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Libertas-Harp Concert June 2010

2010-07-02T10:29:00.004+01:00

Our 2009/2010 lecture season ended on – literally – a high note. In the lovely setting of Libertas at Buckland-tout-Saints, by kind permission of Johnny and Rosalind Spears, we were treated to “An Hour with the Harp and David Watkins”. Professor Watkins fell in love with the harp in his late teens and has devoted his life to it ever since. His knowledge was encyclopaedic; his musicianship superb; his enthusiasm infectious and his audience enraptured.

The origin of the harp was the bow and arrow. Its music was so important to the ancient Egyptians’ journey to the next world that harpists have been found walled up in Pharaonic tombs. Later, harp music helped set the tone at Roman orgies. Our own King Alfred played a harp … for more relaxing reasons. Harps were used symbolically in some of Hogarth’s paintings. Marie Antoinette was mainly responsible for their introduction into France. The instrument was steadily developed and refined over the centuries, adding texture to music and becoming integrated into orchestras from around 1850. Mr Watkins described it as imparting a sense of musical sculpture, claiming (by which time we were all utterly convinced) that the harp is the only instrument that communicates directly with the heart.

The modern harp now has seven pedals, each with three alternative positions, making it an extremely complex instrument to play, though the professor made it appear utterly simple as he illustrated his talk by playing several pieces for us, ranging from some of the earliest published harp music, dating from the 16th Century, to some of his own landscape-inspired compositions. At the end of the talk, most unusually, we were all invited to try playing his harp ourselves: heavenly, in both senses of the word! Our 2010/2011 lecture season starts in September with a talk by Rosemary Ransome Wallis on the development of Contemporary Silver in the 20th and 21st Centuries.

Tarts in Art

2010-06-09T09:52:00.000+01:00

Practitioners of the oldest profession did not regularly find themselves on canvas but Linda Smith, our lecturer on the topic of ‘Great Tarts in Art’, took us on a pictorial romp through the late seventeenth century and to more recent times. Charles II imported the French custom of introducing his mistresses into Society. Barbara Villiers might have been rude, vulgar and promiscuous but she was made Duchess of Cleveland for her efforts. A contemporary favourite became Duchess of Portsmouth but it was Nell Gwynn who graduated from the London stage to become the most popular model of British values of the time. Paintings of Restoration beauties, often showing them as shepherdesses, reveal a fashion for languishing eyes and the hint of a double chin. Into the next century we find Stubbs painting a respectable family group, prior to the wife wandering from the stable and producing a son who later became the prime minister Lord Melbourne. Gainsborough portrayed the durable mistress of the ambassador to France, as well as a courtesan who divided her loyalties between the Prince of Wales and some of the French revolutionary hierarchy. At the top of the tree the fees were high. Kitty Fisher, painted by Nathaniel Hone and of nursery rhyme fame, charged a nightly rate of 100 guineas; a syndicate had a sort of annual time share for 2000 guineas. Careers tended to be relatively short but Elizabeth Armistead ruled the roost for ten years and was painted by Joshua Reynolds after marrying into the aristocracy. A contemporary used blackmail when past her prime : the Duke of Wellington refused to pay up. There was a darker side. Hogarth saw related disease as a metaphor for the wider corruption in eighteenth century society; the urban world captured by Manet in France suggested uncertainty and a lack of depth in relationships; Lautrec lived amongst poor prostitutes and showed sympathy for their life in the shadows; Grosz’ 1920’s ‘fat cat’ patrons symbolised the rot in European civilisation. Even Lady Hamilton died in poverty.

The Terracota Army

2010-05-13T10:37:00.002+01:00

Qin Shin Huangdi was obsessed with immortality and sent teams throughout China to search for thee elixir of life. He died in 210BC. As a teenage king he began the 56 square kilometer walled burial ground outside Xian, using 700,000 conscripts and completed it 30yrs later. Dr Anne Birchall, the first western archaeologist to visit the site after its discovery in 1974, reminded us that the first Emperor of China has left us with a number of questions as well as answers. Although the Qin dynasty was short lived it brought all of China together and founded a style of government that survived until the 20th century. As well as military success, the Emperor built palaces, roads and sections of the Great Wall of China; he standardised coinage, script and measures. Xianyang was the first capital. He encouraged writings in agriculture, divination and medicine, but ordered that all previous books be burned using outspoken scholars as tinder. Large enough to house three jumbo jets, the underground vaults contain evidence of the emperor's plans for the afterlife: thousands of warriors, wearing terracotta leather jerkins, probably painted in green with rustic red or trendy lilac. Weapons including crossbows, arrows dagger axes and swords, wooden chariots and pottery horses, all alongside aids to relaxation- acrobats, musicians and bronze waterbirds. Dr Birchall emphasised that although the warriors faces and headgear had a variety of features they are only ten different factory assembled (with personal touches). She told how there are as yet many more areas for excavation and the story is not yet complete.

From Humble Beginings-The National Portrait Gallery

2010-03-27T11:47:00.001Z

Angela Cox's talk on the 150 year history of the National Portrait Gallery was entitled "From Humble Beginnings". Humble in some ways-opening with just 56 portraits, enough to fill the entrance hall and one floor of a London house-but grandiose in others: the paintings must have a strictly moral purpose; the sitter should be famous, for a suitable reason; he or she should have been dead for at least ten years so as to ensure that their fame was lasting and not merely transient; furthermore each image must be authentic and contemporary- none of those imaginary images created several centuries on: this must be the real thing! And to make sure that these rules were followed trustees were appointed from the good, including two future prime ministers Gladstone and Disraeli, both of whom attended diligently for the rest of their lives. The portraits must be in any medium provided that they fulfilled the basic requirements: oils and watercolours of course, and oil pastel; miniatures; sculptures; an exquisite self portrait by George Stubbs on a ceramic base made by Josiah Wedgwood; even a slightly gruesome collection of death masks. And photographs-which is a whole lecture in itself because as photography developed it started to raise the questions as "Why paint?" and "What is a likeness?" As portraiture developed to meet these new challenges so the Gallery's rules and functions developed to meet new ages and thinking. By the mid 20th century the old rules were found to be too restricting and irksome. The sciences and women were sorely unrepresented in the collection. The 10-year rule was preventing too many potential acquisitions. Things had to change. From the 1980's the Gallery started actively commissioning work. Horizons broadened. Recent work includes portraits of Viv Richards, Frank Bruno and other sportsmen, and an exuberant glass mosaic bust of designer Zandra Rhodes. The beginnings may have been humble, but 150 years on the National Gallery is justifiably proud.

The Exotic in English Architecture Feb 2010

2010-03-04T09:36:00.002Z

Taste was not limited to tea in defining fashionable society's view of China and India in the mid 18th and 19th centuries. Chinoisie was chic. From the first Chinese house built in 1738 (and still standing after three moves) to furniture, wallpaper, pavilions, pagodas, boat houses gardens - and bizarre manifestations, such as the Duke of Cumberland's oriental yacht - the British Manufactured their images of the East. Although Frederick II of Prussia tried to keep up by building a tea house, the real royal hero was the Prince of Wales, later George IV, patron of the arts and Brighton's Pavilion. Bath moved into the second league as the place to be seen. In the 1780s Brighton was a small village but by the end of the Napoleonic wars it was clearly on the map and John Nash added both Chinese and Indian elements to the new Royal Pavilion and stables. Cartoonists caricatured George as a Chinese emperor enthroned in his fantasy world. His successor, William IV, also favoured Brighton but Victoria was not amused and sailed off to the Isle of Wight. Fortunately the town took over the Pavilion and preserved it until its recent revival. After Nelson had injured Napoleon's pride on the Nile, Egyptian artifacts also gained in popularity. Obelisks multiplied. An MP even prepared for the afterlife by building his own pyramid-shaped mausoleum. Modelled on the former Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, a house in Chapel Street, Penzance is a noble survivor of this vogue but Harrods probably has the last word. Thanks to Patrick Conner, a specialist on historical paintings illustrating the China trade and the impact of Oriental architecture in the West, we gained a fascinating insight into the exotic.

Annual General Meeting

2010-03-04T09:30:00.002Z

A succesful AGM was held at the Thurlestone Hotel. The principal change to the committee was the retirement of Dr Malcolm Waite (2007-2010) and his replacement as Chairman by Dr David Howells. After the AGM, 45 members stayed on to enjoy a splendid lunch held at the Hotel.

Bath History and Development

2010-02-03T09:45:00.002Z

Bath has the only true HOT spa in the country (others are merely warm or tepid, claimed our enthusiastic lecturer Jane Tapley as she gave us a fascinating talk on its history and re-development). Fed by rain which falls on the Mendips before passing through natures own 2 mile long water heater and emerging at a constant 46 degrees Celsius. Baths spring was a centre for worshiping Celtic gods before being discovered by the invading Romans, who built the baths as Britains first R & R or leisure centre in AD 80. They discovered curative qualities as well as pleasure in the waters and as Bath's fame spread wealthy visitors were attracted from as far as Rome itself. After 400 years the Romans left and the baths languished until the 17th century. Famous visitors then included Samuel Pepys and Beau Nash. In the 18th century Queen Anne found relief in the waters (from the considerable effects of her 17 pregnancies!). Bath became a fashionable place for the Georgians (who were said to wallow rather than swim in such hot water) before it declined in the 19th century. The Victorians revived Bath and reconstructed the buildings, and all was well until our own time when a case of meningitis led to the baths being closed. But now after several years of blood sweat and disastrous mistakes followed by more sweat and tears and expenditure of £45 million- plus a celebratory concert by the Three tenors- a magnificent new centre is welcoming crowds of visitors to indulge in the revived hot bath, open air pool on the roof (cooled down to 33 degrees and with its own jacuzzi) a mud bath and many other features. Perhaps best of all the water is not only purified but has had the smell of sulphur removed!

Annual General Meeting

2009-12-02T15:22:00.004Z

The Kedfas AGM will be held on:

Thursday 21st January 2010

The Thurlestone Hotel

11.45 am

All members of the Society are invited and encouraged to attend.

Annual General Meeting

2009-12-02T15:22:00.001Z

KEDFAS New Year Lunch

2009-12-02T15:15:00.002Z

Members and Guests are invited to a New Years Lunch

The Margaret Amelia Restraunt

The Thurlestone Hotel

Thursday 21st January 2010

12.30 for 1.00pm

Details from:

Mrs S Wright, Higher Barn, 4 Scoldens Close, Modbury Tel: 01548 831 349

e-mail: wrightsusan@onetel.com

A Painted Mirror

2009-12-02T14:57:00.002Z

Patricia Wright's brilliantly illustrated talk carried on an exceptionally high standard of this season's KEDFAS programme. Her examples of Medieval art vividly and humorously brought to life some of the more surprising aspects of Medieval life- a life which was often short and hard with death being very real and constantly present, and where much was dominated by the Church which was over-rich, over-mighty and over-indulged; when the frontier between heaven and earth was considered almost porous, so patron saints were fully expected to deliver defence in return for prayer and gifts. It was a time when marriage was almost a circulating currency yet the concept of romantic love was newly invented. Everything was expressed in art with an ingenious symbolism which, when so clearly and amusingly explained to us, peeled back the centuries and let us see our ancestors' lives in fascinating detail. Among many beautiful slides we saw a marriage contract being negotiated, passionate yearnings being expressed through a code of colours and jewels, a group of men and women enjoying themselves in a pub, and a communal bath scene- which might be X-rated today- being spied upon by a King in full regalia. In short, and as promised, Pat showed us a Painted Mirror reflecting life in an earlier age. What we had not expected was the fun and laughter!

Treasures of the Royal Collection

2009-12-02T14:35:00.002Z

How could you possibly give the flavour of a collection of 485,000 items in one hour? Oliver Everett, Librarian Emeritus of the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, did just that, brilliantly and excitingly, in his October lecture to the Society. The Royal Collection represents the personal tastes of our sovereigns over the past 500 years- our present Queen added the first Turner, his magnificent watercolour of Windsor Castle; surprisingly non of her predecessors liked him- plus gifts, and even booty from some of our past wars. The greatest collectors were, in Oliver's eyes, George IV, George III, Charles I and CharlesII. The greatest vandal was Oliver Cromwell who sold much of the collection to fund his Commonwealth, much of which was later bought back by CharlesII who also bought some 600 Leonardo Da Vinci drawings. The statistics are mind blowing: 30,000 Old Master drawings, 80 Holbeins, 27 Van Dykes including the triple head study of Charles I (for a bust by Benini, Later destroyed by fire), 5 Rembrandts, 17 Stubbs, 1 Vermeer. And that is before you get to the amazing pottery, gold and silverware jewellery, Faberge Eggs, the Diamond Diadem (as seen on our postage stamps) and of course the Cullinan Diamond. Oliver Everett's great achievement was to put over all these facts whilst showing magnificent slides of many key works in the collection, so we could appreciate the full scope and scale of the Collection at the same time as absorbing the fine detail of many of the treasures.

Stained Glass of York Minster

2009-12-02T14:19:00.002Z

This lecture had to be abandoned due to the speaker being taken ill during his performance.

KEDFAS Introduction

2009-08-14T07:29:00.002+01:00

KEDFAS – COULD IT BE FOR YOU?

I must admit to feeling a bit wary when it was suggested that I join the newly formed KEDFAS – Kingsbridge Estuary Decorative and Fine Arts Society – back in 1993. Beyond sometimes “knowing what I like” I knew nothing much about any of the arts, decorative or otherwise, and a group with that name would surely be full of people who knew everything … about all of them. I would feel a complete ignoramus, frightened to open my mouth, and anyway what could they offer that would possibly interest someone with my common or garden tastes?

Luckily I was persuaded to try it and for the past 16 years the KEDFAS lecture has been a regular highlight of each month between September and June. Very often the less I have expected to be interested, the more I have enjoyed the talk. Some of the slides are quite amazing. The lecturers are all experts in their field and great enthusiasts, so they make each subject fascinating to everyone – whether you start by knowing anything about it, or nothing at all. And the subjects are so varied and often very unusual. Of course most of the lectures are about the works and lives of great painters, sculptors, composers, or ancient monuments and outstanding buildings etc, but this season for instance we also had a specialist detective who told us of his adventures and successes in tracking down international art thieves, even how they recovered jewellery and art objects hidden in false walls or buried in fields. Past lecture subjects have included The Original Olympic Games, Beds and Bedtime, Historic Pubs, Brighton Station, even “Bogs, Baths and Basins”! We have heard the Story of Chinese Jade, the Life and Times of Samuel Pepys, History of the Long Case Clock… the range of subjects is endless.

KEDFAS offers many other activities too: expertly guided visits to art collections, historic venues, important houses and gardens in the South West; occasional tours to interesting places overseas as well as at home; study days to look at specific subjects in more detail under the guidance of an expert tutor. All these are “optional extras” but the annual subscription of £36 per head covers the nine lectures (giving a very reasonable price of only £6 for each one) and each member also receives the arts journal “NADFAS REVIEW” free each quarter.

You can find out much more about KEDFAS by calling 01548 857507 or e-mailing kedfasinfo@yahoo.co.uk.

For a small donation you could even come to one of our lectures as a “taster”.

Try it – you may well find it’s for you!

KEDFAS Christmas lunch

2008-12-09T09:33:00.003Z

The Annual Christmas lunch was held at Dartington Old Hall on monday 8th December when 65 members of KEDFAS not only enjoyed a splendid lunch, but were also entertained to a piano recital by KEDFAS member Robin Brett and pupil Catherine Shepard.

Welcome

2008-07-19T15:55:00.001+01:00

A very warm welcome from Chairman, Malcolm Waite. I begin my third year as Chairman of the Society with hope that despite the economic woes, KEDFAS will continue to prosper. There are challenges ahead, during 2008-2009 your committee instigated the fora to ensure fed back came from the membership. During 2009-2010 the membership will begin to see some of the suggestions implemented. Again my task will be to ensure the continuing quality of the programme of lectures and study days. I look forward to seeing you at the lectures.

Continuing Good News

2008-07-11T15:55:00.002+01:00

A reminder of good news. The annual membership fee has been maintained at £36 per person. The fee covers the nine lectures, gives membership to NADFAS (with discounts on access into many museums and art galleries) and allows reciept of the Arts magazine NADFAS Review