|
SCREENSAVER MODE
|
|
|
|
NEWBERY GOWN |
|
A vintage kimono-style gown has turned up nearly 100 years after it was depicted in a painting by Bridport artist Fra Newbery.
The owner of the vibrant silk gown realised its significance when they attended the private view of the Newbery exhibition at Bridport Arts Centre.
 The garment is worn by the model in one of Newbery’s most striking full-length portraits, The Mirror. In the 1911 oil painting, a woman gazes appreciatively over her shoulder at the long gown as she stands in front of an oval mirror.
When the gown’s local owner, who is not being named, saw the painting in Bridport Arts Centre’s Allsop Gallery, they went back home to fetch it. The gown is now on show there in a glass cabinet and is being donated to Bridport Museum, along with a Dorset smock made and embroidered by Newbery’s wife, Jessie.
Newbery Trail project manager Crystal Johnson said she was thrilled with the discovery.
“The gown is a beautiful piece of clothing and it is great to have it in the exhibition,” she said.
“It has been worn recently by a member of the owner’s family, who had no idea of the link with Newbery. We are very pleased to have found it.”
 Picture shows the kimono-style gown with, from left Bridport Museum curator Alice Martin, Newbery Trail project manager Crystal Johnson and arts centre director Lindsay Brooks.
“Events like these are invaluable at uncovering hidden gems for prosperity. The museum is always extremely grateful to receive and conserve items donated to the collection.”
The trail celebrates the life and work of the painter Francis H Newbery, who was born in Membury, Devon, brought up in Bridport and retired to Corfe Castle in 1919 after a long and illustrious career as one of the most significant directors of Glasgow School of Art.
Throughout his life Newbery’s driving force was “to make art more readily available to a wider public, attempting to relate it to their daily lives and to celebrate the traditions of the specific localities in which the works were sited”.
Newbery’s work can be seen at a variety of different venues. For more information, log on to www.franewbery.co.uk or pick up a leaflet from local venues.
This weekend is the last opportunity to see the exhibitions on show in Bridport Town Hall, the arts centre and museum. They are open over the bank holiday weekend right through until Monday, to mark the end of national Museums and Galleries Month.
Crystal will be giving a free tour of the exhibition this Sunday at the Allsop Gallery, at 2.30pm. |
|
|
Bridport & West Bay Images |
|
|
|
|
Archive |
-
November, 2008
-
October, 2008
-
September, 2008
-
August, 2008
-
July, 2008
-
June, 2008
-
May, 2008
-
April, 2008
-
March, 2008
-
February, 2008
-
January, 2008
-
December, 2007
-
November, 2007
-
October, 2007
-
September, 2007
-
August, 2007
-
July, 2007
-
June, 2007
-
May, 2007
-
April, 2007
-
March, 2007
-
February, 2007
|
|
|
|
Who's Online |
|
We have 2 guests and 1 member online |
|
|
