The 2025 Excusions list!

 

FRIENDS OF LEAMINGTON SPA ART GALLERY & MUSEUM

EXCURSIONS 2025

 

All excursions leave from Newbold Comyn with a pick up in Newbold Terrace, opposite the Spa Centre, about 5 minutes later.  Please bring relevant membership cards as we are required to show them.  Without them entrance fees will be charged.

Please familiarise yourself with the Information Sheet on the FLAG website before submitting your booking.

Phone numbers for day of excursion are:       Judy 07580388659      Lyn 07795085756

 

We are only giving details of our day and a brief introduction to the venues as they all have their own websites for you to consult to get more detailed information.

 

 

BOUGHTON HOUSE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

WEDNESDAY 9 APRIL – DEPART 8.45am

 

Travelling straight to Boughton House where there will be coffee/tea and biscuits (included in the price) followed by a tour of several of the rooms on the ground and first floors.  We will then have  lunch (soup and variety of sandwiches inc. fish & vegetarian, also included in the price).  Free time then to have a leisurely wander in the gardens.  An afternoon drink/cake will be available to purchase at 3.15pm if required.

Boughton House contains pictures by El Greco, Van Dyck and Gainsborough among many others, as well as Sevres porcelain, Boulle furniture, Mortlake tapestries and 16^th century rugs from the Middle East.  In 1683 the 1^st Duke of Montagu inherited a Tudor house and extended it.  His son, the 2^nd Duke planted large parts of the garden.  The house is now owned by their descendant the Duke of Buccleuch.

 

Leaving at 4.15 pm.                                        Organiser – Judy Ross            01926 423033

 

 

AMERSHAM & CHENIES MANOR, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

TUESDAY 13 MAY – DEPART 8.30 am

 

Travelling straight to Amersham where there are several pubs and cafes to purchase coffee and lunch, or bring your own picnic.  A free morning to discover Amersham which has 150 listed buildings, you may have seen it featured in Midsomer Murders, Poirot or Four Weddings and a Funeral!  St Mary's church was built in the 13^th Century and extended in the 14^th & 15^th Centuries.  It was restored in the 1890's.  There are unusual “body stones” graves in the churchyard.  The Amersham Society has a useful old town map on their website at www.amershamsociety.com.

We leave Amersham at 1.45pm to travel to Chenies Manor for a private tour of part of the house.  Old Chenies Manor House was built in 1460 by Sir John Cheyne and, for a time, became the seat of the Dukes of Bedford.  The house still retains its Tudor architecture.  Free time then to walk around the award winning garden and take tea/coffee and cake which is included in the price.

 

Leaving at 4.15 pm.                                        Organiser – Judy Ross            01926 423033

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHREWSBURY & WOLLERTON OLD HALL GARDEN, SHROPSHIRE

WEDNESDAY 25 JUNE – DEPART 8.30am

 

Travelling straight to Shrewsbury for the morning to explore the town at your own pace. Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery, is in the centre of the town, housed behind a grand Georgian facade and is free to visit.  The Visitor Information Centre can be found there.  Shrewsbury is home to 660 listed buildings and is most famous for being the birthplace of Charles Darwin.  Shrewsbury Cathedral is central and is famous for its stained glass by the acclaimed artist Margaret Rope (1882-1953).  There are also other churches within walking distance, Shrewsbury Abbey is a bit further out of the centre.  There are plenty of options for purchasing coffee and lunch or bring your own picnic.

We leave Shrewsbury at 1.45pm for the short journey to Wollerton Old Hall Garden.  This award winning garden has recently featured on Monty Don's British Gardens and is 'A world class example of an English Garden'.  Set in 3 acres surrounding a 16^th century Hall,  we will have exclusive enjoyment of these gardens for the afternoon with tea/cake included in the price.

 

Leaving at 5.00pm.                                         Organiser -  Lyn Buckle          01926 339499

 

ARLEY HALL & GARDENS, CHESHIRE

MONDAY 14 JULY – DEPART 8.30am

 

We shall have a comfort break en route and arrive, hopefully, between 11.00 – 11.30am.  Arley Hall is a Grade II* listed building with adjacent chapel.  We are visiting on one of the few days a month  the Hall is open, guided tours are not available, visitors self guide round the two floors of the hall, knowledgeable volunteers are available for information.  The gardens are amongst the finest in Europe, having been created over the last 270 years by successive generations of the same family.  There are 8 acres of formal gardens and 7 acres of Woodland Garden.  The Double Herbaceous Border is the best-known feature of the gardens and is thought to be the first planted in England.  Lunch can be purchased at The Gardener's Kitchen Cafe or there are picnic benches in the Play Zone.

Leaving at 5.00pm                                          Organiser – Lyn Buckle          01926 339499

 

ROYAL HOLLOWAY COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON EGHAM, SURREY

THURSDAY 7 AUGUST – DEPART 8.00 am

 

An early start for this excursion but we will have a coffee stop at Oxford Services for about 30 minutes then straight on to Royal Holloway College.  This is a private tour starting at 11.00am with a tour of the Founders Building, including the quads, the Chapel, Lecture Theatre, Reading Room and other rooms subject to availability.  At 12.30pm we will have lunch (a variety of sandwiches including meat, fish & vegetarian, fruit platter and tea/coffee/mineral water) which will be served in the Picture Gallery followed by a talk about the pictures at 1.15pm.  There will then be free time to look at the paintings.  Tea/coffee and cake will be served again in the Picture Gallery at 3.00pm.  Lunch and tea are both included in the price.

Thomas and Jane Holloway were a wealthy couple who decided to put their money into building a college for women's education.  Sadly, neither lived to see the opening of the building in 1886 by Queen Victoria.  Thomas went on a spending spree for the University and bought paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings and watercolours including works by William Powell Frith, John Everett Millais and Edward Burne-Jones.  Recent additions to the collection include works by Augustus John and Graham Sutherland.

 

Leaving at 3.45pm                                          Organiser – Judy Ross            01926 423033

2025 Spring Talks

All talks are held at the Dormer Conference Centre beside St Peter’s Church in Dormer Place.
Parking is available on the street in Dormer Place or in St Peter’s multi-storey car park.

Wednesday 19th February 2.30pm
Simon Gulliver – Chinese Wilson
Tuesday 18th March 7.30pm
Aidan McRae Thompson – Stained Glass in Leamington and Beyond
Tuesday 15th April 7.00pm AGM followed by
Tim Robottom – Introduction to Street Art

Summer trips are now being planned which we hope members will support. We try to seek
out venues that are interesting but a bit more unusual. Any ideas for future trips are always
welcome, as are ideas for future speakers for our meetings.

Your subscriptions help look after and enlarge the collections.You will already know that, regrettably, we have taken the decision to raise the annual subscription from £12 to £15. 

 

We are faced with increased overheads and declining membership so this is necessary to maintain a reasonable level of income to run the society and be able to support various projects for the AG&M. It does, in fact, take us in line with most other local societies. 

 

As well as continuing your membership, another way you can help is by encouraging your friends and neighbours to join FLAG: new members are always very welcome.

Apollo Pythian and other news.

Thanks to generous support from FLAG we have framed and mounted two recent acquisitions to the collection. Apollo Pythion (1991) by Joe Tilson (1928-2023) is currently on display in the main gallery and Thistledown (2018) by Amy Sharrocks (b.1969) will be exhibited this summer in the temporary exhibition, A Different View.

Apollo Pythian

 

We were delighted to be successful in our application for funding from the Art Fund to acquire the Piper painting of Wolfhamcote Church which is supported with a pledge from FLAG and has been on
display in the gallery for some time. We are now awaiting news from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund before we are able to confirm the painting can be become part of the collection.

 
We have been researching the Gainsborough portrait of local landowner and politician Henry Christopher Wise which is currently on display in the main gallery. The painting is on loan while we try to secure funding to acquire it for the collection. The portrait had been missing since 1949 and was only recently rediscovered. Last month we were able to look more closely at the paint surface with conservator Stewart Meese, who used UV light to reveal areas of over-painting and restoration, which had initially caused concern.

We also received confirmation from the international authority on Gainsborough, Hugh Belsey, that the painting has been authenticated as a work by the great master. Belsey can be seen investigating a Gainsborough portrait from a similar stage in the artist’s career on Fake or Fortune Series 3, episode 4 – available on BBC iPlayer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum, The Royal Pump Rooms, Parade, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AA.

Open Tuesday to Sunday: 10am to 4pm (closed Mondays) Parking in the town, and 10 minutes walk from the railway station.

 

Friday Focus Extra, Friday 31st January, 1pm,

Join curators Abigael Flack and Annabel Rainbow for an introduction the Unravelling
History exhibition.

Meet the Artists

Saturday 1st February, – 11am-3pm
Drop in to the Temporary Exhibition Gallery to meet some of the artists featured in 

Unravelling History and find out about their work.

Meet the Artist

Saturday 22nd March, time 11 to 3pm

Drop in to the Temporary Exhibition Gallery to meet lead artist and co-curator 

Annabel Rainbow for demonstrations of her work.

Friday Focus Extra

Friday 4th April, 1pm

Join curator Abigael Flack for a talk about the history of stitched samplers, followed by 

an opportunity to hear from Unravelling History artist Annabel Rainbow 

about how she incorporated this history into her modern work.

Meet the Artist – Windrush Series

Saturday 12th April, 2pm-4pm

In this special drop-in session, join artist Annabel Rainbow and some of the people 

involved in her series of Windrush portraits as they talk about the process and themes behind the work.

Meet the Artist

Saturday 10th May, time 11-3pm

For the final weekend of Unravelling History, drop in to the Temporary Exhibition Gallery 

to meet artist and co-curator Annabel Rainbow.

Apollo Pythian by Joe Tilson

 

After financing the conservation, due to water damage, and reframing of Apollo Pythian by Joe Tilson FLAG are delighted to see it is now displayed in the main gallery.

 

Joe Tilson (1928-2023)

Apollo Pythion, 1991

 

Etching with corborundum on wove paper presented by The Art Fund, 2015

 

Tilson is known for his paintings, prints and constructions and was one of the founding figures of British Pop Art in the 1960's. Later in his career he began to spend more time in Italy and the subject matter of his work changed to reflect this shift. Subjects from Roman and Greek mythology have been a long-standing theme in art. His works can be found in large numbers of collections around the world, including Tate and Museum of Modern Art, New York.

 

 

 

Unravelling History - coming soon to the gallery

 

A new textile exhibition will be coming to Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum, from 31^st January to 11^th May 2025. Six distinguished artists, Laura Kemshall, Linda Kemshall, Daniel Lismore, Jennie Moncur, Annabel Rainbow, and Stephanie Redfern, have drawn inspiration from the LSAG&M's collections to create new and thought-provoking textile art.

It's been co-curated by Annabel Rainbow and the gallery.

                                                                Annabel Rainbow

What’s it About.

The exhibition will draw from objects in Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum’s collections, many of which have not been on public display before. As well as textiles, the artists have taken inspiration from objects including household items, paintings, books and ceramics, giving rise to a diverse range of contemporary textile pieces in dialogue with history. The exhibition will feature Daniel Lismore’s striking textile sculptures; bold tapestries from Jennie Moncur; innovative quilt designs by Laura Kemshall, Linda Kemshall and Annabel Rainbow, including a series of portraits of local Windrush elders; and unique combinations of textiles and ceramics from Stephanie Redfern.

Visitors will have the chance to reflect on the ways textiles can tell stories, connecting social history with personal narratives, and highlighting the history and ongoing relevance of textile art as a medium of creative expression.

We hope this exhibition will offer insight into the evolution of textile art and how it continues to engage and inspire.

                                                                Stephanie Redfern

 

Event Details:

• Dates: 31^st January – 11^th May 2025
• Meet The Artists Day – 1^st February 2025
• Talk on Samplers – 4^th April 2025 (1pm to 1.30 pm in the gallery)
• Location: Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum, Royal Pump Rooms, Parade, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 4AA
• Featured Artists: Daniel Lismore, Laura Kemshall, Linda Kemshall, Jennie Moncur, Annabel Rainbow, and Stephanie Redfern. 

                                                                          Jennie Moncur

Lady Godiva shows us around Coventry!

 

 

Following a talk to both groups the Friends and the Leamington Society were invited by the Coventry Society to take a guided walk round the centre of Coventry.  In lovely sunshine we were welcomed to Coventry by Lady Godiva.  We were taken through the ruins of the old Cathedral and into the splendid Guild Hall.  We then walked round the central area where many interesting places, ancient and modern were pointed out to us by our excellent guide.  Finishing in the Undercrofts at the Priory Visitor Centre the tour was enjoyed by all.