Galleries - August 2014

b MALL GALLERIES The Mall (nr Trafalgar Square), SW1 Still Alive: The Contemporary Still Life. Aug 5–23. By members ofthe Federation ofBritish Artists. Featuring over 50 works by over 15 artists, the show is proofaplenty that still life painting is ‘still alive’ as a contemporary, inspiring and enduring art form. Covering an eclectic range ofsubject matter, the exhibition is an eye-catching survey ofcontemporary still life painting. The Society of Equestrian Artists: The Horse in Art 2014. Sep 2–6. 10–5 (closed Sun) www.mallgalleries.org.uk t 020 7930 6844 c THE NATIONAL GALLERY Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN Making Colour. Jun 18–Sep 7. Sainsbury Wing, admn charge. From lapis lazuli to cobalt blue, to dazzling gold and silver – travel through the story ofcolour with the National Gallery. Building the Picture: Architecture in Italian Renaissance Painting. Apr 30–Sep 21. Sunley Room, admn free. Works by artists including Duccio, Botticelli and Crivelli offer fascinating insights into the real and fantastical architecture ofthe Renaissance. Take One Picture – Discover, Imagine, Explore: Children inspired by Georges Seurat. May 21–Sep 21. Annenberg Court, admn free. Work by primary schools inspired by Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières. Daily 10–6, Fri until 9 information@ng-london.org.uk www.nationalgallery.org.uk t 020 7747 2885 Gallery Information d PANTER & HALL 11–12 Pall Mall, SW1Y 5LU Summer Show. Jul 23–Aug 29. A mixed exhibition featuring an exciting variety of gallery artists. Steve Whitehead: Everyday Magic. Aug 26–Sep 5. Worked in Steve’s lauded ‘magic realist’ style, these five, breath-taking works represent one year ofpatience, faith and dedication. Mon–Fri 10–6, Sat 11–2 enquiries@panterandhall.com www.panterandhall.com t 020 7399 9999 AUGUST 2014 GALLERIES 41 K I N G ST A R S HAL L ST C O CK SP U R S T N O RTH UMBER LA N D A VE . OL D COMP TO N S T B EA K ST R EGEN T J E R MYN ST R E ET CARLTON HSE. TER. H A Y M A R K E T W H I T E HA L L THE MA L L P A L L M A L L B E D F O R D S T FL O R A L S T E T SAI N T M A R T I N ' S LANE S H EL TO N ST B O W G S RD S T ST E ET TREET STREET L EXINGTON S T N D C H A R I N G C R O S S R O A D B REWER ST L O N G A C R E T STR E ET S H A F T E S B U R Y A V E S T R A N D S H A P I C C A DIL L Y V I C T O R I A E M B S T Covent Ga Piccadilly Circus Leicester Square Charing Cross Em Trafalgar Square d a b c MAP 28 LONDON TRAFALGAR SQ CODA Once upon a time, as Messum ’s current exhibition demonstrates, British industry was still picturesque. ‘Toil, Glitter, Grime and Wealth’, which runs through 6 September, shows how artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries captured not just the landscapes that surrounded them, but the people that worked the land, fished the sea and served as the power behind the industries that were transforming British scenery. Notable for its images depicting daily life outdoors, the Newlyn School is well represented in the exhibition. Members of the school, who worked en plein air, used square brushstrokes and an awareness of tonal harmony to produce distinctive landscapes. But along with glorifying the setting ofthe Cornish fishing village where the painters were based, Newlyn images also emphasise the work – and relaxation – ofthe local people. In works such as those by Newlyn-born Harold Harvey, expansive skies and curving coastlines are populated by the locals. Produced farther inland, the works of William Lionel Wyllie, glorify steam power along the Thames, juxtaposing green banks with billowing smoke and tranquil waters with straining workers. It is from one ofhis paintings, now at Tate Britain , that the exhibition takes its name. In some cases, such as in Wilfred de Glehn’s Battersea Bridge, Looking West , human presence is represented entirely through structures. In this scene, the arches ofthe bridge cut across the glowing water and the chimneys ofLots Road Power Station smoke into the sky. Occupying most of the ground floor space in Messum’s Cork Street Gallery, the show is large and absorbing. With interconnections that tie the artists as well as the scenes together, a visit to this celebration ofthe British people and land they live in could easily fill an afternoon or more . . . Frances Allitt beforetheart@gmail.com C harles s Napier Hemy 1841-1917 RA RWS ‘Hauling the Trammel Net’, 1892 oil on canvas at Messum’s Fine Art