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kettle’s yard and friends’ news spring 2011
Completing Kettle’s Yard We are pleased to thank all those who have already contributed to the Development Appeal: The Vice-Chancellor’s Circle Heritage Lottery Fund, The Monument Trust Major Funders Clore Duffield Foundation, Edlis-Neeson Foundation,The Foyle Foundation, Ruth Rattenbury, The Sir Siegmund Warburg Voluntary Settlement, Dr Michael and Mrs Margaret West. Major Donors Mrs VC Albutt, Nicholas & Diana Baring, the late Mr & Mrs Barlow-Poole, Professor Dame Gillian Beer & Professor John Beer, Dick Chapman & Ben Duncan, the Paul & Louise Cooke Endowment, Dr Shirley Ellis, Philomena Guillebaud, Alfred Harrison, John Lewis plc, Mark & Liza Loveday, Dr Christopher Mallinson, Dr Alan Munro, The Quercus Trust, Louisa & Tristram Riley-Smith, The Rothschild Foundation, John & Jenny Talbot, Sir Harry Djanogly. Patrons The late Enid & Malcolm Boston, Sir Alan Bowness, Valerie Clark, Dr David & Mrs Ros Cleevely, Eve Corder, Rosemary Davidson, The Dovehouse Trust, John & Angela Elliott, Carolyn Emery & Robert Patterson, Christopher & Rosalind
Heritage Lottery Funding success
Floyd, Hilo Colour Printers Ltd, Professor Matson in memory of Derek Taunt, Mr AR Pargeter, Mr Duncan & Mrs Lisa Robinson, the late Professor Jean Rudduck, Mr & Mrs Jonathan Scott, Dr Elizabeth Simpson, Mary Anne Stevens, The Stuart Heath Charitable Settlement, Evadne Wallis, Michael Walton, Graham & Nina Williams, The Hon Paul Zuckerman. Donors Dilyara Allakhverdova, The Archer Charitable Trust, Clodagh & Jonathan Barker, John & Jean Botts, Mr R Cantrill & Professor Eilis Ferran, Sir Anthony Caro, Penelope & Sebastian Carter, The Marquess of Cholmondley, Clare College, The
Kettle’s Yard is celebrating the Heritage Lottery Fund’s award of £2.32 million towards the ‘Completing Kettle’s Yard’ development project. The HLF announcement followed hot on the heels of the Clore Duffield Foundation’s pledge of £250,000 for one of eleven new Clore creative learning spaces. This will form part of the new education wing alongside the exhibition gallery. Together with monies already raised, these awards put Kettle’s Yard on track to begin building work towards the end of this year. A new project gallery, expanded art library and proper collection storage are all part of the same scheme. March was a busy month. It also brought news from Arts Council England. Government had asked ACE to limit its cuts to regularly funded organisations to 14.9% overall. Individually this meant the loss of grant-aid or heavy reductions for some, while others were given a boost and some are being grant-aided for the first time. Kettle’s Yard came through with a slight reduction of 1%, though this works out, in real terms, as 10%.
The Arts Council report noted: ‘Kettle’s Yard is recognised nationally and internationally for the excellence of its artistic programme, demonstrated by its press coverage, strong audiences and exhibition partners and makes an important contribution to talent development and learning, particularly through its Children and Young People programme. … This is a robust, fundable application from a city-based gallery with an excellent track record in terms of programme and engagement activity and a strong approach to business and financial management.’ Director, Michael Harrison, said: ‘We’re thrilled that now we can move firmly ahead towards development. I’m enormously grateful to everyone who has contributed financially and in every other way. It has been a huge undertaking on the part of our Development Appeal Group and my colleagues, and I’m delighted that their efforts have been rewarded. The reduction in Arts Council funding now makes us focus on our revenue needs and we shall be pressing on to ensure that we have the money to run the new spaces and maintain our artistic and education programmes. We shall be watching Arts Council plans for matching philanthropic giving.’
Clarke Charitable Trust, The Timothy Colman Charitable Trust, The Duke of Devonshire’s Charitable Trust 1949, Mr & Mrs AJ Eade, Dr Colin & Dr Carole Fraser, the family & friends of the late Sue Finch, Mr Lyn & Mrs Clare Flook, Nan Fowler, Mr David Hall, Grant Hay, Penny & Nicholas Heath, Professor Antony & Mrs Marjorie Hewish, The ISA Charity, Mr & Mrs Howard Jackson, The John S Cohen Foundation, The Keatley Trust, Mr R Keeling & Ms H Melville-Smith, Jeremy Lewison & Caroline Schuck, Simon Lunn, The DG Marshall of Cambridge Trust, Richard Paice, Allison Pearson & Anthony Lane, Derek Pine, Lady Cynthia Postan, the friends of the late Rose Rands, The Raven Charitable Trust, Dr Alan & Mrs Mary Rodger, the late HW Rothschild, Ms Susan Royce, Osborne Samuel, Mr Edward Sanderson, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust. Dr NA Silverston MBE, Lady Solti, Mr & Mrs A Styan. Supporters Mark Bedini, Meg Brian, Professor & Mrs Britter, Dr & Mrs Ivan Brown, Professor MJ & Mrs EB Budd, Mrs Carol Davies, Dr TR Dening, Hugh Duberly CBE, Daniel Edwards & Nicola Barnacle, Julie Flower, Miss Virginia Forbes, Mr Julian Gardner, Mr & Mrs Richard Garnett, Mr PN Gerard, Jane Gooch, Ms Victoria Goodbody, Mr Peter Hambro, Mr Jon Harris, Mr Nick & Mrs Diana Hartley, the late Mr Edward & Mrs Carmen Hassett, Mrs Rosemary Huggins, Lady Lever of Manchester, Dr Y Levine, Anne Lonsdale, The Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, Mrs Irina Rozhdova, Dr John Sedgwick, Ms Rosanna Wilson Stephens, Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern, Alan Swerdlow, Richard Sword, Dr Jim Tait, Mrs Angela Taunt, Martin Thompson, Maggie Thornton, The SD Whitehead Charitable Trust. Kettle’s Yard gratefully acknowledges those who have made smaller donations, pledged legacies, or asked to remain anonymous. If you would like to know more about the planned development or how you can help the appeal please contact: Michael Harrison on 01223 748100.
Kettle’s Yard Castle Street, Cambridge CB3 0AQ 01223 748100 • www.kettlesyard.co.uk
New Books
Artists for Kettle’s Yard Donors to ‘Artists for Kettle’s Yard’ The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Helena Almeida, Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, Daphne Warburg Astor, David Austen, Gillian Ayres, Claire Barclay, Phyllida Barlow, Regine Bartsch, Zachary Beer, Karla Black, John Blackburn, Michael Brick, Broughton House Gallery, Sir Anthony Caro, Tony Carter, Stephen Chambers, Michelle Charles, The Marquess of Cholmondeley, Paul Coldwell, Michael Craig-Martin, Natasha Daintry, The Estate of Francis Davison, Jane Dixon, Bob Edgson, Paul Feiler, Vanessa Gardiner, Annabel Gault, John Golding, Antony Gormley, Penny Govett, Kip Gresham, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Maggi Hambling, Jon Harris, Mona Hatoum, Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert, Claude Heath, The Estate of Barbara
Fundraising has been boosted by the current exhibition ‘Artists for Kettle’s Yard’. Again the Development Appeal Group has been active in asking artists and collectors to donate works to be sold in aid of the building plans. The response from donors was extraordinarily generous and selling was brisk at the opening – from Bridget Riley and Maggi Hambling to Paul Klee and Cambridge’s Jon Harris. With works by Antony Gormley, Marc Quinn, Anthony Caro, Mona Hatoum, David Nash and Damien Hirst going to auction at Sotheby’s on 25 May, ‘Artists for Kettle’s Yard’ is on target to top £500,000.
left: Bridget Riley’s ‘Rose Rose 6’, Phyllida Barlow’s ‘Untitled:crushedrolleddropped’ and Francis Davison’s ‘Untitled: Yellow, Red, Blue with Two Black Stripes. right: Antony Gormley’s ‘Stock’, to be sold at Sotheby’s on May 25, shown here in the house at Kettle’s Yard. Also, on the piano, is Alison Wilding’s ‘Nudge’.
Hepworth, Jason Hicklin, Nicola Hicks, Philippa Hill, Caryl and John Hubbard, James Hugonin, Callum Innes, Annely Juda Fine Art, Linda Karshan, Lida Cardozo Kindersley, Issam Kourbaj, Tory Lawrence, Ffiona of Kenneth Martin, Lisa Milroy, David Nash, Elspeth Owen, The Estate of Bryan Pearce, Christopher Penn, Marc Quinn, Peter Randall-Page, Alan Reynolds, Bridget Riley, Matthew Lane Sanderson, Michael Sandle, Jamie Shovlin, Yuko Shiraishi, Daniel Sturgis, Debbie Urquhart, Victim, Edmund de Waal, David Ward, Alison Wilding, Paul Winstanley, Bill Woodrow.
The Hon. Paul Zuckerman (Chair), Daphne Warburg Astor (Vice-Chair), Professor Brian Allen, Clodagh Barker, Dame Gillian Beer, Nicole Bellamy, Joan Edlis, Gerard Griffin, Christopher Mallinson, Christopher Penn, Professor Susan Smith, Frances Wells
Kettle’s Yard is grateful to the following who have recently supported our programme: The Friends of Kettle’s Yard, Arts Council England, The Higher Education Funding Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, The Isaac Newton Trust, Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, The Henry Moore Foundation, The PRS Foundation, The Holst Foundation, The RVW Trust, The Radcliffe Trust, The Faculty of Music, Dr Shirley Ellis, John and Jenny Talbot, and many other individual donors. This newsletter is made possible by a grant from the Friends of Kettle’s Yard.
TO REQUEST THE NEWSLETTER IN AN ALTERNATIVE FORMAT PLEASE CALL 01223 748100
Kettle's Yard: Found a Garage Sale
Kettle’s Yard receives bequest
17-22 May, The Brompton Garage, London SW3 2BA One-off artworks, found objects, textiles, ceramics and crafts will be sold in a pop-up store event to raise funds for the Development Appeal. Artists, designers and collectors have donated work. All work is on sale from £1 to £2,000 for six days only. There will be a star-studded programme of events every day including Verdi Yahooda, Romilly Saumarez-Smith, writers Saumya Balsari, Amanda Craig, Ruth Padel, Ali Smith and Louisa Young in discussion with Dame Gillian Beer, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott hosting poetry readings and workshops with ‘artist in residence’ Shane Waltener. More information on ‘Found’ and online booking can be found on the web site: www.kettlesyard.co.uk/found
Work is under way on a new book on Jim Ede. Written and edited by Helen Williams, who used to visit Kettle’s Yard as a student in the late ‘50s, the book will draw on Ede’s unpublished autobiography, letters and lectures. We would be very glad to hear from people who have letters from Jim Ede. Michael Harrison’s book on the artist Alan Reynolds was published by Lund Humphries in January. Reynolds had a retrospective at Kettle’s Yard in 2003. The book reveals his transformation from ‘golden boy’ of English landscape painting to European concretist, making geometric, white reliefs and tonal drawings. On sale at Kettle’s Yard, £40.
Lewis, Peter Logan, Alex Lowery, Ian McKeever, Danny Markey, The Estate
Kettle’s Yard Appeal Group:
The new and much enhanced edition of Jim Ede’s Savage Messiah, announced in the last newsletter, is now on the bookshop shelves and available to buy online. The book traces the life and thoughts of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska through his own and Sophie Brzeska’s writings. Published by Kettle’s Yard and the Henry Moore Institute, the new beautifully designed hardback includes essays by Evelyn Silber, Sebastiano Barassi and Jon Wood, and previously unpublished text by Gaudier himself. Cost £19.95 (£16.95 special price to the Friends).
Highlights include: Edmund de Waal, Rupert Spira, Gary Breeze, Alison Crowther, Natasha Daintry, Tom Dixon, Eric Gill, Jason Hicklin, Molly Hogg, Julian Sainsbury, Langlands and Bell, Andrew Logan, John Pawson, Romilly Saumarez Smith, Shane Waltener, Verdi Yahooda…
At Christmas, we received the sad news of the death of long-time visitor Victor Skipp. A historian of the industrial revolution, Victor was a passionate advocate of modernism who had been strongly influenced by Kettle’s Yard. Starting with Ivon Hitchens and moving on to the minimalism of Bob Law, Victor also collected tribal rugs, African sculptures, books and objects relating to pre-industrial societies. While Jim Ede’s house was one of aesthetic links, Victor’s was a place of philosophical connections. His house and contents have been left to Kettle’s Yard. An exhibition and publication are planned to honour the bequest.
Hooked on Holland A sea voyage, however brief, is a great start to a holiday, and it was good to board the gleaming Stena Hollandica for our overnight trip to The Hague. We woke next day to blue skies, calm seas and views of flat barges and rows of wind turbines. We began our four days in Holland with a drive through acres of glasshouses and neat housing to the Royal Collection, Mauritshuis, in the centre of The Hague. Here was a roomful of bucolic Jan Steens’, Rembrandt’s ‘Anatomy lesson’, Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a pearl earring’, Holbein’s portrait of poor Jane Seymour and, in the final room, Carel Fabritius’ small and perfect painting of a goldfinch. Lunch in the big square in the sunshine and then to the comfortable Ibis hotel for R and R. Recovered, we visited the Gemeente Museum designed by Berlage in 1927, a horizontal Frank Lloyd Wright influenced building in the most intricate buff-coloured brick. A memorable collection of work – Francis Bacon, Picasso, Louise Bourgeois, Carl Andre, Donald Judd, a wall filled by a huge and powerful painting by Anselm Keifer, but sadly very little by Mondrian. The next day was an architectural adventure. First, to the Zonnestraal Sanatorium, designed by Jan Duiker in 1926 and built in a wood out of town in the belief that fresh air and sunlight would go some way to curing TB. We were shown round by the son of a one-time patient who took great pride in the beautifully restored building. Enormous efforts had been taken to orientate the wards so that they all had the maximum amount of sunlight. Even the glazing bars were painted blue to blend with the skies. Next, to the small but ingeniously designed house Gerrit Rietveld built in 1924 for a Mrs Schroder. We marvelled that he managed to get permission for such a house at the end of a solid traditional terrace, and also at his client’s readiness to abandon all her previous possessions. He must have had the greatest fun, making many of the fittings himself: removable walls so that the spaces could be instantly altered, a sliding door, counter balanced so that it could change the circulation space into an intimate ‘phone corner, couches with demountable bed heads, and the famous red and blue chair which was repeated in dark wood for the black walled study where colour was not allowed to distract. On to Hilversum Town Hall, built by Willem Dudok at about the same time as the Rietveld house and again recently restored. We toured the mayor’s parlour, climbed the monumental staircase to the first floor council chamber
Gerrit Rietveld’s Schroder house in Utrecht, 1924
and then on to the top of the tall tower. Dudok seems to have designed everything from the specially commissioned bricks to the furniture, the upholstery and lettering, even the door handles, creating a pleasant continuity throughout. Saturday, a rainy day as we drove on to Rotterdam to visit the Van Nelle factory designed by Brinkman & Van der Vlugt, and built between 1925 and 1931. The building is all light and air and must have been a wonderful improvement for most workers. Good canteens and washrooms, though men and women still worked on separate floors to avoid distraction, and also, we wondered, to prevent them comparing wages? Two last calls: the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen with memorable works by Rembrandt, Bosch and Breughel. Different, but just as memorable, is the peanut butter carpet by Schippes, its aroma penetrating the surrounding rooms. Close by was the Sonneveld House built for one of the managers of the Van Nelle factory, another perfect client couple who agreed to abandon all their previous furniture and be guided by their architect. How many of us would go along with that? The house is beautiful - charmingly consistent with a gracious first floor sitting room cum library painted in subtle browns and greys, with discreet sliding doors to divide the space if wished. Sunday, and time to return, calling first at Delft before catching the ferry. Bright skies once again; for a moment, the scene looked like Vermeer’s ‘View of Delft’. We went our separate ways, some to walk along the canals with their tall gabled houses, others to look at Delft tiles in the antique shops, to visit the Prinsenhof, or relax over coffee in the square or to find yourself, as we did, caught up in the service at the Frenchspeaking Walloon church. Thanks to Rolfe and Sebastian who smoothed our paths in all kinds of ways – for the library of information available on the coach, for organising meals and times and directions and never betraying anxiety as we almost, but never quite, were late or lost. Thanks too to Keith of Kenzies coaches. It was a great trip. Elizabeth Morris • March 2011
Three Friends put Cambridge Sculptures on the Map www.cambridgesculpturetrails.co.uk Can you pinpoint the spot where Michael Ayrton’s powerful sculpture of Talos, the legendary guardian of Minoan Crete, is to be found in Cambridge city centre or where Eric Gill’s crocodile is embedded in a University laboratory wall? Thanks to the redoubtable efforts of Kettle’s Yard Friends, Mary Munro, Shirley Foulsham and Heather Warwick, the many, often neglected, three dimensional works in our midst may remain in the shadows no longer. The three, who are friends in the wider sense, share a passion for modern sculpture. This led them to research and compile attractive and easy-to-follow printed guides known as Cambridge Sculpture Trails. Available free, these are designed as a new and exciting way to explore modern sculpture in the city. The trail leaflets mark out well-described walking routes linking the array of freely accessible 20th and 21st century sculpture dotted across the city and tucked away in college gardens. Besides star names like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, there are countless works to discover by lesser known artists. Most sculptures are within walking distance of the city centre. ‘There are many works in public places and colleges which are all too easily overlooked as people are often inhibited about going to look at them,’ explains Mary. ‘We felt that if they could have a handy guide to where the sculptures are placed, it would encourage people to explore Cambridge in a totally different way.’ The user-friendly leaflets are illustrated with reference pictures and a brief factual description of each work. They are planned to allow for food and drink breaks and can be covered in several legs on different days. ‘These guides will hopefully encourage people to leave their cars behind and walk around Cambridge with their families,’ says Heather. ‘Children are particularly fascinated by the bears, carved in 1904, which guard the entrance to the Sedgwick Museum.’ The original idea for the trails came from Mary and her husband Alan who chairs Kettle’s Yard Friends. Both are keen collectors of modern sculpture: ‘It was a true labour of love, a real team effort and tremendous fun.’ At the start, they received good advice from the architectural organisation, Shape-East, who suggested they apply for a Heritage Lottery grant to cover the design, printing and a companion website. Much to their amazement, their application was successful. They began by carrying out an audit of all the sculpture in public places, each taking an area and researching the works on display in detail, trying to find out more about the artists and their intentions. ‘We are careful not to express our own judgements, allowing users of the guides to decide for themselves.’ Mary explains. Each brought different skills to the project. Heather studied sculpture and history of art as a mature student and was responsible for much of the photography. Shirley taught art for 15 years at the Perse School for Girls and Mary brought project management experience. On some
Peter Randall-Page’s ‘Between the Lines’ in Fisher Square
occasions they found that sculptures had been mistakenly attributed. Their researches revealed that ‘The Swimmers’ outside Parkside Pool is actually taken from a design by Betty Rea (1904-1965) an International Socialist who taught sculpture at Homerton College. Since the leaflets were published in 2009, one of Shirley’s favourite sculptures, the statue of Ceres, goddess of corn on Station Road, has been removed. It is due to return to view following the station area redevelopment and the Sculpture Trails team will be lobbying hard to make sure this happens. The series of three walks has proved so popular that the friends have just succeeded in raising the money to reprint a further 15,000 of each trail. These are available in Kettle’s Yard, the Tourist Office, Fitzwilliam Museum and Michaelhouse Café. They are also downloadable from the website which gives considerably more background information on each work, with links to the artists’ own sites. ‘Cambridge Sculpture Trails is very much a living project,’ Mary explains. ‘We will add new works to the website as we discover them and continue our researches into the artists. Part of our rationale was to counteract the negative press that public art sometimes receives. If we can raise the profile of the vast range of sculpture in our midst for everyone to enjoy, we feel we will have done something positive for Cambridge. With all the building projects in progress we hope to see many new pieces appearing in and around the city.’