Greetings!

A few odds & ends, links & resources that might be interesting…

The Gwen John: Strange Beauties exhibition has opened at the National Museum Cardiff – the Museum’s website has an interesting & insightful overview by Neil Lebeter: click here and there is a catalogue available (ISBN 9780300286571): “The first comprehensive survey in 40 years brings new scholarly attention and a feminist perspective to the Welsh painter with a singular vision of female interior life”. I would also recommend:

Indeed both Alicia Foster and Judith Mackrell appear in the BBC documentary Keeping the World Away – Finding Gwen John now on i-player here, and there’s a related essay by Natalie Grice, on the BBC News website here.

Keeping with the BBC, Susan Owen’s brilliant “Constable’s Year” is currently on Radio 4 / Sounds – here – but for a very limited time (18 days at time of writing!)

And for those of us intrigued by Gerald Lanscroon’s extraordinary Baroque mural at The Beaumont, an easel painting by the artist was auctioned at Bonhams this week:

Sadly there’s doesn’t seem to be anything known about the picture which is undated, and only desriptively titled: “Portrait of a child full-length, in a yellow costume with a red cloak, holding flowers and standing before a landscape”.

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I hope you will be able to join us on

Saturday 28th February, 11.15am (for about an hour & a half)

at The Beecroft Art Gallery, Southend-on-Sea.

as we continue our research into the ‘long decade’ of 1950s Britain, from the end of World War II to Pop Art.

This month we’ll focus on the Festival of Britain (1951) and the associated “Sixty Paintings for ’51” exhibition, as well as the Coronation (1953) and the “Britain of Tomorrow” exhibition (1956) to look at the diversity of artworks in subject and style during what was a period of radical cultural transition for art and society.

There’ll be plenty to see & discuss as always!

Tickets are £10 (cash) on the door and include coffee & a biscuit at The Jazz Centre afterwards.

Looking forward to seeing you!

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