January 2016
Wednesday January 13th
THREE GREAT FAMILIES and THEIR GARDENS
Caroline Rayman lectures on Three Great Families and their Gardens which is the story
of three very different, but hugely successful
families, the Sackville Wests, the Astors and the
Rothschilds. The Sackville Wests have been part of the
establishment since the Conqueror and the other two
families are wealthy immigrants who came to England in
the 19th century. The talk traces the history of the
families, discusses their contribution to life in England
and celebrates the splendid gardens that they have
Part of Sissinghurst, the home of the
created.
Sackville West family
Please note, this lecture will take place in Mylor Building at Truro College
Wednesday February 10th
CELEBRATION IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART
Lucia Gahlin will explore the depiction of celebration in ancient
Egyptian art, from elaborate temple feasts to banquets with family and
friends, looking at the food and drink consumed, the clothes and
adornment and the entertainment.
Please note, this lecture will take place in Kenwyn
Theatre at Truro College
Lucia will also lecture the following day (February 11th) at a Study Day (Day of Special
Interest), taking place at the Royal Cornwall Museum.
Please see pages 7,8 and 9 in this Newsletter for details.
Wednesday March 9th
DIAGHILEV and the BALLET RUSSES
Theodora Clark will introduce us to Russian and twentieth century art
through the work of Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, focussing
particularly on costumes and set designs by major artists such as Bakst,
Benois, Larionov, Goncharova, Matisse and Picasso.
Please note, this lecture will take place in Mylor Building at Truro College
Lectures begin at 7pm. Please join us for refreshments from 6pm.
SPEAKERS FOR 2018
We are starting to think about
possible speakers for 2018 and
would welcome any suggestions for
subjects you would like covered or
for particular speakers.
No guarantees can be given as we
have to take account of costs and
the wishes of the other societies we
book with, but we are keen to hear
your views and will consider any
suggestions very carefully.
HOSPITALITY
Hospitality is offered to our lecturers by
our members, before and after their talk on
the second Wednesday of each month.
We would like to increase the pool of
potential hosts.
If any of you are able to offer to meet the
lecturer from the train, bring them to the
venue and then take them home
afterwards for a meal and overnight stay,
we would love to hear from you.
For more details please contact our
Programme Secretary, Veronica Gilbert,
who will be delighted to give you more
information.
She can be contacted by email
veronicajgilbert@hotmail.com
Please send any suggestions to
Veronica Gilbert
(veronicajgilbert@hotmail.com)
New Website
Before the December lecture
TDFAS Chairman, Celia Julian,
presented two books to Martin
Page, Head of Art at Truro College,
to thank the College for the use of
lecture facilities.
Our new website at
trurodfas.org.uk
is now up and running
but is still under
construction, so please do
bear with us if it’s not
completely up to date.
The Christmas meeting was prefaced by wine, mince pies and
savoury nibbles, as well as an extensive raffle, to give a jolly
start to the festive season.
Sarah Deere-Jones increased this mood
of seasonal cheer by her lecture on the
history of carols and songs from the
Medieval times.
Her accomplished playing on a variety of
stringed instruments, mainly the English
harp, was accompanied by her
melodious, soft, sweet singing voice.
This was much appreciated by members,
several of whom made a point of
expressing their delight to her
afterwards.
The whole evening was a fitting start to the enjoyable festivities yet to come
during the Yuletide period.
Sarah Deere-Jones, and many of the
instruments she brought with her, including
a hog-nose psaltery, gemshorn, hammer
dulcimer and a hurdy-gurdy.
Notice to Members - Have you been to an interesting art gallery, visited an historic
house, seen a great piece of sculpture, recently?
If so, why not tell all your TDFAS friends about it in this Newsletter.
Write a 100 words or so and include a photo or two, and we’ll make sure your piece is
used in the Newsletter.
Please contact Jonathan Barker
jonbarker46@gmail.com
I’ll get the ball rolling by describing a trip to
Chicago a few years ago. The Art Institute of
Chicago owns a couple of iconic paintings,
one being Nighthawks, a 1942 oil on canvas
painting by Edward Hopper that portrays
people in a downtown diner late at night.
It is Hopper's most famous work and is one
of the most recognizable paintings in
American art.
One other well known painting housed at the AIC
is A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La
Grande Jatte – 1884 is one of Georges Seurat's
most famous works, and is an example of
pointillism.
Marc Chagall’s America Windows (pictured
below) is one of the stunning treasures in the of
the museum in Chicago collection First installed
at the Art Institute in 1977 the “Chagall Windows,” as they are more popularly known, hold a
special place in the hearts of Chicagoans. Following an intensive period of conservation treatment
Cloud Gate (pictured) is a public sculpture by
Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, that is
the centerpiece of AT&T Plaza at Millennium Park
close to the Art Institute. Constructed between
2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed The
Bean because of its shape. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It measures
10m by 20m by 13m.
Kapoor's design was inspired by liquid mercury
and the sculpture's surface reflects and distorts the
city's skyline. Visitors are able to walk around and
under Cloud Gate's 3.7 m high arch. On the underside is the "omphalos" (Greek for "navel"), a
concave chamber that warps and
multiplies reflections. The sculpture
builds upon many of Kapoor's artistic
themes, and it is popular with tourists
as a photo-taking opportunity for its
unique reflective properties.
In my opinion ‘The Bean’ is one of the
finest interactive artworks in the
world, and was the main reason I
wanted to go to Chicago.
A 2 minute video of the sculpture can
be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=ouHYMydjrI8
and archival research, the windows returned in
2010 as the stunning centerpiece of a new
presentation at the east end of the museum’s
Arthur Rubloff building.
Four Seasons is a mosaic by Marc Chagall that is
located in Chase Tower Plaza in the Loop district
of Chicago
‘I am greatly appreciative of the support I’ve received from both Uneeka and The Truro
Decoarative and Fine Arts Society, and I was proud to receive prizes from both of them
at the TENTh exhibition on Lemon Quay, Truro 2015.’
Joanna Lillie
Joanna’s calendar is available from Uneeka, City Road, Truro
TDFAS DAY OF SPECIAL INTEREST
GODS, PHARAOHS AND THE AFTERLIFE IN
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART
SPEAKER: LUCIA GAHLIN
The ancient Egyptians have left us
a wealth of exquisite art, an
intriguing array of mysterious
iconography. But what do all these
signs and symbols mean? In this
study day we will explore temple
reliefs, painted tomb scenes,
statuary, coffins,protective
amulets and
much more to develop our
understanding of Ancient Egyptian art, their ideology of kingship and complex
religion.
The Study Day will pay particular attention to the Ancient Egyptian collection at
the Royal Cornwall Museum.
Lucia Gahlin is an Egyptologist who works in museums and on excavations in
Egypt, but mostly lectures. She is an Honorary Research Associate at University
College London, teaches Egyptology for the Universities of Exeter and Bristol and
works in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London.
Date: THURSDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2016
Time: 10.15am – 3.15pm
Venue: ROYAL CORNWALL MUSEUM, TRURO
Cost: £23.00 including morning coffee, plus Museum entry
Group rate £3.50 (Entry is free for RIC Members,
RCM Annual Pass holders, Art Pass holders, Museums Association
Members, Cornwall Heritage Volunteers
and TDFAS book conservation volunteers.)
Sandwich lunch available at £4.50 per head.
Contact: Marilyn Dunn 01872 2760044 (marilynd6t@btinternet.com)
Programme details on next page