Reading a Portrait: Elements of Portrayal, a special exhibition at the end of the Shropshire Gallery in place until March 2022.
Our curators have chosen a selection of portraits from Shropshire Museum’s extensive collection. They ask visitors to look closely at the sitter’s pose, how they are dressed and the objects around them in order to discover what the artist was aiming to communicate.
Here we have Alderman Thomas Southam who was mayor of Shrewsbury from 1884 to 1886, serving two terms of office. He was a local brewer, his brewery being located where the Gateway Arts Centre now stands. The portrait is oil on canvas painted by Walter William Ouless.
The other is a watercolour and crayon portrait of a young lady by George Richmond and may have been a member of the Darwin or associated Wedgwood families.
Please visit the exhibition and let us know what you think.
Angels on wheels, a new display in the Tudor Gallery
This display comprises segments of cloth dating from 1480 to 1500. They were part of a cope that belonged to Ludlow’s Carmelite Friary that had been founded in 1350. The main fabric of the cope was Italian velvet and the embroidery used silk and metal threads. The detailed extract illustrated here (on the left) shows an angel balanced on a wheel, with two pairs of wings with feathery ends. At least, that is my interpretation, but I would welcome any other ideas! Also he appears to have a Maltese cross on his head and I wonder if this is significant. This design was repeated several times on the cope, together with fleur-de-lis and stylised plants.
The other illustration is a small extract from a painting by van Eyck showing the Archangel Gabriel wearing a highly decorated cope, fastened with a brooch. As the painting shows, copes are full-length cloaks which are based on a half-circle of fabric. The copes worn by priests are usually fastened with a hook.
The Wonderful World of the Ladybird Artists, Saturday 19 February to Sunday 5 June
This exhibition will uncover the story of the talented artists who illustrated Ladybird books. For more information, visit the Ladybird Fly Home website.
Rosemary Thornes
