Just back from London. Apart from bringing home fewer people than we started with (due to illness, work commitments and other London engagements) feedback has been very positive.
Highlights for Christine T were 78 Derngate in Northampton and the Victoria Crow/Edinburgh Weavers tapestry on view in the Fleming collection.
Personally the Pérez Simón* Collection exhibition, A Victorian Obsession, in Leighton House was much better than anticipated and Westminster Cathedral is a hidden ‘gem’! The IWM is spectacular but chilling. I really loved Tate Britain with two ‘new’ staircases when I was only expecting one and the ‘new hang’ is terrific, we must go back next year and spend time in the modern to contemporary section which we didn’t do justice to this time.
*Pérez Simón has assembled a collection of over 3000 paintings, including works by Dalí, Goya, El Greco, Rubens, Van Gogh and Monet. In 2010, Paris Match described the collection as the largest in private hands in the world.
Must mention, 2 Temple Place, built in 1895 for William Waldorf Astor as an office, its sumptuous wood panelling the perfect backdrop to display the illustrated manuscripts from Blackburn Museum and the Tiffany glass from Accrington in the exhibition Cotton to Gold.
Like everyone else I fell in love with the sheep and the wonderful tapestry woven from their wool on display in the Fleming Collection.
A series of sheep portraits by Kathryn Dun
The making of the Large Tree Group Tapestry
Hope it’s OK to publish a couple of pictures taken at the Friends and Family Event. Not sure I can find the right superlatives ….perhaps readers can suggest some?
Portrait Gallery
Friends and Family
Opening preview 07/02/2015
Cold Dark Matter
Cornelia Parker
Unmanned nature installation by Cai Guo-Qiang
Spent most of Thursday chilling out and reading the long read in the Guardian …….“Ever since its 19th-century heyday, Manchester has languished in the shadow of London. But that may be about to change. Simon Jenkins tells the inside story of the secret negotiations to restore the city to greatness.” This has put flesh on the bones on the wide ranging discussions with fellow travellers on the coach trip home from London. For non Guardian readers this is totally apolitical………honestly.
http://www.theguardian.com/news/series/the-long-read
joanatfow 