Yes, go to London for a couple of days and visit the Wallace Collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The only reason I've heard of the Wallace Collection is that Portrait Artist of the Year is filmed there, so we didn't really know what to expect as we approached the house in Manchester Square. We were given a wonderful welcome, and immediately went to have afternoon tea, and peruse the guide book. We realised we were in the midst of a most marvellous selection of art, including one of the most famous paintings in the world. So here are some of the highlights:
The only reason I've heard of the Wallace Collection is that Portrait Artist of the Year is filmed there, so we didn't really know what to expect as we approached the house in Manchester Square. We were given a wonderful welcome, and immediately went to have afternoon tea, and peruse the guide book. We realised we were in the midst of a most marvellous selection of art, including one of the most famous paintings in the world. So here are some of the highlights:
This lovely lady is looking at a portrait of Queen Victoria by Thomas Sully. Sully was American, and summed up one of our greatest monarchs with the words -" she is quite pretty"
One of my favourite artists is Canaletto, and there are a lot of Canalettos in the Wallace Collection. He is a great exponent of photorealism and there are two superb paintings in the Great Gallery. Here is a small part of one of them:
One of my favourite artists is Canaletto, and there are a lot of Canalettos in the Wallace Collection. He is a great exponent of photorealism and there are two superb paintings in the Great Gallery. Here is a small part of one of them:
If you want to see more you'll have to visit the Wallace Collection yourself. Christopher loves Canaletto as well, but he was so taken with another picture that he didn't even notice them.
Yes, the Laughing Cavalier is in the Wallace Collection! And it is absolutely brilliant; go and see it.
As well as big imposing pieces of art, the Wallace collection has a superb collection of miniatures. This is my favourite:
As well as big imposing pieces of art, the Wallace collection has a superb collection of miniatures. This is my favourite:
Hans Holbein, painter of Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and Anne of Cleves, as well as loads of other people.
We went to Fischer's for dinner. In its own words it is .... " warmly evocative of Vienna in the early years of the twentieth century" ....... Well I have no experience of Vienna in the early twentieth century, but it had lovely sausages and superb service.
We went to Fischer's for dinner. In its own words it is .... " warmly evocative of Vienna in the early years of the twentieth century" ....... Well I have no experience of Vienna in the early twentieth century, but it had lovely sausages and superb service.
The Ceramics Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum had been recommended to us as being well worth visiting, but we were totally unprepared for the colossal number of objects that is held there.
There were six huge rooms stacked with every ceramic object you can think of. The displays took us through the history of clay work from 2500BC to present day, and it was exhausting and exhilarating. The collection is on the sixth floor and in the four hours we were there we saw five people, and two of them were museum attendants.
I'm a big fan of Leach Studio Pottery - there were some lovely examples.
I'm a big fan of Leach Studio Pottery - there were some lovely examples.
There are also great pieces of contemporary and modern artwork on display including some by Kate Malone and Picasso.
As soon as I got home I had to rush into the pottery studio and put some of the ideas I had seen into practice. There was one pot in particular that I thought I could have a good go at - it was decorated using cobalt and iron oxides, and I have those; it's also a simple splashy style, and I can do that. The only thing is I might need a bigger kiln.