New acquisitions

Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery is still actively collecting in a number of areas. Here is a selection of some of our most recent acquisitions.

---

Infant Tamar, evening warbler song by Kurt Jackson, 2008

This work has been kindly donated to our permanent collection by the artist to mark our centenary. The mixed media work was painted mainly in the open air (plein-air) at the upper reaches of the River Tamar during the spring.

In capturing the ‘warbler song’ in the title of the painting and on the canvas itself, Jackson is showing a link between the start of the Tamar’s journey and the birdsong in spring, a time of breeding and re-birth.

Find out more about this work by listening to our MP3!

---

Hakutai (A Thousand Years) by Naoki Takeyama, 2011

This work has been newly acquired through the Art Fund Collect scheme and has been created by Naoki Takeyama - an influential young Japanese artist who combines the historic technique of enamelling with electric colours and forms.

Hakutai (which translates to a thousand years) is the result of some amazing craftsmanship - it has been hand folded and then fired up to 15 times. The circles on the piece have been hand cut from silver leaf and applied individually.

Find out more about this work by listening to our MP3!

---

Portrait of Johann Friederich, the Elector of Saxony and the Reformers, after Lucas Cranach the Elder

We have acquired this with the assistance of the V+A/MLA Purchase Grant Fund and the Art Fund.

The painting is a group portrait of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation movement in Northern Europe in the 16th century - Johann Friederich, the Elector of Saxony at the centre with the Reformers surrounding him, most notably Martin Luther to his left.

The Reformation famously began when Martin Luther nailed his ninety five theses to the door of the Church of Wittenburg in 1517.

The original work is by Lucas Cranach the Elder, a leading artist in his time. He was one of the best known propagandists for the Protestant Reformation of this time and was appointed Court Painter to the Elector of Saxony in 1505.

The painting we have acquired is a copy made about 100 years later. It was commissioned by Edward Hyde, the first Lord Clarendon who was MP for Saltash and rose to the post of Lord Chancellor and became advisor to Charles I. A scholar and historian, he started to acquire historical portraits for his collection in the mid 1600s. This collection, of which The Reformers was part, became one of the most important collections of historical portraits in England.

---

Penwith Moor Landmarks by Clive Williams
Wrack Dance by Colin George

The Museum was given Penwith Moor Landmarks, an oil painting by Clive Williams and Wrack Dance by Colin George, an acrylic work that takes its inspiration from the natural environment in early 2011.

Both Clive and Colin are longstanding members of the Plymouth Society of Artists, whose exhibitions are often displayed at the Museum. The artworks were donated in memory of our late and long time Keeper of Art, Maureen Attrill, who sadly passed away in February 2011.

---

Jug by Doug Fitch

This jug has been donated to the collection by potter Doug Fitch. Fitch is based at Hollyford Pottery near Exeter and specialises in Slipware on local clays – some of which is dug from the woods behind his pottery.

This jug demonstrates Fitch’s influence of well renowned contemporaries Clive Bowen and Svend Bayer as well as the enduring inspiration of Michael Cardew.

Members of staff visited Doug to try potting for themselves. Find out how they got on at our Flickr site.

---

Slipware pot by Kitty Shepherd

This brand new acquisition can be viewed in our Foyer and is a funky slipware pot donated in late 2009 by artist Kitty Shepherd. It features vibrant colours and is decorated with Dyson vacuum cleaner motifs - a recurring theme in some of Shepherd's work who often plays on this celebrated, yet familiar British symbol.

---

Foot Anstey artefacts

Regional law firm, Foot Anstey, donated four items to the Museum's collections in the summer of 2009. These are a print of Plymouth, an oil painting dating from 1883 of former Plymouth Mayor, John Shelley, a list of signatures from Plymouth's first law corporation and a tapestry, made in 1995. The tapestry is a particularly interesting piece and was made by a local textile artist. It features clearly identifiable buildings such as Smeaton's Tower and the Guildhall, symbols relating to the law such as scales and books and a sailor's hat, which makes a clear reference to Plymouth's naval history.

---

Bowl, sugar shaker and cup and saucer

These items are currently on display in our Foyer. They were made in the 1930s and decorated by celebrated Art Deco ceramic artist Clarice Cliff. We purchased the items at auction in 2008 and acquired them with the help of the V&A/MLA Purchase Grant Fund.

---

Hat

This hat is part of a uniform donated to the museum in 2008 by Mr R Dathan. The uniform belonged to his father, JHB Dathan who was a Commander Engineer in the Royal Navy. He purchased the uniform from Gieves and Hawkes in Plymouth's Mutley Plain in 1944 whilst HMS Belfast was being repaired in Devonport Docks before it went off to take part in the Normandy landings.

[Back to top]

---

Two vases by Bernard Leach, pot by Hans Coper and bowl by Lucie Rie

These four pieces of studio pottery were donated to the Museum by The Art Fund as part of the Norman Donald Worth bequest in 2008. They are currently on display in our Foyer.

---

'Byway in Plymouth' by Reginald Brill (1902-1974)

We purchased this oil painting in January 2008. It's an interesting work, believed to have been painted in the 1950s. It features an unusual view from West Hoe looking inwards towards Elliott Terrace and the Citadel. Clearly recording a summer's day, various figures are depicted taking in the sun, walking, or looking out to sea whilst, in the foreground, two female figures head towards the seafront.

---

Hippo Baby

This Hippo Baby is made of slumped kiln glass by Kingsbridge artist Carole Rolfe. It was purchased in 2007 after it had been previously on display at the Plymouth Society of Artists exhibition in 2006. You can see it on display in the contemporary craft case in our Foyer.

[Back to top]