Free Lunchtime Talk: Abstract Painting in the '60s

There are quite a few people who regularly like to attend the Friday lunchtime talks in the main gallery, and so when Sophie Cummings left, there was concern among other things, about the fate of the lunchtime talks. Fortunately Katie Ackrill, Art on Tour Project Engagement Officer at the museum is doing a series of talks, including the lunchtime ones.

On 28 February, Katie gave her first lunchtime talk which was advertised like this:

'This tour of Pop and Prosperity will focus on a selection of abstract paintings on display, including works by Howard Hodgkin, Roger Hilton and William Gear. Katie will discuss the context in which abstract art flourished during the 1960s, and shed some light on some of the more challenging works on display.'

 I'm going to start with a definition of abstract art from Wikipedia:

'Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world' The word 'degree' is interesting there because I would have left it out in a definition, if it's there, abstract art is harder to identify.

 Definitions aside, there were over 20 people attending the talk, in fact it was quite difficult to get a good photo of Katie, just about visible, because there were so many people, in these 2 photos.

 Katie started by talking about the William Gear painting 'Presence on White painted June 1961, and a gift from the artist's family in 2015. After Katie had talked about it, I looked more carefully at it than before and quite liked it.

Here's Katie, seen below, talking about Jack Smith's 'Night Sky' painted in 1957, gifted by H.J.P.Bomford in 1960, and conserved with the support of the Friends in 2017. The painting zings and sparkles after its conservation.

 And here's Katie talking about Roger Hilton's painting 'November' painted in 1955 and gifted by the Contemporary Art Society, seen face on below

Next Katie encouraged us to look at Sir Terry Frost's 'Grey, Red and Black Verticals' painted in 1962, another gift of the CAS

 and below 'Once' painted in 1962 by Richard Smith purchased with the support of the V&A Purchase Grant in 1972.

 And Howard Hodgkin's 'Gramophone' 1964-66

 Katie included 'The Thames' painted in 1962 by Mary Fedden. I thought this couldn't be classified as abstract art because it looks recognisable as boats on water with flowers and walls in the foreground on the right hand side of the painting. Reading through the definition above, it can be included as an abstract piece.

 After the talk, people went on talking to each other, and Katie, about the paintings for some time which was great.

 Please note that I have kept details of what would have happened this year, due to Covid-19, and the consequent lockdown, all activities for the moment have been cancelled.
As soon as anything is happening, I will put out messages.
The next lunchtime talk in the gallery would have been:

A Celebration of Colour (with Katie Ackrill)

Friday 1^st May, 12:30pm

This tour will highlight the use of colour in artworks included in Pop and Prosperity, as well as 2D and 3D works in our ceramics exhibition A Celebration of Colour. Starting in the main gallery, Katie will discuss the significance of colour in selected paintings on show. The tour will conclude in the downstairs galleries, with a focus on the gorgeous glazes of Swindon’s studio ceramics. 

Katie will be giving talks about artworks on display at STEAM and the Civic Offices beginning in March/April, and all the dates are on our website, and the museum's website
Also copies of posters sent over by Katie, this one lists Civic Office dates:

 and this one Steam dates:

 Also a poster advertising the lunchtime talks

Charles Houghton Howard

Professor David Manley gave our first talk of 2020 on Charles Houghton Howard, an American artist who has only five pieces of art on public display in the UK. David became fascinated by Howard I think partly because he's quite an enigmatic figure, not unknown and not well known. David decided to visit the galleries where the five works by Howard were kept which is how he met Sophie Cummings, who then suggested we might like to invite David to come and talk to us.

 David's enthusiasm for Howard and his painting was infectious and knowing more about the painter,  his paintings can be appreciated much more. He gave an excellent and lively talk during which I took copious notes which don't make as much sense as I had hoped they would.
Howard was born in 1899 and was the third of three brothers, their father was a successful architect in San Francisco and all brothers and a sister engaged in artistic careers.

 Augustus Lunn was a big influence on Howard, this work by him entitled 'Fish' seen above, can be seen at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
 After graduating from Berkeley High School in 1917 Howard entered UC Berkeley but left to serve in the Student’s Army Training Corps until the end of World War I. He returned to UC Berkeley and earned a degree in journalism in 1921. He pursued a masters’ degree in English at Harvard University that fall and then transferred to Columbia University’s English program the following spring semester. In July he sailed for Europe, living in England, France and Italy for two years. During the summer of 1923 he traveled in Italy with the artist Grant Wood (1891-1942), who urged Howard to pursue a career as an artist rather than as a journalist. An altarpiece by Giorgione (1477-1510) seen below, in Castelfranco also inspired his choice of career.

 Grant Wood who was famed for his painting, 'American Gothic, a depiction of the rural mid West during the Depression

On returning from Italy Howard began painting and became quite successful, the painting below is an example of his early work.

He married twice, his second wife, Madge Knight, also an artist was British and they moved over to the UK in 1933, moving back to the States during the second world war, returning  to England in 1946 and 'settled in Helions Bumpstead, Suffolk, where he continued his art creations and began to develop an austere minimalism, using primarily black, white, and gray paints. He continued to exhibit widely while teaching at the Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts in London. After six years of teaching, Howard retired and moved to Bagni di Lucca, Italy, where he died on November 11th 1978. As an artist Howard earned his place in American art history from his biological machinery abstractions and biomorphic paintings. He will also be remembered for helping to introduce European surrealism into the United States.'
It's well worth clicking on one of the links to read more about Howard, he had a fascinating career, although apparently happy to remain out of the limelight. The works in this country are these:

 Above The Matement at The Fitzwilliam Museum, and below The Seated Crest which is held by Girton College.

 The painting above, 'The Cavern' is owned by Derbyshire and Derby School Library service

This painting is called 61-62 No 3 and is to be found at The Towner
 and here's 'our' Howard painting which I feel we are very fortunate to own courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Society

What a difference insight into the artist and their work makes to appreciation of the paintings by Charles Houghton Howard.

Roman Wine Strainer part 2

The Roman wine strainer seen below forms part of the archaeology collection held at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, I had not really considered its provenance and how it came to be in the collection before raising funds for its restoration.Visiting the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre where it is being restored made me consider how amazing it is that it had been preserved in the ground since the 1st Century AD until it was discovered 16 years ago..
 If you click on the Swindon MAG link, it will take you to the archaeology page where you will also be able to go on a virtual tour of the archaeology gallery.

Lots of questions occurred to me about the wine strainer, some of which were answered when I was given access to the documents provided to the museum when it was donated in 2005. It was found by a metal detectorist who was operating on the edge of the site of Durocornovium, a Roman settlement based around the east of Swindon where Dorcan is today built, including Lower Wanborough. It was found along the road from Lotmead farm, and across the road from Wanborough House on Wanborough Road, called Ermin St on the map provided which initially caused a bit of confusion.
 'The Romano-British small town, lying on the flat Kimmeridge clay lands between Stratton and Wanborough, on Ermin Street, to the East of Swindon in Northeast Wiltshire, was first recorded in the seventeenth century'
.
The A419, Stratton by pass cut through Durocrnovium, and according to the report:

'Excavations in 1966, conducted for the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, followed proposals to build a Stratton bypass and the continued south-eastward expansion of Swindon, which included housing estates and a flood lagoon. Excavations continued within the field known as ‘Nine Acres’ until 1970 then again in 1976, these produced structural evidence on either side of Ermin Street, a major Roman road that extends from London (Londinium) to Gloucester (Glevum)'

'Archaeological observation, salvage excavation and artefact retrieval was undertaken by members of the Swindon archaeological Society during road, housing and lagoon construction, revealed numerous burials, cremations, roads, buildings and a ford across the Dorcan.'

---

There is concern that when the eastern villages are built, they will be building over a lot more Roman remains, and the hope is that some of them will be salvaged.
There was an Adver article on the 19th of July 2005 on page 23 about the wine strainer which I have been unable to locate, but here are some more concerned articles in the Swindon Advertiser about the land where Durocornovium is situated being further developed:
Adver article 2009 concerned about development of land east of Swindon with archaeologist Bryn Walters explaining the threat to the remains.
 and The Heritage Journal from 2010 also has a link to another Advertiser article with more quotes form Bryn Walters.
 Advertiser article from 2013 this article focuses on information from another local archaeologist, Bernard Phillips.
The author of the report into the wine strainer helped the metal detectorist dig it carefully out of the ground, in answer to the question about how far down in the ground the wine strainer was located and how it was extracted from the ground, the report says:
'Joe and a colleague had excavated a small rectangular pit, revealing at a depth of 0.51cm the bronze vessel lying upside down,'
'The Romano-British small town, lying on the flat Kimmeridge clay lands between Stratton and Wanborough, on Ermin Street, to the East of Swindon in Northeast Wiltshire, was first recorded in the seventeenth century.'
We look forward to welcoming back the Roman Wine Strainer to the archaeology gallery soon.

Talks and Trips 2020

Starting with the complete flyer and then a breakdown of all talks and trips, above the outer part of the flyer, and below the inside. Tickets for talks can be obtained at the museum during opening hours, and also normally from our website. The website is currently unavailable, normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. Booking for trips is by emailing Linda Kasmaty on lindakasmaty@hotmail.com , don't forget Friends get reduced price entry for talks and priority booking on trips. Why not join today if you're not already a member?

 and the front page which summarises the activities:

Our first talk of 2020 takes place on Thursday 27 February, Professor David Manley will be talking about the development of British abstraction during and after World War II

 In March our talk will be about the award winning Museum of Computing given by the highly entertaining Jeremy Holt.

Our first trip of the year is to the Corinium Museum in Cirencester on 21 April, some of you may remember Amanda Hart gave us a very interesting talk about the Museum in October last year, so we thought we'd take a trip out there. We're going independently, there is a good bus service to Cirencester, and meeting there at 2pm. We will have a talk in the lecture theatre and a look round the museum. Cost to be announced soon.

Our April talk is by astrophotographer Gavin James who takes photographs from the Blackett Observatory at Marlborough College. This link to their website gives you up to date information about the night sky.

Our second trip of the year to the wonderful Sandham Memorial Chapel. It's owned by the National Trust, so members please remember cards. We'll have a 40 minute talk, a look round the paintings and lunch at The Carpenter's Arms opposite

Our May talk is by the very popular Jon Ratcliffe, he will give us a very different view of Swindon. What might have been.......

Our third trip is to the fabulous Banwell Bone caves. I must admit to being sceptical about these, but have a look at the website, this looks like a fascinating trip.

Dr Gill Clarke is making a return trip to Swindon MAG to atlk to the Friends about an exhibition she is curating at Russell Cotes museum

Dr Gill Clarke's talk will be followed by a trip to Russell Cotes Museum in Bournemouth, more details nearer the time. I think we will have to book a coach for this trip as well.

 

Our final talk before the summer break in August will be a talk by Sarah Purvey ahead of her exhibition in the gallery the following week.
And last but by no means least, our final trip of the year will be to the Sculpture in the Landscape 1969-2020 exhibition in September organised by Friends of the Garden, this will be the seventh and final exhibition organised by this group. Find out more here 
There's a fascinating story on the website.

Restoration of Roman Wine Strainer

Last week a small group of  Friends visited the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham, ideally placed from our point of view about 5 minutes from the railway station. The last time we visited the history centre was for a guided tour of the building, and to briefly glimpse the Highworth Pot from outside the laboratory. I've looked up the post and discovered that we actually visited in February 2012. One of the benefits of writing about every event the Friends engage in is that there's always a record to look up. Here's the link to that trip in 2012.
This time we were going to look at the Roman Wine Strainer, currently being conserved by Beth Baker, Senior Conservator at the History Centre, funded by money raised by an appeal to Friends' membership. We met Beth in the reception, and then were taken up to the laboratory, where there were 3 people working. The other two are working on cleaning up coins. The work requires such intense concentration that they have 45 minute timers reminding them to stop working and stretch their hands. Beth remarked that it's easier to work on the strainer in the morning because of the intense concentration and care required when handling the wine strainer.

 Beth, seen below, explained the process she's using to stabilise and try and strengthen the wine strainer which is made of very thin copper alloy.

 Here she is pointing out some of the more difficult parts of the process

 and here she's showing us a stand that has been specially made for the wine strainer. When in the stand, a lot of pressure is taken off it, and people will be able to see it very clearly

 Here Beth is putting the strainer into the stand to show us how it works, it seemed like a tight fit, and I was worried that it might get crushed when being put in or taken out.

 making further adjustments to the stand

 and here's a close up of it

 and this photo below shows how good it looks when fitted into the stand. The delicate pattern of holes is beautiful.

 Mike McQueen above came to meet us; he was working in another lab

 Kathy having a good look

 and a final photo

Why was wine strained? Apparently herbs were added during the process, and had to be removed, and if the wine was made from fruit, presumably that had to be strained. I wondered where the wine strainer was found, and how on earth is was so relatively well preserved. Beth didn't know of the provenance of the strainer, but there was a suggestion that it came from the old Purton Hospital site. Thamesdown Archaeological Unit undertook an excavation there ahead of the development of the site with new housing.  They found a small high status Roman cemetery.  The wine strainer was placed with one of the burials.  Another grave contained a stone sarcophagus in which there was a lead liner .
A few years ago Foundation Archaeology undertook an excavation on another part of the site.  They did not find any sign of further burials which suggests the cemetery was probably a small family graveyard.  The did find evidence of a post framed Roman building and finds of decorated wall plaster and a possible under floor heating system suggested this was also high status.
A reader of the blog has refuted the theory that the wine strainer was found in Purton and says this:
'The wine strainer came from the outskirts of the Roman Town at Lower Wanborough. It was found by a metal detectorist, he contacted me upon its discovery and I went out and helped him remove it from the ground. He subsequently donated it to the museum.'
That sounds quite a definite account doesn't it?
There's a really good blog on the History Centre's website with a piece on another Roman wine strainer, worth looking at that. All being well, we'll get our wine strainer back in the Museum in a few weeks time.