Gallery Stroll

GALLERY STROLL NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, London *************************** Richard and Maria Cosway: Regency Artists ofTaste and Fashion • 17 November 1995 · 18 February 1996 · Richard Cosway and his wife Maria were one of the most fascinating and glamorous artist couples of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Arbiters of fashionable taste, artistically and socially successful, their work and their achievements are the focus of this major international loan exhibition comprising some 250 works drawn from prestigious public and private collections. Richard Cosway RA (1742-1821) was the foremost portrait miniaturist of the period and is particularly known for his close relationship with the brilliant but extravagant Prince Regent (then the Prince of Wales and later King George IV). Cosway's highly captivating miniatures and elegant portrait drawings mirror Regency society. His sitters included Capability Brown, Emma Hamilton and me Duke of Wellington. At the heart of the exhibition will be a display of these exquisite jewel-like miniatures, many of which portray the Prince and his circle of family, lovers and courtiers. As the essayist, William Hazlitt, wrote of these miniatures: "They were not fashionable — they were fashion itself.' The charismatic and talented Maria Cosway (1760-1838) was an Anglo-Florentine, who established herself in London as a highly accomplished artist musician and renowned salon hostess. Later in life she became a notable education reformer and founded a distinguished convent school in Italy. Through her paintings, prints and memorabilia she will be revealed as one of the most interesting women artists of the Romantic period. David Livingstone and the Victorian Encounter with Africa •22 March -7 July 1996· David Livingstone and the Victorian Encounter with Africa offers a fascinating account of the life and times of this great Victorian, from his humble birth and childhood in the cotton mills of Lanarkshire to his remarkable journeys as missionary and explorer across the continent of Africa. The exhibition also examines the political and ideological background to African exploration, the activities of missionaries and hunters in southern Africa in the early nineteenth century and the travels of fellow explorers. The exhibition presents a diverse range of material from ethnographic items and natural history specimens collected by Livingstone and his parties, to portraits, 208Victorian Review original photographs, manuscript maps, journals and letters, as well as his travelling equipment These, together with images and written accounts of African peoples, explore Livingstone's relationship with those he met on his travels. Indeed, the nature of this encounter — with Africans as well as Africa — is at the heart of the exhibition. THE PAUL MELLON CENTRE FOR STUDIES IN BRITISH ART, London *********************************** Leighton House and the Victorian Domestic Interior •11 April 1996· To mark the centenary of the death of Lord Leighton and the refurbishment of Leighton House, the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. in conjunction with Leighton House Museum, are staging a major, one-day conference on the subject of Leighton House and the Victorian Domestic Interior. Leading experts from the UK and the US will talk on the new work and discoveries at Leighton House, and on the domestic interiors of Leighton's day, with particular reference to the Late Victorian period. Subjects to be covered include wallpapers, ceramics, paint color and oriental interiors. In the afternoon there will be a chance to take one of the special tours round Leighton House, which is being returned to its appearance in 1896 — complete with restored studio. There will also be an opportunity to see other artists' studios in the Kensington area, including those at the former homes of artists Holman Hunt and Luke Fildes. The conference ends with an evening Reception at Leighton House, hosted by the Paul Mellon Centre. Tickets cost £30 each, and are available in advance from the Paul Mellon Centre, 20 Bloomsbury Square. London, WClA 2NP; Telephone: 0171 580 0311; Fax: 0171 636 6730. ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, London ************************ Frederic, Lord Leighton 1830 - 1896 • 15 February - 21 April 1996 · Frederic Leighton was bom in Scarborough in 1830. His parents travelled extensively in Germany, France and Italy and much of his childhood was spent abroad, where he gained a wide knowledge of European ait In 1855 he made a sensational début in...