ARTS AND EXHIBITIONS

ARTS & EXHIBITIONS

Bath Society of Artists 116th Annual Exhibition Victoria Art Gallery, Bath BA2 4AT, until 20 November

Now in its 116th year, this hugely popular exhibition showcases the best of the region’s artistic talent. Any artist aged 18 or over was able to submit work for possible selection, and all of the artworks are for sale. The exhibits include paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and mixed media.

Bath Society of Artists was founded in 1904 with 26 members. It has grown over the years to a membership of about 120 diverse artists. Many distinguished 20th-century painters have exhibited with the Society including Walter Sickert, John Singer Sargent, Philip Wilson Steer, Gilbert Spencer, Patrick Heron, Mary Fedden, William Scott and Howard Hodgkin. victoriagal.org.uk

Image: Orchard by Tim Carroll

Rebecca Campbell, Akiko Hirai and Linda Felcey, Beaux Arts Bath, 12-13 York Street, Bath BA1 1NG

During October and November, Beaux Arts will be showing Still • Life, a new collection of oil paintings by Rebecca Campbell. These life-enhancing paintings burst with iridescent colour and life, and are an homage to Persian miniature paintings, with their reverence for nature, architecture and gardens. Also on show will be new still lifes by Linda Felcey. Her delicate oils celebrate the prosaic but transient qualities of objects –seasonal blossom, or ceramic vessels, captured in changing light. Ceramics are by the renowned London-based Japanese artist Akiko Hirai.

Image: Finding Paradise by Rebecca Campbell beauxartsbath.co.uk

Shooting Stars: Carinthia West, Britain and America in the 1970s, American Museum & Gardens, Bath BA2 7BD, until 31 October

Carinthia West’s intimate photographs of rock and film stars of the 1970s in America – and in particular on the glorious beaches of Malibu in California – present an upbeat and buoyant view of the decade that should remind us of the outstanding music and the great design of this much-maligned period. Carinthia West’s fascinating photographs demonstrate that the 1970s was a decade of bright colours, fun, and self-expression.

October Fair, Bath Contemporary Artists’ Fair, Green Park Station, 10 October Bath Contemporary Artists’ Fair is delighted to welcome everyone back to its October fair, with an amazing 150 artists showing their work leading up to December. The fair is committed to bringing the best of contemporary art from the city and beyond right to the heart of Bath. Following on from the successful and popular fairs last year, visitors can browse the brilliant works of local artists and admire fine art, photography, sculpture and textiles, all under the vaulted glass roof of Green Park Station. For updates and exhibiting artists visit the website.

bcaf.co.uk Image by Rachel Ward

Emma Rose Artworks, Bath Contemporary Artists Fair, Green Park Station. 10 October

Emma Rose is a contemporary artist specialising in semiabstract and impressionistic painting with an emphasis on colour and texture. She has developed an original style melding Indian and French inks with acrylic paints, producing vibrant and arresting work with a fluidity and passion for life. Emma will be exhibiting her original contemporary paintings, limited edition giclée prints, art cushions and cards at the Bath Contemporary Artists Fair on Sunday 10 October, 10am–5pm. She will be available to chat to about commissions, her interior design service, and colourful creative ideas. emmaroseartworks.com

Image: Beside the Pier by Emma Rose Image: The Blue Bower by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath Hornet, Hailstone, Crab Eye, Aerodrome…(etc), until 3 January This exhibition presents the fruits of a recent anagama kiln firing by Aaron Angell and Steven Claydon. These two leading British artists share an anachronistic approach to historical influence, in this instance in the vernacular of ceramics from late-medieval rural Japan from where anagama kilns originate.

Rossetti’s Portraits, until 9 January A unique show devoted to the portaits of Dante Gabriel Rossetti including some of his most iconic artworks, which reveal the artist at the height of his creative powers, alongside his less well-known, but equally compelling early drawings of friends, family and fellow Pre-Raphaelite artists.

Sunil Gupta: The New Pre-Raphaelites, until 19 January A display of photographs by Sunil Gupta that explore the legacy of the Pre-Raphaelites and their influence on contemporary art. Gupta’s photographs allude to works by members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an artistic movement founded in 1848, only a few years before Section 377 (which was used to prosecute homosexual activity) was introduced.

Thomas Lawrence Coming of Age, throughout October This virtual exhibition gives fresh insight into the first 25 years of one of Britain’s greatest portrait painters.

holburne.org

BRIL-LIANT SCHOLARSHIP IDENTIFIES LOST MASTERPIECE…

A remarkable rediscovery in the West Country has unearthed a 17th-Century masterpiece that could make £70,000 at auction in October.

The 65 x 89cm oil on canvas has been fully authenticated as the work of the notable Flemish artist Paul Bril (1554-1626). It depicts a mountainous landscape with satyrs and goats by a gushing cascade and is thought to date from 1616-1619. It is signed P. BRILL D

“It is an extraordinary find in two ways,” explains Richard Kay at Lawrences in Crewkerne who will be auctioning the picture on October 13th. “Not only is it very rare to find such a fine and genuine work by this Flemish master in England but there is an unexpected extra element of interest. Thanks to the expertise of Drs. Luuk Pijl, the Bril authority in the Netherlands, he believes that this canvas is very probably the picture depicted in the background of Willem van Haeght’s `Cabinet of Cornelis van der Geest` (1626), now in the Rubenshuis in Antwerp.”

Bril, born in Breda, began his artistic career by painting landscapes on harpsichords before travelling to Rome in 1576. The artist established a reputation in Rome, working on Papal commissions in the Vatican and mingling with fellow artists such as Jan Brueghel, Adam Elsheimer and Bartolomeus Breenbergh. He died in 1626, leaving a substantial body of work in his estate.

“The picture, previously unknown to scholars and unpublished, is thought to have belonged to Cornelius van der Geest,” says Richard. “Its later history is a little unclear but it was certainly owned by Thomas Ware Smart (1810-1881), an ancestor of our vendors and an Australian art dealer who had a gallery in Sydney. It has been treasured by his descendants ever since, with a degree of nagging uncertainty about the traditional attribution to Bril. We are delighted to have secured the full approval of Drs. Pijl who describes it as `an exciting and important discovery`. He will be including it in his forthcoming catalogue raisonné on Bril’s oeuvre in oil. Our vendors are thrilled that it has been received so enthusiastically by the world’s leading authority on Bril.”

The picture will be included in Lawrences’ auction on October 13th, with an estimate of £50,000-70,000.

FREE VALUATIONS AVAILABLE: In Person | Online | Email | Phone | WhatsApp Home visits available on request. T: 01460 73041 E: enquiries@lawrences.co.uk

Lawrences

AUCTIONEERS

The Linen Yard, South Street, Crewkerne, Somerset TA18 8AB. T 01460 73041

lawrences.co.uk

David Ringsell: Pandemic City Bath

Painter David Ringsell’s most recent work is inspired by the pandemic, with his latest series entitled Pandemic City Bath. David’s work is currently being exhibited at The Woolverton Gallery (see below), The Artery Art Café in Richmond Place and Conscious Café in Northumberland Place. David loves to share his artistic impressions of Bath, his home city. His unique and contemporary art prints of Bath show a different and sometimes darker side of the city and his paintings of Bath architecture don’t shy away from the stained stonework and peeling paint that are part of many buildings. Custom prints are also available in a range of sizes –visit the wesbite for more details.

real-images.com Image: Georgian Lights by David Ringsell

Autumn Exhibition, Woolverton Gallery, Bath BA2 7RH, throughout October

The Woolverton Gallery’s first exhibition featured the work of well-known Bath artists such as David Wilkey and Brian Elwell, as well as many other contributors from further afield. The gallery is now increasing its number of artists to 28 and will showcase over 110 pieces in its five exhibition rooms. The emphasis is on colourful, contemporary artwork in a variety of styles. Ray Jones, gallery owner, will be present to show guests around and to answer questions about all the wonderful exhibits. Woolverton Gallery is also taking part in the Somerset Open Studios event until 3 October.

bathartsales.com Image: Five a Day Past Perfect III by Sabine Abraham

Bath Natural History Society: Anniversary Exhibition at BRLSI, Queen Square, 7–25 October, Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.

The Bath Nats have been recording the variety of wildlife found in the city and its surrounds since 1941. This exhibition illustrates the significant gains and losses that have occurred over the years, with examples from early floras and records from a multitude of field visits to the woodlands, downlands, riverside and parks that make the area so attractive. Details of local nature walks are provided with a map showing the most interesting places to see wildlife. Bath

Nats also has a regular programme of talks which promote the wider appreciation of our natural environment.

bathnats.org.uk

School of Paris, David Simon Contemporary, 37 High Street, Castle Cary BA7 7AW, 7–30 October

A collection of original works on paper by some of the most influential names from the 20th century. Exceptional drawings by Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse and Joan Miró are shown with rare, signed original linocuts, lithographs and etchings by Georges Braque, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso. This curated collection eloquently tells the story of this seminal period in modern art and transports the viewer to Bohemian Paris. Opening hours: Monday –Saturday 10am–5.30pm (closed Wednesday and Sunday).

davidsimoncontemporary.com

Image: Angel Bay by Marc Chagall, lithograph, 1960

Online silver buying

DUNCAN CAMPBELL

Antique silver specialist

Don’t do it

When I began dealing, the old sages of the silver trade used to kindly and freely pass on their nuggets of trade wisdom, in the certain knowledge that they would be long gone before I was any sort of competition to them.

Among other ‘golden rules’ was, “never, ever buy anything without viewing it.”

Viewing being in the context of a sale view, meaning handling, not just looking.

A dozing silver dealer once famously bought a cheap set of four candlesticks as the lot was being pointed out by the auction porter. Only when he went to pay did he discover that he’d bought the –now rather expensive –pair on display in front of a mirror.

I was also warned about the time that half the London trade had raced up to an auction in Liverpool hoping to buy a very handsome looking five-piece tea set on a rare matching tray. The set had been pictured in the Antiques Trade Gazette with a tantalisingly low estimate. Only when they got into the room did they find the charming 2-inch high miniature tea set on offer.

Clearly there are things, even antiques, that can be reliably bought on the strength of a photograph, but old silver is not one of them. The issue isn’t just that repairs and faults can be hidden, because a really good patina or very clever silversmithing is just as hard to assess through a camera lens.

Anyone actually in the saleroom is in a position to drop out of the bidding sooner if there are problems, or to go one extra bid for an exceptional example, either way the remote bidder loses.

I say all this as a complete hypocrite, because we occasionally sell things on Ebay. The digital world can address my inconvenient golden rule by providing a robust returns policy which often leads to robust disagreements too.

I have to confess that I never buy silver on Ebay but I’m continually both amazed and delighted that others do.

P.S. So far no returns nor arguments. n beaunashbath.com; 01225 334234