One of our clients is Colchester’s Victor Batte-Lay Foundation, the charitable body that owns the minories and holds an extensive art collection that includes works by John Constable, Camille Pissarro, Eduardo Paolozzi, John and Paul Nash. We were excited to find out that the foundation has loaned a piece of art from its collection, to a highly anticipated exhibition at London’s V&A museum.
We spoke to Robin Matthews, Chairman of the Foundation who said the exhibition “…was truly stunning”. Robin represented the foundation at the exhibition’s opening in September and said, “The breadth of the exhibition was spectacular, it was a real honour to have been part of it and to have contributed to such an internationally acclaimed exhibition.”
The exhibition is called ‘Constable – The making of a master’ and opened on 20th September. It shows the hidden stories of how John Constable created some of his most well-known paintings. It includes work from his very early life, as well as pieces from his own collection of art by the artists he was particularly influenced by at the time. It also displays many of his more classic and famous paintings.
We asked Robin how it all came about. The V&A approached Colchester’s VBLF to loan a drawing of Constables called: Christ’s Charge to Peter. It was drawn by Constable when he was just 19 years old, and purchased by the foundation over 30 years ago.
Robin explained to us that the piece was specifically chosen to compliment the exhibition as it shows Constable’s understanding of the classical art world with references to landscape composition. It also shows a clear correlation between Constable’s style and the work of other significant artists that influenced him.
Robin said, “The combination of the works shows the journey John Constable took throughout his life, and the artists and their work that developed and informed his style. It’s great to provide one of our pieces to this outstanding exhibition at the V&A and represent Colchester in this way. It showcases the quality art work we hold at Victor Batte-Lay.”
Exhibition location:
V&A South Kensington
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL
Exhibition opening times:
20th September – 11th January
Admission:
Adult: £15.40
Concession (over 65s): £13.40
Child (age 4-18): £10.20