Jack Russell: 60 years, 60 pictures – A Celebration

JACK RUSSELL

JACK RUSSELL

60 years, 60 pictures A Celebration

BEETLES GALLERY

Copyright © Chris Beetles Ltd 2023

8 & 10 Ryder Street, St James’s London SW1Y 6QB

020 7839 7551

gallery@chrisbeetles.com

www.chrisbeetles.com

ISBN 978-1-914906-10-7

Cataloguing in publication data is available from the British Library

A Chris Beetles Ltd Publication

Edited by Chris Beetles, Alexander Beetles and Fiona Nickerson

Design by Pascale Oakley

Photography by Alper Goldenberg

Reproduction by www.cast2create.com

Colour separation and printing by Geoff Neal Litho Limited

Front cover: World Cup Glory (detail) [16]

Front endpaper: World Cup Winners [17]

Back endpaper: Winter Afternoon [47]

Back cover: Heroic Ashes Winnings (detail) [19]

Supported by

Jack Russell painting at Broad Halfpenny Down

JACK RUSSELL MBE

Jack Russell was born on 15 August 1963 in Stroud, Gloucestershire. As a child, he attended the local Archway School, and rst began playing cricket at Stroud Cricket Club. He was scouted by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, where he made his rst class debut in 1981 at the age of seventeen whilst still in the Sixth Form at Archway. The following year, he enrolled at Bristol Technical College to study accountancy, but after three months he left to play rst class cricket full-time.

Jack Russell made his international debut in a One Day International against Pakistan in Peshawar on 22 November 1987. In 1988, he was called up to the England Test team and made his debut at Lord’s on 25 August, making a score of 94 and almost becoming the rst English player to make a century as a nightwatchman. Over the course of his career, Jack Russell played 40 ODIs and 54 Tests for England. He scored two Test centuries, against Australia at Old Tra ord in 1989 and against India at Lord’s in 1996. In a Test match between England and South Africa in Johannesburg in November-December 1995, Jack took eleven catches and set a world record for the number of catches taken in a Test. He was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1990 and in 1996, he was appointed an MBE for services to cricket. He retired from international cricket in 1998. He remained at Gloucestershire for his entire career, playing 944 games for them before retiring in 2004 at the age of 40.

Whilst growing up, Jack Russell was always interested in art. He did not study it at school, received no formal training and is self-taught as an artist. He rst began drawing and painting as a way to pass the time during breaks in play, due to rain.

During his rst tour with England, in Pakistan in 1987, Jack featured in just two days of cricket over the course of eight weeks. This allowed him enough time to produce su cient drawings and sketches and on his return to England, he held his rst exhibition in a Bristol gallery.

Since his retirement from cricket in 2004, Jack Russell has become a full-time artist, painting a huge range of subjects, from landscapes and wildlife, to military scenes and his iconic cricketing scenes. He is also an accomplished portrait painter, counting the likes of HRH the late Duke of Edinburgh, HRH Duke of Kent, Sir Norman Wisdom, Eric Clapton and Sir Bobby Charlton amongst his sitters.

Jack Russell’s paintings have been exhibited worldwide and hang in many private collections from the Tower of London to the Bradman Museum in Bowral, NSW. In 2018, Jack held his rst solo exhibition at Chris Beetles Gallery, which was opened by Lord MacLaurin, former President of the ECB and MCC.

Painting Jardine’s cap

1 LORD’S GREEN

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on board 5 x 7 inches

2 MEMBERS’ VIEW, LORD’S

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas 24 x 34 inches

3 BRIGHT MORNING, LORD’S Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas

8 x 13 ½ inches

“There’s no better feeling as a player than arriving at Lord’s on a bright Summer’s morning knowing that the weather is set fair for the day. Priceless!”

4 A LORD’S SKY Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas 39 x 57 ¾ inches

5 THREE SLIPS AND A GULLY, LORD’S Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas

6 x 8 inches

6 VIEW FROM THE NEW EDRICH STAND, LORD’S Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas 31 x 50 inches

“Every year there is a cricket match between The Sherlock Holmes Society of London and The PG Wodehouse Society. The match at West Wycombe is played under Victorian rules. On this occasion there was even a elder wearing red braces and the resident Red Kite hovered continuously above proceedings like an ancient drone. On the hill is the Dashwood Mausoleum built by Sir Francis Dashwood in 1752/3. Next to it the Church of St Lawrence with its golden ball topped tower.”

THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SOCIETY MATCH

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and ‘The annual Sherlock Holmes Society XI versus P G Wodehouse Society XI (‘The Gold Bats’). Played at West Wycombe CC Buckinghamshire’, and dated ‘June 2022’ on reverse Oil on canvas 17 ½ x 32 inches

“When I was a youngster playing club cricket, our Sunday Captain would bat number eleven and let everyone else have a bowl. Occasionally, when the opposition were losing too many wickets and struggling, so as to make a game of it, he would bring himself on to bowl leg breaks (that didn’t really break from leg!). ‘I’ll bowl a few oaters’ he would say. And he did. And the opposition would muster up a few more runs nally being able to declare and therefore make a game of it. So every time I see a couple of clouds that I would call ‘ oaters’ they always remind me of my old Sunday Captain. There is every chance these paintings may turn into a series because I can’t resist a low oating cloud!”

Signed Signed twice, inscribed with title and dated 2020 on reverse Oil on canvas

“It was traditional for the Australians to play their Ashes Tour opener in England at Worcester. In four innings there Bradman made three double hundreds and a single hundred! He spent so much time batting there, that once an urgent telegram for him had to be handed to him by the postman, personally, while he was still out on the ground batting.”

“The rst ball of the 150th Anniversary of the oldest cricket festival in the world.”

“Painted from the top terrace of the new Peter May Stand at The Oval.”

THE WORLD CUP COLLECTION

“In all my years involved with cricket I think I can say that I have never gone through such an extreme mixture of emotions either as a player or spectator as I did on that unbelievable day at Lord's for the World Cup Final between England and New Zealand. I was lucky enough to get a seat for the day, last minute in the Upper Mound Stand. The seat cost me an arm and six legs (don’t ask, it's a long story!) but it was worth it as I witnessed one of the greatest days in sporting history.

New Zealand batted rst and after their 50 overs mustered a decent score, but not a big score under the conditions and I was reasonably content that England would reach that total and become World Champions for the rst time. Unfortunately I neglected to take into account the tenacity and determination of the New Zealanders who are expert at ‘squeezing’ the opposition batsman when defending a modest total. As England’s batting progressed I remained con dent for a while, but as wickets fell and the scoring rate slowed, England’s batting stumbled and a reasonable target turned into a mountain to climb as the New Zealanders wrestled the upper hand. The tension around the ground grew as the battle continued and New Zealand took a stronger hold on proceedings. England were in big trouble and it was to take a mammoth e ort from Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to keep England in the match. If their two wickets had fallen cheaply there’s no doubt it would have been New Zealand’s crown. Under the most intense pressure you can imagine, they slowly lifted England back in with a chance of victory. For me it was a period of mixed emotions ranging from absolute agony to moments of renewed hope, followed by more despair and disappointment as the plot twisted and turned sending my emotions in completely opposite directions. It was gripping stu . The atmosphere around the ground was so thick with tension you could have cut it with a chain saw. Every delivery seemed critical and more crucial than the ball before, in fact there were too many crucial moments to mention. One that will always stick in my mind will be the overthrows late on, that de ected o Ben Stokes’ bat when he was diving for his ground while scrambling a second run. I was right behind the line of the throw and at rst there was confusion as we couldn't make things out through the cloud of dust caused by Stokes’ dive for safety. All I could make out was the ball suddenly changing direction last minute, sailing to the boundary at the pavilion end. Only when we saw the replay on the big screen we realised the Stokes had accidentally de ected the ball away from the wicket-keeper’s grasp.

Stokes put his hands up to apologise, but because the ball had travelled over the rope and it was too late, the extra runs were added to England's total and there was nothing anyone could do about it. As it turned out later these runs were pivotal. I should have realised at that point that maybe it was written in the stars (not that I believe in the stars!) and that I should sit back, relax and enjoy it more. After that stroke of fortune it was bound to be England’s day but it didn’t feel like that at the time and there was more drama ahead!

Even in the last of the normal 50 overs it could have gone either way and a massive six from Stokes, who seemed to be carrying the whole nation on his shoulders, kept England alive. When it came down to the last ball, England needed two to win. We held our breaths as Stokes hit the nal delivery towards deep long on and he, together with his batting partner Mark Wood, ran for their lives. I had the perfect view as the ball was picked up by the elder at long on and he returned it to the bowler at the non-striker’s end, where the stumps were broken with Wood short of his ground. My heart was broken. Total devastation. Scores level, but England had lost more wickets so had lost, New Zealand won, they were World Champions for the rst time. My heart sank. A subdued, de ated atmosphere spread around the ground. Oh well I thought, it was a great game to watch and although totally gutted as an England supporter, I was pleased to have witnessed the amazing events. I felt for the team, in particular Ben Stokes who had produced a gigantic individual performance to get England so close to victory, but they would have to settle for a runners up medal.

Then I noticed the New Zealanders weren't celebrating? After a short delay, the atmosphere slowly began to change and a low murmur became a noisy rumbling as word passed around the ground like a Mexican wave that the contest wasn’t over! Then people around me started talking of a ‘Super Over!’ My spirits lifted and I grew ten feet tall as the exciting optimism returned. We didn’t have such a thing as a ‘super over’ when I was a player so the thought of it hadn’t crossed my mind. Eventually it was con rmed on the big screen and by the ground announcer, the contest would continue and the World Champions would be decided by a ‘super over’. The ground was buzzing again. As the sun lowered in the west and the shadows lengthened across the ground, the tension began to grow again.

As England were batting at the end of ‘normal time’ they would face the rst super over. Ben Stokes kept his batting pads on and was joined by Jos Buttler. England’s destiny was in their hands, or rather in their bats as they managed to score an excellent sixteen from the super over, including Jos Buttler hitting the last ball for a boundary four, which would be yet another pivotal moment in terms of the minute margins between victory or defeat. New Zealand needed seventeen to win. Sixteen would be no good to them because it was announced before the start of their super over, that another tie would see England victorious on account of scoring more boundaries in the match.

We were all a little surprised to see the England Captain Eoin Morgan hand the ball to Jofra Archer to bowl England’s super over. Surely he should give the ball to a more experienced bowler such as Mark Wood who could bowl ‘yorkers’ and had a variety of slower balls in his armoury, which are useful when the batsmen are trying to smash every ball out of the ground. Also, he would have the nerve to deliver the goods. But as we have come to learn with Eoin he knows his men. Together with his calm, un ustered approach which exudes con dence in those around him, he backed Jofra to come up trumps. Eoin believed he had the nerve and temperament for the job in hand, which was in fact the most important over ever bowled at that time by an England bowler in international one day cricket. We were panicking a little though when the rst ball was a wide. Not the best start. But Jofra showed nerves of steel and despite one of his deliveries being hit for six towards us in the Upper Mound Stand he'd sti ed the New Zealand batsman just enough to force them into needing two to win o the last ball of the day.

The tension at this point was indescribable and with millions around the world watching, we all held our breaths again as Martin Guptill hit the nal ball along the ground towards the Grandstand. Straining into the Sunday evening sunlight we watched as Guptill turned at the non-strikers for the second run, he was still in with a good chance of making it a glorious day for his country. All eyes were now on Jason Roy the elder at deep mid-wicket who had to gather and throw to the keeper’s end. Any sort of fumble and the World Cup would be lost (he had in fact mis elded a ball down in front of us earlier in the day allowing New Zealand to score a two when it should have been a single!). Time seemed to stand

still as the whole crowd quickly got to its feet and roared, the noise was incredible as we all witnessed him make a clean pick up and whizz the ball one bounce into Jos Buttler. It wasn't the perfect throw, but was close enough to Jos that he only had to move a yard to his right and gather the throw. As Jos's gloves broke the stumps and the bails took o , lights ashing, Guptill was still mid- ight desperately stretching for his ground and World Cup glory. He didn't make it. He was well short. There was a volcanic eruption of noise which nearly took the canopy o the Upper Mound Stand and nearly broke the windows on the famous Lord’s Pavilion! All the England supporters in the ground went crazy. The England team went crazy. The England balcony on the Pavilion went crazy. I've never experienced anything like it, not even as a player, it was an amazing release of pent up emotion I’d never felt or seen before. With my artist’s eye quickly turning to observation mode I began scouring the ground for visual information. I brie y noticed the ags on the pavilion were acting very di erently. Above their dressing room the New Zealand ag was limp and lifeless, but the ag above the England dressing room was uttering vigorously, in fact nearly horizontal in the breeze. Strange, I thought, as the wind would be the same for both sides of the pavilion at that end of the ground? I quickly got my pocket sketch book out again and made a few notes of the situation and colours. I had in fact made a couple of small sketches earlier in the day for reference, just in case England did nd glory and become World Cup Winners for the rst time ever. I’m so pleased I did! What a day of drama. It was an honour and a privilege to have witnessed it rst-hand. If you were also there I'm sure you’ll agree there’s never been a game like it. Not only was it a contest tied after 50 overs but it was also a tie after the super over with the teams only being separated by the boundary count, the smallest and barest of all margins! If you could not be there to witness it in the esh or if you watched it on television, I hope this World Cup Collection will bring to you some of the atmosphere of that match winning moment we were all lucky to have been a part of. I know I’ll never forget it. Priceless.”

Ⓒ Jack Russell, 2023

“Jos Buttler breaks the stumps for England to win the Cricket World Cup by ‘the barest of margins.’ Having made a few run outs myself over the years I know the thin line between completing the job safely or rushing it and messing things up entirely! My heart still misses a beat everytime I think about it.”

WORLD CUP GLORY

Signed

Signed twice, inscribed with title and ‘Buttler runs out Guptill on the last ball of the Super Over to give England victory. World Cup Final, Lord’s 2019. The view from my seat in the Mound Stand’, and dated 2020 twice on reverse Oil on canvas

17 ½ x 29 inches

“This was the view from my seat in the Upper Mound Stand at Lord’s the day I watched England win the Cricket World Cup for the rst time. One of the most extraordinary days of cricket I have ever experienced, either on or o the eld! It was like travelling the worlds highest roller coaster of emotion but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I managed to make a few small rough sketches and notes during the nal deliveries of the match before rushing back to my studio to paint the momentous moment while the atmosphere and colours were still fresh in my mind. Arguably one of the greatest days in the history of English cricket.”

WORLD CUP WINNERS

Signed

Signed twice, inscribed with title, ‘England v New Zealand Cricket World Cup Final, Lord’s 2019, The Winning Moment Buttler runs out Guptill on the last ball of the super over to give England Victory’ and ‘This is the view I had from my seat in the upper Mount Stand. Seat 116 Row C’, and dated 2020 on reverse

Oil on canvas

35 ¾ x 59 inches

THE ASHES COLLECTION

“When I set my easel up on the boundary edge for the 1st Ashes Test, the boyhood excitement and memories came ooding back. The atmosphere was already building, and it was still only 8 o’clock on the rst morning. The players hadn’t even started warming up yet! When they eventually did, I have to admit, I felt like getting my tracksuit on again and joining in, as there is nothing that gets my blood pumping more than a contest against the old enemy, nothing! As the morning went on and the spectators arrived, the atmosphere built to such a degree that you could have cut it with a chainsaw. It was electric, and I couldn’t wait for it to get started. To me, every single delivery in an Ashes Series feels like an event and is so crucial, but the rst ball in particular of an Ashes Test is always a special moment.

It’s for this reason that I set myself the challenge of painting the rst ball of every Test of an Ashes Series. It’s something I’ve not seen any other artist do before. The magic of that rst ball. The start of another ancient dual between two countries for the most prized trophy in World Cricket, that tiny urn they call ‘The Ashes’. It’s every young cricketer’s dream to play against Australia. I was lucky enough to play in two series: one in England, and one Down Under. Priceless memories. Although I still felt like jumping over the boundary rope and joining in once play had started, I had to settle for what I considered at every Test in this series, the best seat in the house to paint from. When you’re out in the middle as a player, you’re not always aware of the detail around you because of the concentration on the job at hand, but these locations gave me the perfect opportunity to get on canvas

all of that crucial detail. And I can say without question that this series of pictures are the most detailed cricket paintings I have ever painted. Obsessed with getting things just right, I had to account for such details as players’ body language. The ways in which they move. How they wear their headgear. Hand positions for slips, for gully. A bowler’s follow through, a batsman’s back lift. How low does short leg crouch? Long sleeve sweater or short? Cap or sunhat? Sunglasses or not? Right down to badges, numbers and even the studs on the bowler’s boot. Thousands of spectators were painted individually, and while they are not portraits as such, if you were at any of these matches and wore a speci c colour or were situated in a certain part of the ground, you may be able to pick yourself out in the crowd. I won’t forget the two spectators at Old Tra ord who were still trying to nd their seats whilst the rst ball was going down! You can see them wandering on the steps in front of the site screen at the Old Pavilion end. If you were one of these spectators please get in touch, because you’ve been captured forever on canvas! Even if you weren’t there at the time, I do hope I can take you there now to feel part of a series which witnessed some of the greatest Ashes cricket in history.

The paintings in this collection took almost a year to complete, and I can say it’s some of the most challenging and enjoyable work of my thirty-year career as an artist, and I have loved every minute. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did painting them. Priceless!”

Ⓒ Jack Russell, 2023

Signed

Signed twice, inscribed with title and extensively inscribed, and dated 2020 twice on reverse Oil on canvas

HEROIC ASHES INNINGS

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and ‘Ben Stokes hits the winning runs at Headingley, The Ashes, 2019’, and dated 2019 on reverse

Oil on canvas

30 x 48 inches

“Ben Stokes hits the winning runs at Headingley, The Ashes, 2019”

“Inspired by the reluctance to give in to the fading light because you want the enjoyment to continue and everyone is in denial that the light is poor. If your eyes have adjusted and you can still see the ball, if only just, play on!”

23 DISTANT BLUE

Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas 4 ½ x 8 ½ inches

24

THATCHED COTTAGES

Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 22 on reverse Oil on canvas 4 x 8 ¾ inches

25 MID SUMMER

Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas 4 x 10 inches

WORCESTER SUNSHINE

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse

Oil on canvas 6 ¾ x 6 ½ inches

27

SUNSET SKIER

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and ‘There is a ball in the sky!’, and dated 2022 on reverse

Oil on canvas 6 x 8 ¼ inches

“There is a ball in the sky!”

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas

5 ½ x 15 ½ inches

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas

7 ½ x 18 inches

29 (below) THE LONG COAT

28 (above) COPSE FIELD

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and ‘West Sussex’, and dated 2022 on reverse Oil on canvas 12 ¾ x 17 ¾ inches

BALCONY VIEW, BROADHALFPENNY DOWN

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and extensively inscribed, and dated 24.6.22 on reverse Oil on board

5 x 7 inches

“To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the rst ever rst-class cricket match, a game was arranged between an England All Stars XI, captained by Charlotte Edwards, and a Hampshire XI, captained by Mark Nicholas. I had the honour of being commissioned to paint this historic anniversary match and this is a small colour sketch I painted from the pavilion balcony that day.”

32 (below) THE MALT HOUSE, LURGASHALL

“I actually saw this gentleman keeping wicket wearing a straw hat.”

RED GLOVES AND STRAW HAT

Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2022 on reverse Oil on canvas on board 3 ¼ x 3 ¼ inches

UMPIRE’S CALL

Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas on board 4 ¾ x 2 ½ inches

“This gentleman was stood outside the pavilion at Lord’s during a test match when I observed him having a heated discussion with his ‘misbehaving’ mobile phone.”

MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on board 6 ½ x 4 ½ inches

Signed

Oil on canvas

6 ¾ x 6 ¼ inches

“Jack Blackham was Australia’s rst Test wicketkeeper playing in the Melbourne Test of 1877. He also played in the infamous Test of 1882 after which the term ‘Ashes’ was born. He kept the ball from the second innings of that match and took it back to Australia when, in 1916, he o ered it for auction to help with war charities. Collectors joined together to purchase the ball which they gave to the Museum of Victoria. In the 1930’s the ball was moved to the Melbourne Cricket Club Museum. He had the reputation of standing up to the stumps to the quickest bowlers.”

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse

Oil on canvas

7 x 6 inches

37 JACK BLACKHAM, AUSTRALIA

36 BLACK GLOVES

“Whenever possible Douglas Jardine preferred to wear his favourite Harlequins Cap. He even wore it when playing for England during the infamous body line series of 1932-33, much to the annoyance of the locals! The original cap is in Nigel Wray’s collection and he very kindly gave me access to paint a small colour sketch as reference for the larger painting.”

38 JARDINE

Signed and inscribed with title

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas 13

“Betty kept wicket and opened the batting in the rst ever England Women’s Test Match which was against Australia Women in Brisbane in 1934. She played a total of 10 test matches, her last test being against Australia in 1949. In 1951 she also umpired a test match. After retiring from cricket she moved to Colwall in Herefordshire where she taught cricket and mathematics at the Elms School.” 39

BETTY SNOWBALL, ENGLAND

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas on board 9 ½ x 7 ¾ inches

¾ x 9 ¾ inches

NUMBER SEVENTEEN HIGH STREET, WINDSOR Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2022 on reverse Oil on canvas 12 ¼ x 10 inches

41 STEPS TO KING EDWARD’S GATE, WINDSOR Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse Oil on canvas on board 16 x 5 ¼ inches

“Would be nice if these old gas lamps stayed around for a few more years. Or even better, inde nitely! So much nicer light to paint than the harsh LED lights.”

GOODWIN’S COURT, BEDFORDBURY END Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse

ONE GOODWIN’S COURT Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2023 on reverse

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2022 on reverse

“Wouldn’t be surprised if J M W Turner passed this way?”

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2022 on reverse Oil on canvas

48

STICKLE TARN, FIRST ENCOUNTER

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2020 on reverse Oil on canvas 29 x 15 ½ inches

49

STICKLE GHYLL

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2021 on reverse Oil on canvas 15 ½ x 21 ¾ inches

“This is the location that was the inspiration for the dangerous Grimpen Mire mentioned in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’. He spent time touring Dartmoor with his friend Fletcher Robinson researching his masterpiece. He would have stood on this spot looking across the moor, as I did to try and capture the desolate atmosphere with it’s silent, rolling mist.

It’s so remote you don’t see anybody for days on end. You can’t even get a mobile phone signal here. Peaceful? Very much so. Dangerous? Most de nitely!”

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and ‘Opposite Whiteworks, near Princetown on Dartmoor. This is the moor that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle visited which gave him the location for “The Grimpen Mire” in his famous novel “The Hound of the Baskervilles”’, and dated 2021 on reverse

Oil on canvas

50 FOXTOR ‘THE GRIMPEN’ MIRE, DARTMOOR

16 ¾ x 32 inches

51 MELTING SNOW Signed Signed, inscribed with title and ‘Wrekin Mountain Woods, Shropshire’, and dated 2022 on reverse Oil on canvas 10 x 12 inches

52 AUTUMN PLAYGROUND Signed Signed, inscribed with title and dated 2022 on reverse Oil on canvas 10 x 12 inches

“In the last couple of years I’ve started painting more ‘still life’ and I’ve become obsessed with the challenge of painting Sta ordshire Figures. These pieces are from the collection of Dr James Hull.”

56

STILL LIFE: VICTORIAN STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURE –

SAM WELLER ON MY PAINTING TABLE

Signed

Signed twice, inscribed with title and ‘Sam Weller Sta ordshire gure from Alan Sturrock collection, President of the Sta ordshire Figure Association. Sam Weller Character from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens’, and dated 2022 on reverse

Oil on canvas

14 ¾ x 12 inches

57

STILL LIFE: LILLYWHITE, VICTORIAN STAFFORDSHIRE

FIGURE SPILL VASE

Signed

Signed, inscribed with title and ‘Dr James Hull Collection’, and dated 2021 on reverse

Oil on canvas

14 x 11 inches

STRUGGLE TO PEE?

SO DID HE GET TESTED

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer affecting 1 in 8 white men and 1 in 4 black men.

12,000 MEN DIE EVERY YEAR IN THE UK. IT COULD BE YOU OR A LOVED ONE TEXT

If you notice a weakening of your urine

SPEND A PENNY. SAVE A LIFE.

SIMONE SANDELSON

Artist and Dog Portraitist

www.sandelson.co.uk

“I am touched by the honesty and total presence of animals and my aim is to capture their personalities alongside their appearance.”

simone@sandelson.co.uk

CHARLES SALE THE COVERS ARE OFF Civil War at

Lord’s

The last two decades have seen a civil war inside MCC over the future of Lord’s, though the club’s membership have largely been kept in the dark. On the one side, the MCC establishment; on the other, the property developer Charles Rifkind, who bought the rights to develop the railway tunnels under the ground’s Nursery End from under the noses of MCC.

Rifkind’s audacious purchase led to two decades of frustration, as MCC rebu ed his attempts to bring the ‘Home of Cricket’ into the twenty- rst century. It is a saga that saw the cricketing establishment take sides in an increasingly acrimonious con ict, which played out in furious debates behind the closed Grace Gates.

With a cast list that includes a former prime minister, several England Test captains, leaders of nance and industry and committed agitators amongst the MCC membership, The Covers Are O reveals a bitter struggle between the guardians of tradition and a new order intent on change.

“It is a very English scandal which has all the usual English disease elements in. It. Too much pride. Too much prejudice. Too much snobbery. Too much mendacity. Too much down right incompetence. Charles Sale really does tell the story well. Essential reading for MCC members, cricket lovers and those who study the English psyche.”

Paddy Briggs, cricket journalist.

CHRIS BEETLES GALLERY

8 & 10 Ryder Street, St James’s London SW1Y 6QB 020 7839 7551 gallery@chrisbeetles.com www.chrisbeetles.com