Newsletter 2

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Newsletter 2 Patrons: Monty Don and Kim Wilkie Newsletter number 2, September 2016 Some words from our Anthony Beckles Willson, B.Arch, MCD, Chairman ARIBA, FSA ur second newsletter begins with the 1928-2016 Onews of the death of Tony Beckles Willson whose vision was responsible for the ony Beckles Willson pursued a successful career as an architect, creation of the Trust and for the ambition to Tbut, having retired in 1984, he developed an interest in Alexander preserve and restore the grotto. Robert Pope. Over the next several years, having readily mastered computer Youngs has written the adjoining piece which technology and the internet, he researched Pope’s life, his friends, his sets out the story of Tony’s involvement and literary works, his grotto and his villa. I simply need to underline the scale of the loss His research resulted, inter alia, in his four published books on Pope: which we are feeling at the moment and the “Alexander Pope’s Grotto in Twickenham”, “Mr Pope & sadness that Tony will not be able to see the Others at Cross Deep”, “Mastiffs & Minerals in culmination of his work. the life of Alexander Pope” and “Alexander Angela Kidner describes the current state of Pope’s Twickenham, 1719-44”. All these our progress and it has been greatly encouraging books describe aspects of the Bard of to see the restoration of the gates to the grotto Twickenham’s life and achievements and the repairs to the statues (page 2). The main from a local perspective - in this chambers of the Grotto remain to be conserved respect they are complementary to the and we are beginning detailed research and corpus of most published material on Pope. He planning to allow this to be completed in the employed his skill as a draftsman, acquired as a most professional and cost-effective way. practising architect, to illustrate the books with maps and plans. Together I am pleased to announce the appointment of with his meticulous research and a sharp eye for design and layout, they are two new Trustees. Judith Hawley, Professor of almost entirely the work of one man and are widely appreciated by scholars Eighteenth Century Literature at Royal and the general public worldwide. Holloway will bring an important academic His other publications include the definitive history of the Strawberry dimension to our discussions; she has already Hill area, a history of Sion Row, Twickenham, the guide book to St Mary’s contributed to our recent symposium. Local Church and a catalogue of the monuments therein. resident Geoff Pope, a former member of the In 1996, Tony became concerned that Pope's Grotto, after 250 years of London Assembly and Mayor of Richmond- neglect, should be conserved and made available to the public. He persuaded upon-Thames, will bring his local knowledge the owners, St James Independent School, to open it to the public for one and interest in his namesake to the table. day. The response was overwhelming - at one point an estimated 600 people Once again, my main message has to be were queuing to get in. As a result, the Grotto was opened in June each year; about the need to sustain our fund-raising effort. donations were accepted; books were sold; money was raised; a conservation Any donations at this time in memory of Tony plan was commissioned and a Trust was established to manage a from those of you who remember him would be particularly appreciated and so recorded. We conservation project. In all these enterprises, Tony was enthusiastic and have a scheme in place that enables the encouraging. Today, the Trust continues to follow the path laid out by Tony sponsorship of the restoration and cleaning of 20 years ago. particular minerals and other features in the Tony was instrumental in bringing a local history museum to grotto; please let us know if you would like to Twickenham. The museum, which finally opened in 2001, was the result of join in with it and we will let you have the the hard work and persistence of Tony and other local people. Once again, details. Otherwise I would encourage you to use he deployed his architectural skills, this time to convert a domestic house our website to make donations when we can into a space appropriate for a museum. Tony saw the need to make our rich reclaim gift aid readily. local history available to a wider public. Thus was the Museum’s popular I hope you will enjoy reading this newsletter. and award-winning website born, with its hundreds of articles on local Thank you for your continued interest and people, places, events - many of which were researched and written by Tony. support. It is undoubtedly true that it is because of Tony’s scholarship, enthusiasm and persistence that we are on the threshold of the first conservation of the David Cornwell, Chairman, Pope’s Grotto only physical manifestation of early 18th century England’s most important Preservation Trust literary figure. He will be greatly missed by all those who worked with him. Page 1 www.popesgrotto.org.uk Pope’s Grotto Preservation Trust Newsletter number 2,September 2016 Project Report There’s been a period of intense activity since our last newsletter. Angela Kidner reports. Conservation Strawberry Hill House Trust), Philip Jenkins (Clare Hall, University of Cambridge) and Joseph and Ida Rosenblum onservation of the statuary and carved elements in the (University of North Carolina, Greensboro). grotto took place in July. Funded by Historic C A visit by Mary Wellesley, Inigo Thomas, and Katherine England, conservators Humphries and Jones cleaned and Rundell from the prestigious London Review of Books restored the statues of the Virgin and St James, and the inspired Mary to write this article: many embedded plaster and marble carvings of animals and other figures, for which some of our supporters have http://tinyurl.com/LRBWellesley pledged donations. The project was This month, John Henry and Chris Duffin supervised by Odgers Conservation, and of the Geological Society of London’s History the discoveries made in the course of the of Geology Group visited. Their scrutiny of work have changed our approach to the the minerals provided some very valuable conservation of the grotto itself. insights and the possibility of some We now plan to undertake the conservation collaborative work which will add of one of the chambers to a high level, to immeasurably to the conservation process. demonstrate our aims for the whole project, We hope to have a visit by members of the and in so doing to resolve questions about the Society later in the Autumn. appropriate methods for securing and cleaning the many different minerals, treatment of the Fundraising floor and lighting. The research will be carried We will be meeting with the Heritage out during 2016, with the conservation work Lottery Funding October to discuss our starting in the summer of 2017, subject to proposed two-stage approach to the funding. conservation, which has the support of At the same time, the 18th century gates Historic England. were removed by Newton Forge, for Cleaning the Virgin Mary The project raises exceptional and unusual conservation at their Dorset works, and challenges, which have made grants from reinstated in late August. The many layers of conventional funders difficult to find: paint were analysed and it was discovered that • The location of the grotto beneath the the original colour was a very dark green - in school, limiting public access to weekends common with other contemporary sites - and and school holidays not the white that had been applied • The 20th century arts block has resulted in subsequently. Following confirmation by the loss of the context of the grotto with its Historic England, a modern equivalent will be river frontage applied. This project is funded by Heritage of • The integrity of the grotto to the school London Trust and the Ironmongers' Company. means that a lease cannot be provided to the Pope's Grotto Preservation Trust Virtual Reconstruction The Trust and School are addressing these Our volunteer-led research project is now challenges in several ways: underway. The objective of the research is to • By creating activities to bring Alexander provide the authentic detail needed for the Pope alive taking place in other sites locally digital reconstruction of Twickenham, the and in London (see ‘A Search for Perfection’ river, Pope’s Villa and his garden at about Cutting through the gate on page 3) 1740. attachments • By developing the virtual reconstruction, Led by Professor Paul Richens of which will not only show how Twickenham Westminster University and Professor Marion and Pope’s Villa looked in 1740, but will Harney of Bath University, 12 local volunteers recreate his lost gardens and the natural are researching contemporary images of boats, landscape he devised. As well as enhancing wharves, buildings, horses, carriages, trees, the visitor experience at the grotto, this will be flora and fauna, gardens, statuary, costumes - available through the Internet to a world-wide the whole panoply of Georgian life. The iconic audience view of the Middlesex bank of the Thames • By working with the school to keep our between Twickenham and Radnor Gardens by costs to a minimum, devoting volunteer time Peter Tillemans (http://tinyurl.com/Tillemans) to all aspects of the project, maximising the will the basis for the reconstruction of the funds available to the conservation project houses on the river. None of this would be possible without the open and welcoming attitude of Radnor Visitors to the grotto House School, its head Rosie Gill and her staff. In addition to the several hundred visitors The Trust is enormously grateful for the during Twickenham Week, the Trust has been donations made by followers of the project, welcoming individual visitors to the grotto: The gates restored, but not yet re- and welcomes donations of any size, as well as Mr and Mrs Fitzwaters (USA, patrons of the painted offers of volunteering help.
Recommended publications
  • Critical Ideology: Pope's Epistle to Burlington
    SYDNEY STUDIES Critical Ideology: Pope's Epistle to Burlington ROBEIIT W. WILLIAMS Well, it had to happen - Pope has been 'recuperated' for the modern reader. The word is not mine but is taken from the most recent general survey of Pope's work, that of Brean S. Hammond in the Harvester 'New Readings' series. Pope, it seems, can be recuperated because he can be shown to have that indispensable requirement for some current criticism - an ideology: ... the character of Pope's ideology is that of a family-based, Christian aristocrat or landed gentleman, implacably opposed to the elite of, as he believed, corrupt financiers, bankers and brokers who governed the country. Pope himself did not experience his ideology as an ideology, however.! There is an irony in that last sentence which, I think, escapes the writer of it. As Hammond "reads" it, the Epistle To Burlington is to be seen as an early example of the politicization of Pope's ideology, a preaching of the via media in which all extremes are to be eschewed. Through exemplary figures such as Burlington and Lord Bathurst, an ideology of aristocratic restraint is offered for adoption by the British voting public, especially the squirearchy and the lesser landed gentry. If this is all that current critical approaches can find to say about the poem that is worth saying, I would suggest that such a Procrustean approach does little to illuminate the poetry of To Burlington and, to a fair extent, falsifies the text. The matter of Epistle to Burlington is drawn from the aesthetics of landscape-gardening and architecture, areas of the Arts in which Pope and Burlington were both practitioners and theoreticians.
    [Show full text]
  • Programme V2
    Patrons: Monty Don OBE, Sir Donald Insall CBE, Kim Wilkie Alexander Pope Anniversary Concert St Mary’s Church Twickenham, 7th February 2019 An evening of music to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Alexander Pope’s arrival in Twickenham, held in the Church of St Mary the Virgin where Pope’s final resting place is marked by a plain stone in the aisle ‘A Prospect of Twickenham’, c. 1725, Peter Tillemans, reproduced by kind permission of the Richmond Borough Art Collection, Orleans House Gallery. Pope’s Villa is prominent to the left of centre. Alexander Pope Anniversary Concert Alexander Pope’s arrival in Twickenham in the spring of 1719 coincided with the growing attraction of the place as a seasonal resort for Londoners. He immediately began building his villa and grotto. This concert is the first of our events to celebrate the tercentenary of his arrival. The first part of the concert consists mostly of works by Pope’s contemporaries and associates and will be performed by the Petersham Consort. After the interval, the choir of Radnor House School, in the grounds of which the grotto lies, will perform works by Purcell, Handel and a contemporary arrangement of one of Pope’s poems. The Petersham Consort The Petersham Consort was formed in 2012 as a group of soloists to specialise in singing one-to-a-part sacred and secular choral music. They perform a wide range of solo and chamber works spanning five centuries. The singers are Katharine von Schubert (soprano), Elizabeth Benedetto (mezzo-soprano), Nick Richmond Smith (tenor) and Martin Johnson (bass), and they are accompanied on the piano by their director Ben Driver.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Commonwealth to the Georgian Period, 1650-1730
    A STROLL THROUGH TATE BRITAIN This two-hour talk is part of a series of twenty talks on the works of art displayed in Tate Britain, London, in June 2017. Unless otherwise mentioned all works of art are at Tate Britain. References and Copyright • The talk is given to a small group of people and all the proceeds, after the cost of the hall is deducted, are given to charity. • Our sponsored charities are Save the Children and Cancer UK. • Unless otherwise mentioned all works of art are at Tate Britain and the Tate’s online notes, display captions, articles and other information are used. • Each page has a section called ‘References’ that gives a link or links to sources of information. • Wikipedia, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Khan Academy and the Art Story are used as additional sources of information. • The information from Wikipedia is under an Attribution-Share Alike Creative Commons License. • Other books and articles are used and referenced. • If I have forgotten to reference your work then please let me know and I will add a reference or delete the information. 1 A STROLL THROUGH TATE BRITAIN • The History of the Tate • From Absolute Monarch to Civil War, 1540-1650 • From Commonwealth to the Georgians, 1650-1730 • The Georgians, 1730-1780 • Revolutionary Times, 1780-1810 • Regency to Victorian, 1810-1840 • William Blake • J. M. W. Turner • John Constable • The Pre-Raphaelites, 1840-1860 West galleries are 1540, 1650, 1730, 1760, 1780, 1810, 1840, 1890, 1900, 1910 East galleries are 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 Turner Wing includes Turner, Constable, Blake and Pre-Raphaelite drawings Agenda 1.
    [Show full text]
  • British Art Studies June 2020 British Art Studies Issue 16, Published 30 June 2020
    British Art Studies June 2020 British Art Studies Issue 16, published 30 June 2020 Cover image: Bill Brandt, Family Supper (recto), 1937, printed ca. 1943, photographic print.. Digital image courtesy of Bill Brandt and the Bill Brandt Archive Ltd. Photography by Richard Caspole and Robert Hixon. PDF generated on 21 July 2021 Note: British Art Studies is a digital publication and intended to be experienced online and referenced digitally. PDFs are provided for ease of reading offline. Please do not reference the PDF in academic citations: we recommend the use of DOIs (digital object identifiers) provided within the online article. Theseunique alphanumeric strings identify content and provide a persistent link to a location on the internet. A DOI is guaranteed never to change, so you can use it to link permanently to electronic documents with confidence. Published by: Paul Mellon Centre 16 Bedford Square London, WC1B 3JA https://www.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk In partnership with: Yale Center for British Art 1080 Chapel Street New Haven, Connecticut https://britishart.yale.edu ISSN: 2058-5462 DOI: 10.17658/issn.2058-5462 URL: https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk Editorial team: https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk/about/editorial-team Advisory board: https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk/about/advisory-board Produced in the United Kingdom. A joint publication by Contents Mapping the Unknown: Using Incomplete Evidence to Craft Digital Three- Dimensional Models of St Stephen’s, Anthony Masinton and James Jago Mapping the Unknown: Using Incomplete Evidence to Craft Digital Three-Dimensional Models of St Stephen’s Anthony Masinton and James Jago Abstract Crafting a digital reconstruction of a lost space is a process of rediscovery and exploration.
    [Show full text]
  • History This Exceptionally Rare Miniature
    DETAILED CASE Waverley 1: History This exceptionally rare miniature commemorates the most celebrated event of Elizabeth I’s reign, the failed invasion of England by Philip II’s ‘invincible Armada’ in the summer of 1588. As such, it represents in visual form the significant achievement of the monarch and the state in preventing Spanish success, and a watershed moment in English (and British) naval history and national and European history per se. Importantly, in terms of the history of naval warfare, the Armada campaign was the first occasion when the great gun played the chief part in a naval battle. The Spanish Armada of 1588 was a major amphibious assault on England designed to remove Elizabeth I from the throne and return the kingdom to Roman Catholicism. Success would have made Philip II overlord of much of western Europe, cementing Spain’s position as a continental superpower. For England, and Elizabeth I in particular, the stakes could not be higher. Philip’s great fleet of 130 ships and 18,000 men set sail from Lisbon on 30 May 1588. Its objective was to meet with a large Spanish army in Netherlands and mount an invasion of southern England. The English responded with a force that outnumbered Spain, but the Spanish ships were larger and more heavily armed. The balance of naval power was delicately poised and much depended on tactics, nerve and (as it turned out) luck. When the Armada was spotted off the English coast, signal beacons were lit to inform London of its impending approach. Skirmishes followed as the Armada neared Calais and anchored there.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter C
    RAPH OG IC P A O L T S O N Newsletter C O Number 89 I D E N November 2019 T Y O L Notes and News The Society’s Annual General Meeting was held on 2 July 2019 at St Andrew’s Church Holborn. Minutes and Annual Report will be published in the May Newsletter. The Officers and Members of the Council elected are listed on the back page of this Newsletter. We are delighted to welcome our new council member, the medieval historian Caroline Barron, and offer her our congratulations on her recent OBE. Following the meeting Caroline gave us some insights into the interesting history of the parish of St Andrew Holborn, adjacent to the City but sited west of the river Fleet. She was followed by our council member Dorian Gerhold, who described his research on this year’s splendid publication on Old London Bridge. Congratulations are due to Dorian for this excellent work, which has received much favourable publicity, including Poster for travel by London Tramways 1928 Printed by Waterlow & Sons Ltd. Collage – the London Picture several pages in a special Country Life issue on Archive, image 36923. See p.7-8 London. Contents Notes and News ............................................ p.1 COLLAGE – The London Picture Archive........ p.7 Events and Exhibitions ................................ p.2 The work of the Heritage of London Trust...... p.8 Architecture of London. Restoring the Palace of Westminster............ p.10 Guildhall Art Gallery .................................... p.2 Sir John Soane and the Port of London, Mary Beale’s painting-room in Pall Mall ........ p.3 1807-1812 .................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 1994 the Landscape Structure History and Cultural Associations of The
    HISTORY AND CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF THE LANDSCAPE The Thames from Hampton to Kew has seen great changes in its landscape and human settlement patterns from prehistoric hunters to today’s working communities. In its suburban relationship to London it has also changed considerably from an out-of-town retreat for royalty, courtiers and a cultural elite to a haven for commuters and weekend leisure. The Geological Base The London basin was formed some 70 million years ago when all Britain was 'But I'd have you know that thes waters covered by sea. London clay, which was to provide such good local building material, of mine was inherited from this chalky mud. As a result of the great earth movements, at Were once a branch of the River Rhine the time of the Alpine folding, the saucer-like structure of the London Basin was When hundreds of miles to the East I formed as a downfold between the chalk of the Chilterns to the north and the went North Downs to the south, some 25 million years ago. But for the purpose of this And England was joined to the Continent.''' study, the story begins only half a million years ago when the river carved out its Rudyard Kipling present course. The Thames originally flowed through the Vale of St Albans, which became blocked by a great glacier, diverting the river in a southerly direction to its position today. Around 300,000 BC, after a succession of cold and warm phases three terraces were formed at different levels where the ice sheets ended.
    [Show full text]
  • The Spirit & Force Of
    THE SPIRIT &FORCE OF ART Drawing in Britain 1600–1750 THE SPIRIT & FORCE OF ART: DRAWING IN BRITAIN 1600–1750 3 Clifford Street, London 20 June to 6 July 2018 London London Art Week 29 June to 6 July 2018 new york TeFAF New York Fall 27 to 31 October 2018 THE SPIRIT &FORCE OF ART Drawing in Britain 1600–1750 Lowell Libson & Jonny Yarker Ltd London 2018 Contents Index of Artists 6 Foreword Lowell Libson 7 Introduction Jonny Yarker 8 3 Clifford Street · London w1S 2LF +44 (0)20 7734 8686 ‘The spirit and force of art’: [email protected] Defining Drawing in England, 1600–1750 www.libson-yarker.com Richard Stephens 11 Lowell Libson [email protected] A Lost Art? Collecting Early British Drawings Jonny Yarker & their Critical Fate [email protected] Richard Stephens and Jonny Yarker 33 Cressida St Aubyn [email protected] CATALoGUe Published by Lowell Libson & Jonny Yarker Ltd 2018 I Towards an English School 41 Text and publication © Lowell Libson & Jonny Yarker Ltd All rights reserved II Academies 69 ISBn 978 1 9999783 1 0 Designed by Dalrymple III The Rise of the Sketch 85 Set in Mário Feliciano’s Rongel type Photography by Rodney Todd-White & Son Ltd VI From Prospect to Landscape 101 Colour reproduction by Altaimage Ltd Printed in Belgium by Albe De Coker V From Ceiling to Exhibition Room: the Progress of History Painting 127 VI Face Painting 147 VII ‘A noble, delightful and useful art’: Drawings by Antiquarians, Amateurs and Artisans 169 VIII The Age of Hogarth 181 Notes and References 199 Index of Artists Foreword References are to catalogue numbers Laguerre, Louis 47 We are delighted to publish this catalogue which represents the culmination of over ten years of gathering these rare drawings which were created before the ‘Golden Age’ Amigoni, Jacopo 58 Laroon, Marcellus 73 of British watercolours and which demonstrate the formation of an identifiable ‘British’ Baron, Bernard 74 Laroon, Marcellus, the younger 84 School.
    [Show full text]
  • Government Art
    Government Art Jennifer Salisbury Jones Policy Analyst, TaxPayers’ Alliance August 2015 t will come as little surprise to the public that the government owns a substantial portfolio of art. Given that museums and galleries such as the British Museum and National Portrait Gallery form I part of the public sector, neither is it surprising that some such works of art are of significant value, and few would begrudge the government holding on to objects of genuine cultural and historical significance for the public. However as this research reveals, the public sector’s art collection extends far beyond the most fa- mous galleries and museums, and very little of it is on display to the public at any one time. Much of this art may have been bequeathed to the government specifically to be put on public display and selling it off would be inappropriate. However at a time when savings need to be made across the board, it’s important that public bodies assess what they do and do not need to hold on to and act accordingly. The key findings of this research are: • Government art is worth at least £3.5 billion • Less than 3 per cent of this art is on display. • The most valuable item found is Henry VIII’s armour for field and tournament, acquired by the Royal Armouries in 1649 and now worth an estimated £53.55 million. • The most valuable item other than those held by museums and galleries is Lancashire Fair: Good Friday, Daisy Nook, by L S Lowry, held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
    [Show full text]
  • Old Master Paintings I Montpelier Street, London I 23 October 2019 25230
    Montpelier Street, London I 23 October 2019 Montpelier Street, Old Master Paintings Old Master Old Master Paintings I Montpelier Street, London I 23 October 2019 25230 Old Master Paintings Montpelier Street, London | Wednesday 23 October 2019, at 1pm BONHAMS BIDS ENQUIRIES Please see back of catalogue Montpelier Street +44 (0) 20 7447 7447 [email protected] for important notice to bidders Knightsbridge +44 (0) 20 7447 7401 fax +44 (0) 20 7468 8307 London SW7 1HH [email protected] ILLUSTRATIONS www.bonhams.com To bid via the internet please visit SPECIALISTS Front cover: Lot 178 www.bonhams.com Andrew McKenzie Back cover: Lot 64 (detail) VIEWING +44 (0) 20 7468 8261 Sunday 20 October TELEPHONE BIDDING [email protected] IMPORTANT INFORMATION 11am – 3pm Bidding by telephone will only be The United States Government Monday 21 October accepted on lots with a low Caroline Oliphant has banned the import of ivory 9am – 4.30pm estimate in excess of £500. +44 (0) 20 7468 8271 into the USA. Lots containing Tuesday 22 October Condition reports are available [email protected] ivory are indicated by the symbol 9am – 4.30pm for lots with a lower estimate in Ф printed beside the lot number Wednesday 23 October excess of £2500. Lisa Greaves in this catalogue. 9am - 11am +44 (0) 20 7468 8325 Please note that bids should be [email protected] REGISTRATION SALE NUMBER submitted no later than 4pm on IMPORTANT NOTICE the day prior to the sale. New Poppy Harvey-Jones 25230 Please note that all customers, bidders must also provide proof +44 (0) 20 7468 8308 irrespective of any previous activity of identity when submitting bids.
    [Show full text]
  • George I Slides 4 2020
    10/12/2020 Palaces Kensington Palace with the statue of William III. He and Mary II bought it from the Earl of Nottingham and used Wren to turn it into a palace. George employed William Kent to improve and decorate the royal apartments from 1722 onwards. He also added a new wing for his mistress 1 2 C18th view of Kensington Palace Kent’s Cupola Room 1722-5 painted by Richard Cattermole in 1817 3 4 The Cupola Room today Kent’s King’s Great Drawing Room painted by Charles Wild in 1816 5 6 1 10/12/2020 Ceiling of the King’s Great Drawing Room William Kent by William Aikman c William Kent by Benedetto Luti 1718 1723-5 NPG 7 8 Kent’s Great Staircase 1725-7 painted by Charles Wild in 1819 Great Staircase Today showing Tijou’s ironwork 9 10 Mahomet and Mustafa the king’s Turkish servants and Ulric his Polish page Kent’s Presence Chamber painted by James Stephanoff in 1816 11 12 2 10/12/2020 John Vanbrugh’s New Kitchen 1717 painted by James Stephanoff in 1819 13 14 Candlesticks 1727 by John Gumley for Kensington Side table by John Gumley 1727 for Kensington 15 16 Pier Table by James Moore 1720 for Kensington 17 18 3 10/12/2020 James Moore’s Pier Table 1723-4 at Kensington 19 20 Michael Rysbrack’s Roman Marriage of 1722 for Kensington James Moore’s Pier Table 1723 at Kensington 21 22 Henry Wise designer of the gardens at Kensington Palace originally for Queen Anne but continued to 1728, painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller c 1715 Kensington Gardens in 1736 23 24 4 10/12/2020 Kensington palace and gardens before Wise’s alterations Kensington Palace and Gardens by Johannes Kip in 1724 after Wise’s alterations for George 25 26 John Rocque’s View of Kensington Palace 1739 Another view of the gardens c 1730 27 28 St James’s Palace in George’s day.
    [Show full text]
  • A View from Richmond Hill; an English Arcadia POA REF:- 355065 Artist: JOHN WOOTTON
    A View from Richmond Hill; an English Arcadia POA REF:- 355065 Artist: JOHN WOOTTON Height: 64.7 cm (25 1/2") Width: 124.5 cm (49") Framed Height: 82.5 cm (32 1/2") Framed Width: 142.7 cm (56 1/4") 1 https://johnbennettfinepaintings.com/a-view-from-richmond-hill-an-english-arcadia 28/09/2021 Short Description John Wootton is probably most renowned for his sporting paintings, often of Newmarket, but he was also a landscapist of both topographical subjects and also in the classical tradition influenced by Gaspard Dughet and Claude Lorrain. He is important in the development of both English sporting and landscape painting in that he was a transitional artist who developed the Dutch style of portraying these subjects and imbued them with a softer and more English sensibility. He was born in Snitterfield in Warwickshire in 1682 although some sources have given the date 1678. There is nothing known about his parents but tradition has it that when the 1st Duke of Beaufort’s daughter, Lady Anne Somerset, married the future Earl of Coventry, she moved to Snitterfield House and the young John Wootton served as her page. It is thought that it was she who encouraged him to take up painting. Lady Anne and Wootton remained in touch for at least forty years and in one letter the artist asked that she become godmother to his children. Wootton is thought to have been apprenticed for a time to the Flemish-born landscape painter Jan Siberechts in 1694. However, sometime in the late 1690s he had become apprenticed to Jan Wyck, who had come to England from Holland and established himself at the forefront of painting military scenes and landscape.
    [Show full text]