Can you be sure?

A lot has happened at this delightful spot on the Purbecks since Paul Nash was a resident and was commissioned by Shell to deliver this delightful lithograph (1937) as part of their Visit Britain's Landmarks series - printed by Waterlow Limited - as rare as ephemera goes unless you have about £1K spare...

Purbeck Quarryman

I have mentioned in the past how intrigued I am when I find some of the artists I like have such close connections to others - this sparks a new avenue of interest and such was the case with Mary Spencer Watson who I came across whilst admiring the works of her father George and the photographs of Helen Muspratt.

This delightful carving of a Purbeck Quarryman is in the churchyard at Langton Matravers near Swanage in the Purbecks, Dorset. Carved for the millennium and weathering nicely. I was pleased, on a recent visit to the treasure trove that is Dorset County Museum in Dorchester, to find a working scaled down model of the same Quarryman. Treasures hidden in the Dorset landscape.   

Friday Faces

A few Faces for Friday, for your edification.......these from the most wonderful wooden panelling which once stood in the lost village of Tyneham near the Purbeck coast in Dorset.

A Return to Nash

It was with some excitement that I joined my friends Chris and Demus for a visit to see the superb Paul Nash exhibition at Tate Britain just before it closed yesterday. It was in fact my second visit and regular visitors here will no doubt be aware of my liking for Nash. 

The exhibition just blew me away - I was quite overwhelmed the first time, but on this second visit I was able to take it all in and let it flow over me. We had a fine leisurely lunch and a couple of pints before taking it all in and what a selection of his art - will there be another showing like this in my lifetime? I am not so sure. What I found incredible were that there were so many examples of his work I had just not seen before - from private collections of course, but what a joy to see them!

I thought the section on surrealism shone through - how so much ephemera and examples of his collage have survived is something we must give thanks for and what a sight to behold. Complimentary work by Eileen Agar, Ben Nicholson and Tristram Hillier as part of the Unit One group that was led by Nash were quite wonderful. 

As you can probably tell, it left an impression. Nash does all the time with me and I really love it that I keep finding little nuggets that are new to me - who wants to know everything in one hit? Not I. Long may I continue to stumble upon more gems by this lover of seaside surrealism.       

Paul Nash by Tom Studdard (Manchester Guardian & Evening News)

Paul Nash - Swanage (collage) 1936

Paul Nash - Pimlico Sands, River Severn

Paul Nash - Forest (1936-37)

Christmas Surrealism

An opportunistic trip to Tate Britain to view the quite wonderful Paul Nash exhibition was the perfect adventure during the festive season. I was greeted in the foyer by Shirazeh Houshiary's stupendous upside-down Christmas tree which I could smell before it came into view. The perfect start.

I won't give too much away, but if you are a follower of Nash then it is obviously one you must go and see. The sight of his work, so much of his work, I found not only overwhelming but deeply moving. 

The amount of art that was on display from private collections and the associated ephemera will stay with me for a long time.  

Eileen Agar is also represented - I felt this really enhanced the exhibition and I was really pleased to see some of her pieces on show due to her very close Nash liaison. 

I enjoyed it so much that I fully intend to visit again before it ends in early March next year.

Eileen Agar - Ladybird (1936)

The lost village of Tyneham Pt 2

The lost village of Tyneham Pt 1

Shadowplay

Paul Nash - The Parade, Swanage 1936

You will have to excuse my slight Nash obsession at the moment. I have always felt his photography, like that of John Piper, has often been overlooked. It just helps to fuel my obsession that a great deal of his photography was carried out in Dorset.

Paul Nash - The Parade, Swanage 1936

A number of his views were to inspire future pieces of art or to act as reminder when he was compiling the Shell Guide to Dorset.

Paul Nash - The Parade, Swanage 1936

Views of Little London

I feel like a bit of a stalker sometimes when on my travels - it's not always intentional, but it's just some of my special places were also the special places of some of my loved artists - Paul Nash, John Piper, Bawden, Ravilious ...............they are just as special now.

Sometimes, just by chance, I will have taken in a view and found the very one in a photograph or painting on my return home - I am not artistic at all, I just like to notice things. They liked these places then. I like them now.

Paul Nash - High Street, Swanage 1935

Paul Nash - Town Hall, Swanage 1935

Paul Nash - High Street, Swanage 1935

The view up High Street in Swanage and the entrance to the Town Hall are always pleasing to the eye - the story is a good one and the old name of "Little London" is most appropriate for Swanage - I'll let you read the story of Mowlem and his links to the town here, but on my return after a recent visit I felt sure I had seen the views before. I had a look through my Paul Nash photographs and knock me down with a barge pole I found these. All taken circa 1935-1936 when Nash was a regular visitor to the town. He lived here for a short time when researching his Shell Guide to Dorset - more of that another day, but for now I make no apology for following in the footsteps of Nash. I am sure I will continue to do so both intentionally an unintentionally.

The 40 ton ball

Graham Sutherland - c1932