

‘The First World War 1914-1919 Memories and Memorabilia’ runs at Horsham District Council’s Horsham Museum & Art Gallery until 29th March 2014. For further details contact Jeremy Knight at the Museum.

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 5th February 2014 in the West Sussex Gazette.

Chinese Republic Porcelain in Sussex

The Forbidden City, Beijing

Mercantile trade was at the heart of British prosperity and overseas interests from the 18th to the 20th centuries. By the 18th century Britain had become the greatest European power in the East. This success was predominantly bound up with the government-licensed British East India Company, which had become the leading trading and political force in India.

A Chinese famille rose porcelain vase, early 20th century Republic period, auctioned for £76,000
A Chinese porcelain vase, early 20th Century Republic period, auctioned for £650
The Great Wall of China

In the late 18th century attempts were made to establish official relations with China by Lord George Macartney. The lavish embassy sent to Beijing as part of this British Government-backed mission was interpreted as humble tribute-bearing by the Chinese. The response to George III from the Qianlong Emperor noted that trade was out of the question, since Britain possessed nothing for which China had the slightest need. There were, however, many Chinese traders who were prepared to do business unofficially with foreigners. The trade in opium from India, the Opium War and ensuing British military expedition in 1840 resulted in the Qing government ceding compensation, Hong Kong Island and the opening of five ports to British traders. Twenty million people died in the bloody Taiping Rebellion in southern China, a massive civil war against the ruling Manchu-led Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1850 to 1864. Invasion by Japan in the late 19th century and the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 left the Qing dynasty severely weakened. A Chinese army rebellion in Wuchan sparked a series of mutinies culminating in the formation of the Republic of China in 1912, which would last in a series of guises until 1949. The last emperor, Puyi, was allowed to remain living in the Forbidden City in Beijing. The formation of the Chinese Republic brought to an end the Qing Dynasty and 2000 years of imperial rule.

As invasion and revolt continued to blight China during the early 20th century, porcelain of the most extraordinary quality continued to be made in Jingdezhen in the Jiangxi province. Some connoisseurs note this period of porcelain manufacture for its revival in quality, which they attribute to a number of schools and artists that emerged at this time. Chinese porcelain objects from this period often have inscriptions, usually in black enamel, which may include a combination of a poem, a signature or a cyclical date. Private workshops proliferated and flourished. The wares produced imitated designs from earlier periods, interpreting imperial designs to feed demand from American and British collectors like Sir Percival David. David’s collection includes many original examples of Chinese porcelain from the imperial collection, which can be seen at the British Museum in London.

We often discover Republic period Chinese porcelain in Sussex, which is finding increasing favour amongst collectors because of its quality. The early 20th century Chinese famille rose porcelain vase illustrated is from this period. The elongated ovoid body and flared neck are painted to one side with three birds perched on blossoming branches, to the other side with a gathering of children, elders and attendants beneath a pine tree. Note how these decorative panels are surrounded by lines of black text and red seals, typical of the Republic period. The vase is believed to have been painted by two leading artists from Jingdezhen. Measuring 60.5cm high, the vase sold at Toovey’s for £76,000.

Not all Chinese porcelain of this period is so highly valued. The smaller Republic vase shown here, height 17cm, sold for £650. It is enamelled with a riverscape with a fishing boat by an island and has the typical text on the reverse.

This flourishing and revival in Chinese porcelain manufacture in the early 20th century allows us to once again glimpse the energetic and creative gifts of the Chinese people, which has gained them cultural prominence over millennia. Perhaps it is a rediscovery of these gifts which is allowing a revival of Chinese interests in the world today; only this time they are looking out into the world and reacquiring their cultural heritage.

Toovey’s Chinese porcelain specialist, Tom Rowsell, is always pleased to offer advice, whether you are interested in selling or acquiring Chinese objects in this boom market. He can be contacted at our offices.

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 29th January 2014 in the West Sussex Gazette.

Charles Vyse (1882-1971)

From left to right: ‘The Piccadilly Rose Woman’, circa 1922, ‘The Balloon Woman’, circa 1920, and ‘The Daffodil Woman’, circa 1922, by Charles Vyse

The rites of passage of our young people seem to have narrowed in recent decades, with an overemphasis on university education rather than discerning what an individual’s particular gifts are and how they might be best developed and valued. This was not the case for the studio potter and designer Charles Vyse and many of his contemporaries, who combined the utility of work with study. In 1896, at the age of fourteen, Charles Vyse was apprenticed to the Doulton factory at Burslem as a modeller and designer. He trained under Charles Noke and it is said that Henry Doulton noticed the young Vyse’s talents and encouraged him to attend Hanley Art School. A scholarship to the Royal College of Art to study sculpture followed and in 1909 a travelling scholarship enabled him to study in Italy. He was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1911.

Between the wars Charles Vyse designed for Doulton. During this period his work included ‘Darling’, which has remained one of the factory’s most popular figures.

He became a studio potter and, although he produced some exceptional glazed wares based on Chinese pottery, he is best known for his clay figures modelled on vendors from the streets of London. The depiction of his subjects shows some influence from artists working at the Camberwell School of Art, where he studied in 1912. This very particular expression in his work is unusual for an artist working in the medium of ceramics.

In 1911 Charles Vyse married Nell. From 1919 until 1940, when their Cheyne Walk studio in Chelsea was bombed out, they worked together producing figures which combined Charles’ gift for sculpting with his knowledge of pottery manufacture. These figures are intricately made with extraordinary detail; they are fine art sculptures made in clay. Their production often involved forty or more individual moulds taken from Vyse’s original clay models. Nell Vyse became adept at painting them. Her colour schemes were carefully chosen and varied through the production run, giving each example of a particular figure a unique artisan quality. These figures were produced in small numbers.

‘The Madonna of World's End Passage’, circa 1921, by Charles Vyse

Their first success was the figure ‘The Balloon Woman’, shown in the centre of the group of figures illustrated. It was produced in 1920. Here we see the quality of Charles Vyse the sculptor and modeller, combined with Nell’s sense of colour. The street vendor stands wearing a striped dress and purple shawl, her right hand on her hip and a bunch of brightly coloured balloons in her left arm. This is not just a figurine but a commentary on the society and times in which they lived. ‘The Piccadilly Rose Woman’ and ‘The Daffodil Woman’ on either side were both produced in 1922. The detailed modelling of the figures is beautiful and the subtlety of tone and colour of each hand-coloured flower illustrates Nell’s dedication and skill. There is an honesty and nobility in the depiction of these working-class women, whose faces clearly display pride as well as their cares and emotions.

‘The Madonna of World’s End Passage’ is a particular favourite of mine. The mother stares past the viewer, her thoughts set upon things beyond her immediate environment as she tenderly enfolds her child in her arms. Vyse sets this figure apart, gifting it with a sense of holiness lived out in the everyday.

Charles Vyse moved to Farnham after the Cheyne Walk studio was bombed and he and Nell separated. He continued to work with students from Farnham School of Art, where he taught. ‘The May Queen’ from 1949 and ‘The Morning Ride’ of 1925 illustrate the mythical subjects of some of his figures.

The art of sculpture is captured in clay by Charles Vyse, a quality not overlooked by collectors. Prices for Charles Vyse figures today vary from middle hundreds to low thousands, depending upon the complexity of the modelling, the quality of colour, the condition and subject. Work, study, experience and skill come together in this unique studio potter’s work, whose particular voice resonates with us today.

From left to right: ‘The May Queen’, circa 1949, and ‘The Morning Ride’, circa 1925, by Charles Vyse

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 22nd January 2014 in the West Sussex Gazette.

January, in the works published by the Bodley Head

The illustration January by Robert Gibbings from The Twelve Months

Authors over the centuries have reflected on the seasons in prose and poetry. In the 1930s and 1940s the Private Press movement brought together author and artist to give expression to the rhythms of nature and the weather of the seasons. The two books illustrated were both produced by The Bodley Head publishing house as limited editions with woodblock-engraved illustrations.

The first book, The Twelve Months, was illustrated by the Irish artist and author Robert Gibbings; the text was written by the British novelist and essayist Llewelyn Powys. Robert Gibbings was most noted for his work as a wood engraver and sculptor. Gibbings purchased and ran the Golden Cockerel Press from 1923 to 1933 and influenced the revival of wood engraving by artists. In 1920 he founded the Society of Wood Engravers. Members working in Sussex included Eric Gill, John Nash, Lucien Pissarro, John Nash, Gwen Raverat and Eric Ravilious. The society ignited a revival of wood engravings where the designs and the blocks were created by the artist, making that vital connection between the artist and the final print.

The Twelve Months was published in 1936. This copy, with original green morocco binding, was signed by both artist and author and editioned 44/100. The signed page also notes that the book was printed on Wolvercote Rag Wove paper by John Johnson at the University Press, Oxford, acknowledging everyone involved in the creative process. The essay on January opens with a quotation from William Shakespeare:

'The Twelve Months' and 'Almanack of Hope', published by The Bodley Head.

“When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail,
When blood is nipp’d and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
To-whit!
To-who!-a merry note.”

The chill and cheer of the winter season, captured in Shakespeare’s words, is brought up to date by Robert Gibbings’ depiction of skating. The angular line of the rushes and the open spaces in the composition emphasise the harshness of the season. This is contrasted by the sweeping curves of the skaters and the hills, which are softer and more hopeful.

The second book, Almanack of Hope, published in 1944 by The Bodley Head, contains a series of sonnets on the months of the year by the British journalist and writer John Pudney. He was known for short stories, poetry, children’s fiction and non-fiction. His sonnet for January provides a more uncompromising articulation of the month of January, though he ends with the sentence:

The illustration January by John Nash from Almanack of Hope.

“So I in January look for grace, Iron-fast by season, lack-love, boughs all bare.”

John Nash’s wood engraving echoes the author’s words. Here the water butt and drainpipe have overflowed and the water has frozen in jagged outline, echoed by the undressed trees outlined against the sky. The aconite flowers appear hopeful but are poisonous; this is a bleak season.

This winter, Sussex has been ravaged by some bleak weather. The wind and rain have transformed the landscape and one can’t help but wonder how Robert Gibbings and John Nash would have depicted these scenes.

In years gone by, writers would note that as the days in January lengthened, so the cold increased. Perhaps we have already had our share of winter this year but if the cold does come, let’s hope it arrives with the good cheer a beautiful book can bring.

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 15th January 2014 in the West Sussex Gazette.

Sean Scully: Triptychs at Pallant House Gallery

Sean Scully, ‘River’, 1984, oil on linen, private collection

If you are in Sussex between now and the 24th January, treat yourself to the Sean Scully: Triptych exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester. Sean Scully, twice nominated for the Turner Prize in 1989 and 1993, is an abstract artist whose work is defined by panels of vertical and horizontal lines. His images are often arranged as triptychs. Sean Scully was born in Ireland and spent time in London before moving to New York.

His abstract work is uncompromising and demanding of the viewer’s attention. Stop and stare. As you reflect on the texture of the oil paint upon the canvas, or the effects of watercolour and ink on paper, you will become aware of the subtlety of tone inherent in the clear colour schemes of each image. Scully talks of his use of colours as being intuitive, of reflecting mood and circumstance. At a recent event, Scully described the importance of his “metaphysical relationship with materials, which of course is fundamental to all my work – that relationship between materiality and light”.

Sean Scully, ‘1.6.91’, 1991, watercolour on paper, private collection
Sean Scully, ‘Bridge’, 1991, woodcut print, private collection

Much abstract art today is art reflecting on art. For me, this seems to be at odds with the gift of great artists to reflect upon the world we all share and to allow us, through their work, to glimpse something of what lies beyond our immediate perception. So for me, Sean Scully’s work is refreshing. It is connected to his life and the world. Music and literature also provide him with rich seams of inspiration. These resolute visual images can seem stark but there is an underlying quality of hope. Whilst Scully has an apparent and deeply held confidence in the work that he does, his approach is not without humility or sensitivity. He sees himself as a communicator and unifier, building bridges to make the world a better place. Through his pictures, he seeks to move people. He believes that this form of communication can help people to realize that they are connected and not isolated.

Scully describes the horizontal lines in his pictures as metaphors for land-lines or the horizon, whilst the vertical lines in his compositions represent the person and proclaim that ‘I exist’.

Simon Martin, Artistic Director at Pallant House Gallery, has noted that Sean Scully is “concerned with expressing a sense of spirituality”. Certainly, for Sean Scully spirituality is important, something he notes as a particular artistic quality in Ireland. He grew up in the Roman Catholic Christian tradition and has a fondness for the sensory quality of their worship with incense, bells, music and fine robes. But he is an eclectic soul, who seeks to speak across the boundaries of religious traditions. Scully feels that it is possible to manufacture prejudice, though he claims never to have experienced it. Instead, he maintains that if we project love into the world, it is reflected back to us.

The canvases which make up Sean Scully’s triptychs, although highly related, can at once be viewed individually or as a whole. It is interesting to note how they relate to one another when viewed together.

These abstract triptychs are stimulating on many levels and provide a narrative to human sorrow, joy and hope, with a particular directness and honesty. They regain a sense of reference to the richness and complexity of the world and what it is to be human. They allow us to glimpse something beyond our immediate perceptions.

We are exceptionally fortunate to have an artist of such international standing exhibiting in Sussex. Sean Scully: Triptychs at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, runs until 26th January 2014. For further information go to www.pallant.org.uk or telephone 01243 774557.

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 8th January 2014 in the West Sussex Gazette.