CITY OF TRURO

Here is one of the most impressive Tony Giles paintings we have ever had in the Lander Gallery. It feels very big- in fact it IS larger than the average.
The title is CITY OF TRURO: you can see the City of course, dominated by the cathedral. Look again, however and among the many details you can find a steam engine puffing out joyous smoke into the clouds. That is the famous record- breaking locomotive, the CITY OF TRURO.
Giles was immensely fond of he railways and everything to do with the GWR, a love that dated back to his childhood as the son of an engine driver. The sight of the famous train on the viaduct over Truro must have raised his spirits greatly- as his picture does for us now.

You can find Lander's Monument, the Town Clock, the old West Briton Office and various Truro buildings. Interestingly he has painted the river as it used to be, flowing in the open air right up to Lemon Street. In fact the quay had been covered in many decades before this picture was painted- another example of the artist's love of historical detail.

Newly cleaned and reframed,  this painting has been attracting plenty of attention at the Lander Gallery.

SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery reopens this week after a multi-million pound refurbishment- it promises to be most impressive.
They have many treasures up there, prominent among which is of course the self portrait by John Opie.
Click here to see it:

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/O/3742/artistName/John%20Opie

FLASH MOB OF JOY!

Have a look at this video! It was taken here last Saturday when CLARE INGLEHEART brought her various choirs together for a surprise Flash Mob Choir. The gallery rang with joyous music and the sound of happy people. The quality of the music is impressive- as you will hear. On the video you cannot see the majority of the people, who were standing below our canopy of tree ferns.
You can certianly hear the music, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaWG3RyGxz4

Listen and enjoy.
We are hoping they will return..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!

NOVEMBER 25th. On this day in 2002 the Lander Gallery first opened its doors at 29 Lemon Street, one of the houses across the road from its present location. The paintings were distributed over two floors and featured a large and vivid Terry Frost called LOVE TREE. We had a splendid selection of classic Cornish paintings- a tradition whcih has continued ever since. At that time, the plans were already going ahead for the new Lemon Street Market.
On November 25th 2003 the Lander Gallery officially opened in its current location in the new Lemon Street Market. It was a memorable occasion, packed with people. Many Blog Readers will remember that night.
So here we are today- NINE YEARS OLD!

NEW LAMPS FOR OLD!

Here is the PEACOCK from the City of Lights. You can see me up by the head and my brother Simon with his back to the photographer. The creator of this wonderful lantern stands to the right- I will add her name when I know it.
In the procession, the peacock raised and lowered its tail as peacocks do.
In the second photo he is on his new perch high above the gallery.
Thanks to photographer Tom Hendra

CHRIS TATE AT CHRISTMAS

Christopher Tate is back!
He has featured in all nine of the Lander's Christmas Shows in Lemon Street Market. He has given us some characteristic inks of Falmouth but also for the first time he has been painting with acrylic on canvas. The paintings are unmistakeably Tate!
His vibrant colours look bright, bold and fresh in a series of paintings of buildings from the mining heritage of Cornwall. There are portraits of Wheal Coates at St Agnes- and my personal favourite is this dramatic depiction of South Crofty which stands proud and busy, yet seems to be fading away as you look at it.
Chris is doing so well!
The Falmouth pictures are smaller, and are priced at £950, while the acrylics of the mine engine houses are variously priced around £1,100.

YES ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

Elvis has been soaring above the gallery for twelve months now so this year's City of Lights was his cue to depart.
Here you see him being lowered to the ground among the cafe tables- which give a clear idea of just how huge this figure is.
 Tony Crosby, who is to the Lantern Parade what Elvis was to music, managed to fit Elvis into his lorry and carry him off into the sunset leaving more than one person thinking they were the first to say
ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

GALLERY PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

THIS LIFE MEDIA have produced a splendid promotional video for the Lemon Street Market.
It really is impressive- as are the young team who came up with it. Their energy and enthusiasm led to a video to be proud of.
You can see various aspects of the Lemon Street Market building and all the retail businesses are shown with imagination and flair.
THIS LIFE MEDIA deserve every congratulation here.
Have a look at this...

http://thislifemedia.co.uk/video/commercial

TRURO DFAS HAS A BLOG!

Truro DFAS presents a series of arts lectures of real quality.
Many readers of our blog are already members of course.
If you are not familiar with them, they are worth joining- especially as they now have a blog on the same system as this one.
Why not sign up to follow them as well as us?

http://trurodfas.blogspot.com/

LECTURE FOR YOUR DIARY- GILLRAY

 Wednesday November 9^th

JAMES GILLRAY: A CATERPILLAR ON THE GREEN LEAF OF REPUTATION

in the KENWYN THEATRE at Truro College

Gillray may well be the greatest political cartoonist who ever lived. The breathtaking audacity and sheer rudeness of his work still has the power to make people laugh out loud and has ensured that his images retain a freshness and vivacity which
present-day satirists still revere.  Linda Smith will guide us through his work, the society in which he lived and the larger-than-life personalities of the day, as viewed by
the master of disrespect.

This is part of the lecture series of the Truro DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS SOCIETY. 

They present lectures on the second Wednesday of each month (with a break in the summer)

 Lecturers are brought down from all over the country and have to pass rigorous selection procedures.

The people who go are amiably sociable as well as interested in the arts so you would find it a pleasant evening. If you arrive at about 6.30 you ahve a (free) tea or coffee.

The Lectures start at 7pm and last something over the hour. 

There is plenty of free parking at the college.

If you are not a member the lectures cost £5 which I think is a real bargain.

They have a very good website- click on

                                                             http://tdfas.wordpress.com/

CHERYL ROSEVEAR- and HORN AND HARE!

We had not one but two Musical Teas in the Lander this week. Well it was MUSIC TRURO after all!

On Friday the Lemon Street Market rang with the glorious operatic soprano voice of Cheryl Rosevear. Cheryl is a lovely Cornish lady blessed with a sublime voice as well as an unaffectedly amiable manner. Not surprisingly she has no shortage of pupils whose singing is nurtured and polished. With her students and regular accompanist at the Lander's own grand piano, she presented a superb concert ranging from Mozart and Puccini to Gilbert and Sullivan and Disney. Wonderful!

On Saturday we had an unexpectedly up-tempo concert from HORN AND HARE. This breezy young duo brings a blast of happy fresh air with modern pop songs as well as showbiz standards. He was at the piano, singing as well as playing. She stood and sang with all the bravura that she has gained from her experience on stage in London's West End. The audience loved them, responding with increasingly enhusiastic cheers. Again, a great treat for us all here.
We wanted them to come back soon but he is in the cast of the panto at the Hall for Cornwall so is otherwise committed. He will be good!


You may have noticed the absence of detailed names in both reports here- sorry about that.

NAME THAT VALLEY!

HIDDEN CORNWALL is an apt title for the current show at the Lander Gallery. So where was artist Chris Edwards when she painted this magnificent expanse of unspoiled landscape?
The answer is PENLEAN, near Poundstock.

"I enjoy painting whatever wildlife happens along as I sit quietly painting and this was a popular spot for pheasants," says the artist.
WILDLIFE CORRIDOR, PENLEAN, POUNDSTOCK.
Oil on canvas. 30" x 30".
Price £950.

MUSIC TRURO THIS WEEK

Remember this is MUSIC TRURO week!
FRIDAY OCTOBER 21st 4pm - we have a FREE CONCERT from Cheryl Rosevear and her students. Cheryl is a very popular soprano and we can be sure that she and her pupils will give a very enjoyable performance.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 22nd- 2pm HORN AND HARE-  piano and song with more than a hint of West End showbiz

Do come along and enjoy- you could have a cafe High Tea too!

HIDDEN CORNWALL

  

HIDDEN CORNWALL is the theme of the new exhibition at the Lander Gallery.

Our selected artists have found inspiration in many lesser known spots- some will keep you guessing even if you known Cornwall well. Trevissome, Penlean, Hole Cove and Hemble Lane might have you thinking even if you easily recognise Morvah, Love Lane and Lamorran.

Many of the most tranquil Hidden Places are near water. Gallery newcomer William Nash views from a canoe on shallower reaches of the Fal. The extraordinary beauty of Coombe Creek attracts Roy Billingham, Roger Port-Butler and John Cadle, who in different styles and media capture the essence of Hidden Cornwall.

Jenny Shaw Browne looks to Penwith, where standing stones mark a long hidden past.

Relics of the a more recent industrial past continue to fascinate Roy Billingham, whose rusting machinery quietly tangles with vegetation in a charming series of watercolours.

Caroline Atkinson, Richard Lannowe Hall, Celia Jayne and John Laver and are always favourites at the Lander and here we have more of their atmospheric landscapes.

Chris Edwards shows less familiar North Cornish pastures in sunshine and snow. Archa Robinson concentrates on details of rusting chains.

Showing for the first time here we have Daniel Cole (beautifully fine landscapes) and  Arthur Homeshaw (eye-catching linocuts). Tim Opie has attracted attention with his charming views of Trevissome Woods (yes we noticed his surname and there MUST be a connection!)

The exhibition is dominated by a huge and magnificent coastal landscape by Gerry Hillman ‘HOLE BEACH’ which if, like me, you do not know, is towards Park Head, north of Bedruthan Steps. It is spectacular and looks well opposite Charles Simpson’s Royal Academy painting, Dying Light at Carn Barges, on the classics side.

We have sculpture by Richard Holliday and a variety of ceramic and wood pieces along with our jewellery selection.

Christmas shoppers will find plenty here- not least the new metal trees by Mitchell House- those hawthorns blown sideways in the wind evoke so much of the Cornish landscape.

Over time, some pieces from this exhibition will be appearing on our website www.landergallery.co.uk

illustrated- HOLE BEACH by Gerry Hillman. 40" x 56". price £7,000.

AUCTION - NO BID

With regret the MERLIN PROJECT AUCTION advertised for Monday will not now be taking place.

OPIE AT KINGSBRIDGE

Viv Hendra lectured on JOHN OPIE THE CORNISH WONDER at Kingsbridge Decorative and Fine Arts Society (KEDFAS)  on Wednesday September 28th and again on Thursday 29th.

Opie painted several Kingsbidge portraits, especially WILLIAM COOKWORTHY. This early work is now at Plymouth Art Gallery.

Opie's career was launched and managed by John Wolcot who was a Dodbrooke/ Kingsbridge man so it was a treat to find the house where he was born and spent his early life- it looks onto the  quay at Kinsbridge and must have been even more picturesque in the eighteenth century. It is now called PINDAR LODGE which reminds us that Wolcot usd the paseudonym PETER PINDAR for his satirical writings.
There used to be a portrait of Wolcot- by Opie of course- in Kingsbridge museum but though that Old Grammar School is a fascinating place, well worth a visit, the portrait of Wolcot is no longer there.

26 flavours

We have an imaginative exhibition in the Lander Gallery at present.
26 FLAVOURS OF CORNWALL

All linked with the FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL it is a colourful and stimulating series of designs by various creators.
It is not for sale, you can just come and enjoy.

We have the designs as placemats on the tables so you can look at them while enjoying a capuccino!

They say:

26 Flavours of Cornwall is a unique exhibition of writing and design, first shown at Trebah Garden in Cornwall in July 2011. The show will be on again at The Poly in Falmouth during Falmouth Week, from 6th to 14 August, and then again at the Lander Gallery in Truro between 16th and 30th September.

We’ve paired 26 writers with 26 designers, matched each team with an item of Cornish produce and challenged them to come up with pieces of art that combine words and design in the form of paper table-settings.

Why 26 exactly? Because the project has been organised by the national writers’ association 26, working with the Cornwall Design Forum and University College Falmouth.

You can read about our teams' adventures in the world of Cornish food in blog posts on their flavour pages, where you'll also find their finished creative pieces.
Full details are on the website
www.26flavours.com

WILLIAM DOBSON and JOHN OPIE

Did you see that wonderful programme about Civil War artist Wiliam Dobson last week?- and did you spot the Opies?
Of all those glorious Dobson paintings hanging in magnificent surroundings, a favourite must be the formidable First Lord Byron (not the poet) with the scar on his cheek.
When it was shown in all its magnificence at Tabley House, Cheshire, you may have noticed there were other paintings on the same wall. Immediately to the left was Opie's THE INFANT SAMUEL while to the right is his COTTAGE GIRLS BY THE FIRESIDE.
Sir John Leicester, who had his country seat at Tabley, was a prominent art collector who encouraged the idea of a National Gallery of British Art for London at a time when there was none.
He was a pallbearer at Opie's funeral.
Both Opie and Dobson are neglected artists today- and both artists had work selected by connoisseur Sir John Leicester!

We love these!

Laura Weston's prints have enormous charm- some are printed on paper made from banana leaves! They are proving very popular here at the Lander Gallery. They have an innocent fresh charm- adn they look great in their smart white frames.

DAVID GREENHALGH

No prizes for guessing the inspiration of this picture by DAVID GREENHALGH - showing in our current exhibition PAPER, SCISSORS, STONE.
David creates his collages with paper torn from coloured magazine pages. From a distance, the pieces of paper look oddly like paint.

The effect is particularly striking when the picture is based on a Van Gogh.

UKULELE SUCCESS

The UKULELE TEA returned yesterday- and gave us another afternoon of unclouded joy. There were music teachers and visitors, all happily strumming their way through a joyfully daft repertoire which started at traditional folk songs and managed to sweep through Leonard Cohen and Elvis Presley before the final "When the Saints Go Marchin' In".
Informally planning things as they went along, they were cheerfully asking for requests and rising to each challenge. They had us singing along to "Why must I be a teenager in love?" and there were young children dancing away among the paintings. The gallery was warmed with smiles.

Supremo was Jamie Toms- whose Ukelele is just one string to his bow. 
I'm afraid do now know the names of all the players, or of the front man whose singing and personality gave the event its unique quality.
  There is talk of a RETURN OF THE UKULELE TEA !
Additionally, Mr Toms may be persuaded to bring a group of youg guitarists back at Christmas!

CORNISH ART HISTORY COURSE FOR YOU!

Want to learn more about The Newlyn School of Painting?
Local author, Curator and NADFAS lecturer
Catherine Wallace- who works here at the Lander Gallery too-  is running an 18 week course on
Cornish Art History - The Newlyn and Lamorna Artists 1880 - 1940
at TruroCollege              Tuesdays 7.00 - 9.00pm
from 27th September 2011

TheCourse is also available at PenwithCollege
Mondays 2.30 - 4.30pm
from3rdOctober 2011.

So come along and find outwhat you can learn aboutCornishArt history.
TruroCollege Part-timeCoursesContact: (01872) 265800
Quote course number 1051
PenwithCollege Part-timeCoursesContact: (01736) 335000
QuoteCourseNumber 5062
or visitwww.trurocollege.ac.uk

UKULELE TEA- THE RETURN!!

FRIDAY 16th SEPTEMBER- next week
4.30pm
UKULELE TEA
 DO COME ALONG!!!

Jamie Toms is a young Ukulele Master who teaches in schools around the area. He gathers together a gang of friends who come in with their Ukes and spend an hour playing together.
If you have a Ukulele you are warmly invited to come along and join in.

Last year's UKULELE TEA was a great success- lighthearted, relaxed, informal, heartwarming.
This year we anitcipate a similar treat.
FRIDAY at 4.30pm

PAPER, SCISSORS, STONE

The new exhibition is just being set up at the Lander Gallery. Lots of good things on the theme of paper, scissors and stone. More to come on this, but look at this wonderful stone piece by Richard Holliday.

POG'S FATHER

Here is an idyllic rural scene by VINCENT PHILIP YGLESIAS. He was a London based artist who exhibited at the RA and various other prestigious establishments from the 1870s until his death in 1911.
This picturesque building with its half timbering evokes a yearning for the simple country life- it might be rather pleasant to live halfway between Larkrise and Candleford.
The name Yglesias is familiar here in Cornwall through the artsit's daughter Phyllis, known and loved as POG. She moved in the artist circle that included Laura Knight (who painted her) and she it was who had the Bird Sanctuary at Mousehole.

This VINCENT PHILIP YGLESIAS painting, in a handsome gold frame, is for sale at the Lander Gallery with an asking price of £1,800.

INTRUDER AT THE LANDER GALLERY

Life is seldom dull at the Lander Gallery but this exhilarating video shows just how exciting things can get when there is an unwelcome intruder.

Viv Hendra fearlessly confronts the brute, while Jean the Cleaning Lady bravely assists. The only other person on the premises was Barista Ben who courageously took refuge behind his camera to capture the event in all its drama.

THE RETURN OF THE SINGING BARISTAS

Rachel Smith and Ben Carlin, the Singing Baristas of the Lander Gallery, have announced that they will present a MUSICAL TEA here in the gallery on
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8th at 4 pm.
Rachel will soon be off to Durham University (following spectaular A level results) and Ben goes to read Drama and Theatre Studies at Kingston, London (following a summer with the National Youth Theatre in London).
The first MUSICAL TEA was a great success with songs ranging from the traditional to the West End. 
We look forward to another entertaining afternoon.
Once again Viv Hendra wll be at the piano.
There will be no charge for this.

STORM APPROACHING!

While the East Coast of the USA gets ready for hurricanes, we are closing the roof windows of the Lander Gallery in anticipation of more heavy rain.
Those enjoying their holidays here in Cornwall will identify with this painting by Jenny Shaw-Browne, which catches the moment when a storm approaches St Michael's Mount.

CAKE ART

This cake caused a sensation - and was a total surprise when it appeared. It is set in a gold swept frame of the kind seen in the gallery here. There is a copy of JOHN OPIE: THE CORNISH WONDER, identical in size to the book itself, giving rise to quips about eating one's own words. With its Cornish flag and Cornish tartan it sets the scene well for the blackboard at the back taken from my old classroom at Torpoint.

The maker was the wonderful SELENA GOVIER, from Falmouth.She says she really loves a challenge and she certianly rose to this one. Her company is called THE BAKING BIRD and you can find her at www.TheBakingBird.co.uk

MILESTONES, MILESTONES

Today is Viv Hendra's 60th birthday.
The bus pass doesn't come for a few months yet, but Giselle the wonderful chef at EXPLORERS CAFE has made a spectacular cake with the music for "Happy Birthday" in the icing.

BUILLDINGS ON FIRE IN LONDON

Londoners carry valuable items from burning buildings.
Here the fire started accidentally and the people are carrying things that belong to them.

STANHOPE ALEXANDER FORBES: THE FIRE OF LONDON (study)
For sale at the Lander Gallery, Truro

KYNANCE COVE, CORNWALL

Jenny Shaw- Browne is one of those artists who can paint the colour, movement and light of the ocean. She chooses some idyllic Cornish locations too. Here is KYNANCE COVE down on The Lizard. If you have not been down there you really should. You can walk along the cliffs and look out for seals, rare plants and of course the Cornish Choughs. The rock formations are truly awesome and their unusual mineral content can create unexpectedly rich colouring. If you can't get there physically you can always ask the Lander Gallery to deliver one of Jenny's paintings, in a smart white frame.
There are more on our website          www.landergallery.co.uk

G F WATTS (1817- 1904) and CHARLES H THOMPSON (1870 - 1946)

Charles H Thompson's TWIXT LOVE AND DUTY at the Lander Gallery has an unexpected link with the WATTS MEMORIAL GALLERY at Compton, Surrey.
When G F Watts died (1904), his widow was to employ a gentleman or an artist- preferably both- to  take over as Curator of the venture. Charles H Thompson and his wife were awarded the post in 1905.
At the time Thompson and his wife Heather (Sutcliffe) were living and painting in the artist community at Lamorna, Cornwall, around the coast from Newlyn.

Thompson himself had recently embarked on this major painting TWIXT LOVE AND DUTY using local models and a garden in the Lamorna Valley.

The move to Compton meant taking the unfinished canvas to complete up there.This would explain the fact that it is dated 1905 and 1906.
                                                                                     

G F WATTS

TWIXT LOVE AND DUTY by Charles H Thompson

I always think the seated figure bears a striking resemblance to GF Watts (photo from internet)
In fact the man in the painting is an identified Lamorna man and the similarity to Watts is largely coincidental.
On the other hand, if you visit the WATTS you find the whole place dominated by the spirit of Watts even now. The Thompsons, living on the premises, must have have been acutely aware of the pervasive presence of the artist in photographs among other things; so as Thompson continued on his painting it would be understandable if the old man in the painting grew to resemble Watts.

  TWIXT LOVE AND DUTY was shown at the Royal Academy in 1907. it measures 50" x 40" and has a spectacular gold Florentine carved frame. It is for sale at the Lander Gallery

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANCY BAILEY!

Following the note on her recent visit to the Lander, Nancy Bailey celebrated her 98th birthday on July 29th.

BEN IS OFF TO NATIONAL YOUTH THEATRE

Ben Carlin, one of our Baristas, is off to the National Youth Theatre's Summer School at the weekend. This is the top theatrical company for young people and the competition to get in is very fierce indeed, so this represents a tremendous achievement.
You may have seen Ben take leading roles in various productions (not least in Kafka's METAMORPHOSIS at the Minack) as well as starring here at the Lander Gallery Cafe.
Ben is going to have a great summer experience that will doubtless open many new doors before he returns to us late in August.
All is not lost to us, however, as Ben and Rachel will be giving us another SINGING BARISTAS teatime concert in the second week in September.

WOULD YOU RATHER BE HERE?

JANET TRELOAR: BLUE STUDIO

You can feel today's heat in this welcoming BLUE STUDIO by Janet Treloar.

Janet Treloar's paintings have earned her the prestigious post of VICE PRESIDENT of the ROYAL SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATERCOLOURS.

COFFEE OFFER!

Welcome to the Lander Gallery's BLOG!
If you like the blog, why not send an Email under the title BLOG COFFEE to
info@landergallery.co.uk
and the first twenty we receive will be given a voucher for a free cup of coffee at the Gallery Cafe here in Lemon Street Market.

RACHEL'S GRADE EIGHT!

Regular visitors will know that our Singing Barista RACHEL SMITH gave a splendid  Teatime Recital  here recently. She was preparing for her Grade Eight singing examination and her teacher, CHERYL ROSEVEAR decided it would be useful to perform the exam pieces in public first. The recital here was  a great success (of course).
Rachel has just learned that she passed her Grade Eight with MERIT. This is a fine achievement- the standard is very high at Grade Eight!

We have another SINGING BARISTAS concert planned for early September, when Rachel will be joined by our own Ben Carlin.

STANHOPE FORBES AT THE LANDER GALLERY

This is Stanhope Forbes's study for his huge painting of THE FIRE OF LONDON, painted for the Royal Exchange, London.
You may recognise it from your copy of THE STORY OF THE BRITISH NATION (Hutchinson 1920)
You can see the houses of London Town consumed by flames as the people rescue their treasures .

But look again- those people are on the quay at Newlyn- and surely some of those faces are familiar from Newlyn scenes! Yes it was painted at Newlyn.

Interesting to compare this with the finished version. The final composition differs in various details.
The one at the Royal Exchange measures 5.2 by 4.3 METRES! Ours is a more manageable 75cm x 45cm.

I believe you can still see the finished work at the Royal Exchange today but it does mean going to the heart of the City of London.
Ours has the advantage that you could buy it today and have it it to hang on your own wall at home- it is for sale here now.

What did the NEW YORK TIMES say?
18th February 1899.
'The decoration of the walls of the Royal Exchange, London, is fast making progress, and the huge mural painting by Mr Stanhope Forbes, A.R.A., of "The Great Fire of London." has been put in its place. Mr. Forbes's picture was painted at Newlyn, but it was brought to London, and was shown recently at a studio. Mr. Forbes had found his subject on the banks of the Thames, which was, according to Evelyn's account of the fire, "covered with goods floating, all the barges and boats laden with what some had time and courage to save." The picture shows an ancient river-wall, with the burning city in the background and middle distance, and in the foreground a motley crowd of houseless Londoners carrying their children and their household treasures down to the boats. Smoke and sparks sweep across the twilight sky, and the glare of the burning houses reddens the river from bank to bank. The new picture for the decoration of the Royal Exchange has been presented by the Sun Insurance Company, an institution which, fortunately for its proprietors, did not come into existence until more than half a century after the great fire.."

THIS IS NOW!

Here is Caroline Atkinson's painting DUNE SHADOWS. The beach looks so inviting that you could just walk straight into the picture. Carolione always gets the light just right and this particular piece could be painted today, as the sun beams down on the Cornish coast and summer is here.

GWR CAMPING COACHES

There is a flurry on Twitter about our Camping Coaches poster. Just to confirm, it IS an original dating back to 1957. Most people over a certain age will remember these rather eccentric holiday homes- actually you don't have to be very old; I believe there is still one at St Germans station (Cornwall) today!
We have had numerous keen Great Western Railway enthusiasts here to see our posters and one visitor told me that GWR provided the Camping Coaches that were taken up to Wales, so he thought that the glorious scenery beyond the GWR coach is probably the Welsh Mountains.

The poster came from the Great Western Publicity Department at Paddington.

GREAT WESTERN ADVERT

The sun shines on Truro - this afternoon at least! If you are thinking of paying a visit to  the Lander Gallery, here is a a reason for coming by train. This is not a print- it is an original design from the desk of the publicity Department at Paddington Station.

It was painted in 1933 as part of a book of suggestions for Great Western Railways.

We have the whole set here in the gallery, each page offering a different advertising design.
Produced by GOODALL ADVERTISING Ltd, 9 Southampton Street, High Holborn, WC1, the book is as immaculate as the day it was brought to Paddington.
The other advert designs are all monochrome but this one is in glorious colour.
If you can't make it to the Gallery or to Cornwall, we can always have this GWR treasure delivered to you! (It is priced at £975. 0p by the way)

A JEST

In case you are wondering- the painting at the top is by Thomas Cooper Gotch. A wonderful watercolour portrait of his daughter Phyllis. She stands poised on the edge of a gothic niche, about to step forward and sharing with us a sense of happiness and fun. Gotch depicted his daughter in the same niche for his great painting ALLELUIA, though ion that occasion the girl was younger and more angelic. Now she has grown older- and somewhere therein lies THE JEST. It is currently for sale at the Lander Gallery

NANCY BAILEY IN THE GALLERY!

We had a real treat this week- Nancy Bailey came into the gallery. Here is a photo of her, seated below two of her paintings. She has the happy smile of a lady in her ninety-eighth year! We showed her two of her own paintings of Truro. The painting above her on the left dates from 1972. She recognised it immediately as a view of the old Lemon Quay in Truro, as it was before the area on the right became TESCO and the area on the left was developed into flats and offices. The painting to the right shows a characteristic view of the Cathedral in Truro- most of our customers recognise that but they usually have trouble identifying the fruit and veg shop to the right (It was HODDER'S!).
Nancy Bailey is not painting at present- she says she is taking a Gap Year!
Incidentally that painting on the left has been sold but the one on the right is still available at the time of writing.

FIRST BLOG DAY

Here at the Lander Gallery in Truro sits a happy blogger trying to work out how to organise his Blog for the LANDER GALLERY TRURO. The many customers in the gallery this afternoon are all smiling, despite the metereological gloom which has me shutting windows with some frequency.
What I need now is so followers on my Blog.

LANDER GALLERY TRURO GOES BLOGGING!

July 18th is the day when the Lander Gallery Blogs for the first time