Curator's Talks
Looking at G F Watts: Portraits of the Artist
Wednesday 3 December 2008, 7pm
Compton Village Hall
£5, including a glass of wine
Whether in painting, sculpture or photography, images of G F Watts are remarkably revealing. From the early self-portrait at trhe age of 17 to the photograph on his deathbed, they strongly reflect his state of mind and influences at the time they were created. This lecture by Mark Bills will consider the life and art of Watts through his portraits and self-portraits.
Watts and Mammon
Wednesday 4 February 2009, 7pm
Compton Village Hall
£5, including a glass of wine
For G. F. Watts one of the curses of his age was ‘Mammonism’. He believed this to be the unspiritual and unwholesome seeking of material wealth for its own sake, which he felt was a destructive force that stifled both the human spirit and the life of a nation. In many of his paintings such as Mammon, For He Had Great Possessions and Can These Bone Live? he dealt with this idea and its impact on the individual and society as a whole. Mark Bills will discuss the subject of Mammon in Watts’s art.
An Artist’s Rural Retreat: G. F. Watts and Limnerslease
Wednesday 6 May, 7pm
Compton Village Hall
£5, including a glass of wine
George and Mary Watts first visited Compton in the 1880s to stay with their friends, the Hichens at Monkshatch. In 1890 they commisioned the architect Ernest George to build a home for them nearby that they named Limnerslease. Initially a winter retreat, Watts had a grand studio house, a barn studio and eventually the Watts Gallery just a stone’s throw away. The talk will explore the importance of Limnerslease
to Watts.
All Three Curator's Talks for just £12
Save20% when you book all three talks at the same time.