ART HISTORY FESTIVAL 2024 – South East

Come and see this pop-up display of prints and drawings – on exhibition for one day only – to mark International Day of Peace. Devised in collaboration with the AAH Art History Festival, it will explore the theme of ‘Local to Global’, showcasing artworks from the Ashmolean’s extraordinarily rich collections housed in the Western Art Print Room.

From scenes of domestic mayhem to familial harmony, from fierce battles to celebrations of peace in Britain and abroad, it will display works in a range of media, schools and styles. Viewed in the tranquil setting of the Print Room, these images will provoke thoughts on global conflict and inner peace.

The Spencer family of Cookham produced not one but two great twentieth century painters.

Gilbert Spencer (1892-1979) grew up alongisde his more famous brother Stanley in the family home on the High Street, playing football on Cookham Moor, roaming the meadows, and building model farm carts at the kitchen table. He went on to become a renowned painter of landscapes, farm scenes, murals and portraits, was elected a Royal Academician, and held several prestigious teaching posts. Gilbert stayed close to his Berkshire roots, working primarily in southern England and the home counties. He had a deep knowledge and love of the countryside, and his paintings celebrate the gentle beauties of the English landscape.

In the surroundings of the Stanley Spencer Gallery’s current exhibition, ‘The Cookham Brotherhood’, this after-hours gallery talk will introduce the life and paintings of Cookham’s ‘other brother’, Gilbert Spencer.

Join us for this special Curator-led tour of ‘A Break From Tradition: Modern Drawings in the University of Reading Art Collection’.

How did artists such as James McNeill Abbott Whistler, Gwen John, Walter Sickert and Spencer Gore use pencil, ink, pastel and chalk to exchange ideas beyond local and national boundaries? In this special tour, we will examine a selection of drawings to reveal how these artists used the medium of drawing to capture the excitement, vitality and anxiety of a new, modern world.

The tour will take place in the University’s of Reading’s newly redeveloped Staircase Hall exhibition space. This can be accessed from the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL).

The tour lasts 45 minutes, with 15 minutes for discussion and questions.