Liberté of London

The life and times of a tea drinking, Master of Museum Studies, massive Agent Carter fan who was living in London, UK now back in Canada. Updates weekly. Let's go to a Museum!

[liberteoflondon]

Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Michigan. Summer 2017

[liberteoflondon]

Jack London Square, Oakland California. 2017

[liberteoflondon]

Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey California 2017

[liberteoflondon]

Wilder Ranch, California State Park ,Santa Cruz, California 03.17

[liberteoflondon]

Point Pelee, Ontario, Canada

The most southern point of Continental Canada

[liberteoflondon]

Before the Storm

Point Pelee, Ontario, Canada 

[liberteoflondon]

The End of Morris

My pilgrimage to all the William Morris sites in London fittingly finished with the place he lived and died in.

William Morris Society (Kelmscott Press)

The small museum run by the William Morris Society sits in the basement and Coach House of Morris’ last home.  He ran his infamous Kelmscott Press here and held many of his Socialist meeting here.

The house looks out onto the Thames in Hammersmith (out in West London). Its a beautiful spot with a cute pub and nice park nearby.  The Society rents out the house above for budgeting reasons. 

In the Coach House is a lovely display of their collection of original works, patters, photos and archival material. It also features a film about Morris and his life at the house.

The basement includes his actual press!  They often have a person operating the Press on the Saturdays! What a wonderful treat to see.

I particularly loved the printing block of the house itself! There were a few other blocks as well along with one of Morris’ books printed at the press.

This was the last of the William Morris sites I visited in London.  The National Society of Antiquaries owns Kelmscott Manor (for which Kelmscott Press is names) which was Morris’ later country home in the Cotswolds.

Rating: 4/5

Pros: Great building, small but high quality collection, very friendly staff, amazing shop, cool demonstrations, beautiful location overlooking the Thames, excellent videos about Morris’ life in the house

Cons: It is very small and a little tricky to find, very limited hours (check the website before you go!), no cafe but there is a pub down the lane, not the best for kids or those with mobility issues (loads of stairs)

[liberteoflondon]

A museum nerd’s progress

Hogarth’s House

William Hogarth was a famous and inventive painter and printmaker. He is famous for his serial prints which depict moral tales of London life in the 18th century.  He also helped develop copyright laws in England in order to stop people from reproducing his work without paying him.  He also helped to found the Foundling Hospital (now the Foundling Museum!). He was a super busy guy basically. 

The house is on a nice lot that used to be home to orchards.  The garden was even nice in the middle of winter.  Out in West London (Hounslow to be exact) this home would have been practically in the countryside. Like many places in London is has been slowly absorbed.

Hogarth himself! This is a reproduction of portrait of him in the National Portrait Gallery collection.  His faithful dog Trump (yes that was the dogs real name!) is also depicted along with the tools of his trade. Due to conservation reasons the upper floor was closed which meant only three rooms were open to the public.

The combination of a magnifying glass and flashlight on a string is a clever combination. Together they help visitors take a closer look at objects in cases that ought not be under strong lighting. And it’s super fun to use!

The gift shop is located in the former kitchen. I particularly liked the life-sized Hogarth characters. The titular ‘harlot’ of Hogarth’s famous Harlot’s progress series.  Here she is the innocent country girl overwhelmed by London.

Rating: 4/5

Pros: Good collection, nice location, good building, friendly staff, interesting curation, excellent special exhibition, nice shop

Cons: No cafe, no upper floor, not the best for kids

[liberteoflondon]

William Morris’s Red House, Bexleyheath, England 16.12.16

[liberteoflondon]

Thames Path Hammersmith, London UK 14.01.17

[liberteoflondon]

Friends, Family and Wombats

If you follow this blog (or follow me on instagram) you know of my deep and everlasting love of designer and activist William Morris! This post another Morris fan letter.

Red House

This whole house is full of love, inspiration and fun. Morris wanted a place to live with his wife Jane and their children. He chose Bexleyheath for its location of the Pilgrimage route to Canterbury tales (Morris loved Chaucer about as much as I love him).

The house was designed by architect Phillip Webb with loads of input from Morris and his group of friends. It is the first Arts & Crafts style house. It is also the place where Morris realised he was good at Interior Design and led him to open Morris & Co. design wallpapers and make tapestries!

Every week Morris’ friends like his bestie Edward Burne-Jones and other Pre-Raphaelites would come by to help out. They wanted to make a home like a medieval hall - complete with banquets and having visitors sleep in the hall.

This included painting murals! This is Burne-Jones’ work based on the Canterbury Tales. Notice the king and queen? That’s William and Jane! One of many little personal touches.  

The very same mural has a painting of a small furry animal.  Some people think it is a dog or a cat but others think it may be a wombat! Apparently the Pre-Raphaelites loved them and Dante Gabriel Rossetti even owned a pair as pets (after the mural was painted though). In honour of this fun connect there are a few stuffed animal wombats hidden around the house! Its a fun thing for kids and adults alike.

In the dining room they have on display Morris & Co.’s famous Sussex chairs.  They made a few different models and one was designed by Rossetti for the company.  

The beautiful stained glass windows look out onto the lush grounds. The National Trust now owns and operates the property. They were able to acquire the lot next door so the gardens are wonderfully sprawling. The words on the glass is Morris’ personal motto ‘Si Je Puis’ which translates from french as ‘If I can’

  The whole house features Morris wallpaper although he had not designed any until he moved out of the home. It adds a really nice touch. Originally the house was hand painted - an example of which you can see on the ceiling. 

I visited when the house was decorated for christmas. These lavender bunches on the stairs are a beautiful touch. It alludes to the medieval period when people would spread sweet smelling herbs on the floor to make the house smell nice. Very Morris!

The minstrels gallery here was used by Morris’ two young daughters May and Jenny.  The ceiling here has been painted white in order to preserve the murals and wall paintings underneath.  In a few places there are little peaks at what lies beneath. The Morris’ eventually left this home after 5 years and moved closer to London and never returned.

Rating: 5/5 

Pros: Amazing building, wonderful story and interpretation, great collection, good for all ages, friendly staff who are super knowledgable, cute cafe, nice shop, beautiful garden, fun events

Cons: Check how to get there as it is a distance from London, it closes up in the winter months, not the most friendly for those with mobility issues

[liberteoflondon]

Gublekian Gift’s

Lisbon is a beautiful city of tiles and a wonderful collection of art. This next post is a 2-4-1 situation.

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum

This museum is comprised of two collections (in two separate buildings). There is the Modern Art Collection and the Founder’s Collection.  The buildings are in the brutalist style with amazing gardens around and between them.

The Modern collection features great big exhibition spaces that includes painting, video installations and sculptures.  It displays Modern Portuguese art and some by people from Portugal’s former colonies.

This room was very powerful and featured copies of slave auction catalogues from Angola.  It was incredible.

The museum also created a timeline of Portugeuse modern art and history on two floors. Paintings from the collection were on the top while ephemera, photographs and other objects were on the floor below. It mirrored really nicely and I learned as much about the social and political history of Portugal as I did the paintings. 

The Founder’s Collection was located across the artificial lake where loads of people were sunbathing (in December!). The collection is comprised of everything Gulbenkian liked. I was quite partial to the Art of the Islamic world rooms. Every case was purpose built and it looks marvellous.

The carpets were so fantastic! There were also rooms of Chinese and Japanese porcelain, european art from 1500s onwards and French style furnishings. He was an eclectic collector! There was a whole room devoted to Rene Lalique’s work.

The last room mum and I visited was the Founder’s gallery. It was a lovely overview of the collections and its history.  Apparently he was a great fan of Art Deco and helped encourage the design form. This gallery was a lot of fun because of the mixing the curators can do.

The man himself! Gulbenkian created a foundation in his will and they built the museums to house is amazing work and promote Portugal and Portuguese art.

Rating: 5/5

Pros: Amazing collection, excellent displays and interpretation, friendly staff, great shop and cafe, loads of places to sit, lovely gardens, good location

Cons: The gardens were a bit tricky to navigate - we couldn’t find the entrance!, may be tricky for those with mobility issues, not the best for kids

[liberteoflondon]

Portugal 01.01.17

[liberteoflondon]

Clifford’s Tower, York, England, UK at Sunset 11.01.17

[liberteoflondon]

Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England UK 20.01.17

[liberteoflondon]

St Mary’s Abbey in York Museum Gardens, York, England, UK 11.01.17

[liberteoflondon]

Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter (York Minster) Cathedral, York, England, UK 12.01.17