Tuesday 22 March 2016 - OPEN TO NON MEMBERS
Jo Elsworth, Director of the Theatre Collection says “Compton Verney is one of my favourite galleries. The building, collections and the exhibitions are all wonderful and I’m sure this will be a fabulous trip.”
Departure: The Hawthorns, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UQ at 9:00am.
The Hawthorns is open 8am-7.45pm on 22 March if you want to make use of the Terrace Bar before or after our trip – breakfast, snacks, coffee, drinks.
Depart Compton Verney at 4.30pm. Estimated time back in Bristol: 6.30/7.00pm.
Refreshments not included, Compton Verney has a restaurant & café or bring a picnic to enjoy in the lovely grounds.
Access: Compton Verney is a very welcoming and accessible gallery. However you must be able to get on and off the coach. From the main car park there is a ten minute walk to the Gallery so please let us know if you have mobility difficulties as there’s shuttle transport to the Gallery.
Compton Verney is an award winning art gallery and 'Capability' Brown parkland in Warwickshire. We have arranged this visit to see a special exhibition about Shakespeare in Art but there are also six permanent collections to enjoy.
Shakespeare in Art: Tempests, Tyrants and Tragedy
A master of dramatising human emotions in their myriad forms, Shakespeare’s plays have in turn inspired countless artists – including the Pre-Raphaelites. Shakespeare in Art: Tempests, Tyrants and Tragedy will focus on those pivotal Shakespeare plays which have motivated artists across the ages – from Singer Sargent, Fuseli, Watts and Romney to Tom Hunter and other contemporary artists – exploring the enduring appeal of the Elizabethan playwright.
This exhibition offers an exceptional opportunity for both art and theatre lovers to reimagine Shakespeare’s works through a unique series of multi-media encounters; including painting, photography, film, sound and light. Using specially commissioned audio drawing on excerpts from Shakespeare's plays, RSC actors will bring to life scenes in some of the major paintings.
Organised in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, as part of commemorations marking the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death.
Compton Verney is home to six diverse collections of nationally and internationally significant art from around the world:
- Paintings and objects from Naples during the ‘Golden Age’ of Baroque Art (1600-1800).
- Exquisitely carved sculptures by artists such as Tilman Riemenschneider seen alongside panel paintings by Cranach and Schongauer in the collection of Northern European art from 1450-1650
- The British Portraits collection which features portraits of well-known Tudor Royals and important figures from the Georgian period. It also includes a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds and two views of London by Venetian artist Canaletto who worked in Britain in the mid 1700s.
- Bronzes and pottery in the Chinese collection, dating from between the Neolithic period (about 4500-2000 BC) and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
- The UK’s largest collection of British Folk Art objects and paintings, made as everyday objects by everyday people.
- Objects of inspiration and original textile designs by Enid Marx in the Marx-Lambert collection. Marx was most famous for her fabric designs for the London Underground in the 1930s.