Postcard from Rutland

Last week saw the closing night of our pop-up exhibition at the Nevill Holt Opera where we hung a carefully chosen selection of our artists in the foyer of the theatre. It’s been delightful to see black tie clad visitors gazing at the works on display as they drift in from the beautiful Nevill Holt gardens outside.

It is fitting that the handsome Leading Lady by Sir William Russell Flint is part of the collection, looking as she does like a character from an opera. She is a fine example of Flint's unparalleled skill as a draughtsman whose figure drawing demonstrates great economy and elegance of line. The limited colour palette enhances the feeling of intimacy with the use of opaque white elevating the delicate presence of his subject.

We’re very lucky here in Rutland to be so close to the North Norfolk coast which draws us to its wide-open skies, rolling farmland and vast beaches. Locals feel an affinity with this East Anglian county and many hold nostalgic memories of childhood holidays spent fishing for crabs or eating sandy sandwiches on the beach.

For this reason, visitors to the gallery love to see works by Edward Seago, linked as he was with the area through his vivid and expressive landscapes which one critic said are imbued with an “understated emotional language”. A Norfolk Farm is an exceptional example of this. Majestic cloudscapes form above a grouping of ramshackle buildings where the sunlight picks out the roofs as the chickens peck in the foreground.