A selection of pieces from the Pallant House Gallery's review of British still life covering a long period, from 17th-century ‘vanitas’ paintings to post-impressionism to abstraction and on to modern conceptual art. Very good with a wide range of excellent artists, clockwise from top left:
Ivon Hitchens - Flowers
Mona Hatoum - Natura Morta (medical cabinet)
Margaret Mellis - Toy cupboard (thirty)
John Craxton - Hare on a Table
Margaret Mellis - Yellow basket with Bottle
Ben Nicholson - 1928 (striped jug and flowers)
After a fretful night of fitful sleeping, didn't feel like going out for the day but we took ourselves out in good time to catch the train to Chichester - very full because of the Festival of Speed at Goodwood.
S and T met us at the station, T now experiencing hip discomfort as he needs a new one. We walked to the gallery and stopped for a cup of tea and chat in the café. Spent a good hour and a half in the excellent exhibition before emerging to look for lunch.
The cathedral café had irritatingly run out of anything vegetarian but we found an excellent spot in the back garden of the 'slow food' café (thankfully not that slow) The Barn. They had delightful wooden booths outside. As we got ensconced into one, we heard what sounded ominously like thunder though the sky stayed blue with a few fluffy clouds. Dave had kedgeree and I went for Welsh rarebit, very good.
The boys went to look at bookshops and me and S headed to Seasalt where I found trousers, tee shirt and a linen tunic in the sale. Also a pair of sandals in Hotter. By now it had started raining heavily but like a shower so we thought it would soon pass. We ran to Lakeland but the rain would not ease. S very cleverly thought to ask Lakeland if we could borrow an umbrella and they kindly lent us one.
We'd have been soaked otherwise - even so dribbles of rain got through and my feet got wet from the big puddles. Glad to get back to their house where we found the boys had got soaked. We sat in their conservatory drinking gin and eating crumpets while watching the many birds flit about round the feeders and the pretty hydrangea bush and other flowers.
Train home was busy but we were ok for a seat - home after 9. T and B had taken mum out and T had broached the financial issue and it went ok.
Gin and crumpets
https://365project.org/boxplayer/extras/2024-07-13
13 July 2024
Chichester, West Sussex
Ian