Tuesday, 17 June 2014

A Bit of Everything

We're just a bit behind here, but there's much to catch up on!

First off, news related to the man himself:

~ Kelmscott Manor unvelied its new website... right... here!

~ The National Portrait Gallery in London will hold an exhbition this fall: Anarchy & Beauty: William Morris and His Legacy, 1860 - 1960. This sounds unmissable. Any WMSC members going over? Let us know if you are!

~ On May 28, at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, Darren Hayman recorded his arrangements of Morris's Chants for Socialists, with an amateur choir. Let's hope we get to hear the results soon!

~ Holly Cecil, as part of an undergraduate research project at the University of Victoria, B.C., has created four documentary shorts exploring Morris's life and work. Fantastic work, Holly! You can watch all four here!

~ Check out the University of Maryland's William Morris Collection of books and papers here.

~ William Morris was included in an 1873 book of cartoons of leading 19th-century figures. You can see the cartoon here.

~ The society was so saddened to hear of the passing of former president and long-time member Jean Johnson on May 27, at the age of 90. Read this lovely tribute here on OCAD's site. A very moving funeral service was attended by many members. It was lovely to spend time with them all after, and with Jean's many friends and her delightful daughter Anne. There will be a celebration of Jean's life at a future time.


~ A lot of our members will have attended Elaine Waisglass's photography exhibition at First Canadian Place, either at the opening (May 7, which four of the usual suspects attended and are photographed above), or at a special viewing on Saturday May 24, when Elaine also graciously hosted a wonderful garden party at her home. Members were able to revel in the beautiful plants that feature so strikingly in Elaine's photographs. You can see some of those photographs by visiting Elaine's website here.

~ On May 26 we attended an excellent architectural tour of University College led by Sharon Vattay. Thanks to Susan Pekilis for the photograph!


~ We were all holding our breath in horror when news of the terrible fire at Glasgow School of Art broke out. This amazing Rennie Mackintosh-designed building sustained damage, particularly to the library, but much was saved and efforts are underway to restore this architectural gem, which has meant so much to generations of artists, students and visitors.

~ You may have heard of the Delaware Art Museum's decision to sell some of their art to pay off construction debts and to replenish their endowment. The news that Holman Hunt's Isabella and the Pot of Basil was to be sold had art lovers around the world reeling. Today the painting was sold as part of a larger group at Christies. Today, on the Christies website, the result was described thusly: The [catalogue] cover lot, Isabella and the Pot of Basil, a masterpiece by Holman Hunt, sold for £2,882,500, a record for the artist at auction, surpassing the previous record of £1.8 million set in 1994. Unfortunately this comes quite a bit lower than expected and Pre-Raphaelite fans around the world will wait in dread to see what lot goes up for sale next. The Delaware Art Museum, a favourite on WMSC tours, houses the largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite art in North America.

That's all for now folks!

No comments: