Bath (UK)

I was impressed by the paintings of John Wragg RA at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2012. His acrylic paintings: Evening Light, House of Dreams and Waiting to Know were exhibited in the Wohl Central Hall. The walls in this room were painted red as 'a homage to Matisse's Red Studio' and as a powerful backdrop to a selection of paintings whose main concern is colour. The polished bronze (Portrait of a Young Man Standing) by Leonard McComb RA is the central figure in the Wohl Central Hall.

Three more acrylic paintings, The Window; The Car and Seated Figure were hung in gallery III, the Royal Academy's largest and most prominent room. In a break from tradition, Tess Jaray RA moved the smaller paintings into this room from their traditional place and created a 'wave' effect with the hang.

When using google to find an image of a painting by John Wragg after visiting the exhibition I found one of Seated Figure (photo below) on the Threading Thoughts blog by Olga  Threading Thoughts blog post by Olga 

After mentioning this John Wragg painting on twitter, David Simon of Hilton Fine Art, 5 Margarets Buildings, Bath, contacted me to mention that the gallery's new 'Re-figured' show includes paintings by John Wragg.
                                                  Re-figured show at Hilton Fine Art
The Hilton Fine Art gallery is easy to find, as it is situated between the Circus (at the top of Gay Street) and the Royal Crescent. Gay Street was part of John Wood's original plan for the development of a new upper town in Bath. I passed Bath Contemporary Art at 35 Gay Street and stopped to take a photo of the striking window display.
                                                        Bath Contemporary Art Gallery

The Circus was busy with tour groups and people enjoying some shade under the central trees.

Leaving the Circus on Brock Street, soon brings you to Catharine Place / Margarets Buildings, a pleasant pedestrian street with cafes and art galleries.

Hilton Fine Art - Contemporary and Modern British painting, prints, sculpture and ceramics

Hilton Fine Art is the first gallery on the right in the photo above.
David Simon had been busy hanging the 'Re-figured' show and it was almost ready ahead of the official opening date. John Wragg's paintings are on the ground floor and the lower floor. Red Book in this exhibition is a similar composition to Seated Figure in the Summer Exhibition. Two larger paintings are hung next to each other on the lower floor (Through the Window and Girl with Dog). Both of these paintings are divided into straight edged areas and feature a female figure. John has painted using a limited range of colours with blue strong in Through the Window and red standing out in Girl with Dog.

Another artist whose work I liked at Hilton Fine Art is David Brayne RWS. The three paintings exhibited (Seated nude, Bather I, Bather II) are composed of mainly pastel and dull colours.

In each a female figure draws the eye and there is an additional flower detail in two of the paintings.

David Simon asked if I would be visiting any more galleries in Bath and my answer was no apart from the Holburne Museum. David then suggested that it would be a good idea to visit the Quest Gallery, a few doors away at 7 Margarets Buildings, to see an interesting exhibition of glass sculptures from Hungarian glass masters.

Quest Gallery - international contemporary art

Quest Gallery was established in 2004. One of its aims is to mix paintings and prints with applied art objects of fine quality. Artists represented are from the fields of metalwork, wood, ceramics, glass, jewellery and textiles in addition to photography, sculpture, paintings and prints. On arrival at the gallery, I was informed that the Hungarian glass masters can spend over a year working to perfect a glass artwork of the calibre on display in the exhibit. A wide variety of works were on display and the two that impressed most were by Gyorgy Gaspar and Laszlo Lukacsi. 

Although Gyorgy Gaspar's 'Uranium' series did not appeal, his egg shaped glass pieces ('Hello Moon') which changed in appearance depending on the angle of viewing were impressive. 

Three versions of these were on display. An image of one will not do justice to the way its appearance can change depending on viewpoint.

The piece by Laszlo Lukacsi named 'Fan' was an intricately shaped object that was fascinating for its intricate patterns as well as its shape. Again, an image will not convey the three dimensional nature and fine detail which is only visible on close inspection.

To reach the Holburne Museum, east from here, at the far end of Great Pulteney Street made an interesting walk. My route took me past Bath Assembly Rooms and down St Andrews Terrace (the walkway in the photo below).

It was an unusual experience to cross the river Avon on Pulteney bridge as this is one of only four bridges in the world with shops across the full span on both sides. Among the shops on Pulteney bridge is a flower shop (shown below).

The Holburne Museum is visible in the distance, at the far end of Great Pulteney Street with the trees of Sydney Gardens behind.

With free admission and situated in an attractive stone building, a visit to the Holburne Museum is recommended.

The Holburne Museum

An extract from the 'Collection History' tab of the Holburne Museum website includes the following information:

The heart of the present day Collection was formed by Sir Thomas William Holburne (1793-1874).

Sir Thomas William Holburne, miniature portrait by Charles Jagger

In 1882 this collection of over 4,000 objects, pictures and books was bequeathed to the people of Bath by Holburne’s sister, Mary Anne Barbara Holburne (1802-1882). From the start, it was intended to form “the nucleus of a Museum of Art for the city of Bath”. Since the Museum opened to the public in 1893, a further 2,500 objects have been acquired. 

Perhaps the most significant acquisitions have been pictures. These have greatly enriched the Museum's collection of British eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century paintings and miniatures. In 1955 the Museum received ten important pictures from the bequest of Ernest E. Cook, grandson of the travel entrepreneur Thomas Cook. This included works by Gainsborough, Stubbs and Turner. 

The rear extension, designed by Eric Parry, was opened in May 2011. The Holburne Museum was awarded 'Regional building of the year' by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2012. The exterior of the extension is constructed from moulded ceramic with plenty of glass. This means it is still possible to see from the original building through the extension to the gardens behind.

The garden cafe on the ground floor of the extension opens on to gardens surrounded by trees and is also worth visiting.
In addition to portrait paintings the art museum houses bronzes, porcelain and books. There will usually be special exhibitions and on my visit there was a 'What are you like?' touring exhibition with contributions from people in the public eye including David Shrigley, Glen Baxter and Posy Simmonds. Each person was invited to pick eight of their favourite things as the basis for a self-revealing illustration. This exhibition was provided by House of Illustration  House of Illustration and originally opened at Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2008.

Illustration by Mary Fedden OBE RA (1915-2012)