AUSTRALIAN DECORATIVE & FINE ARTS SOCIETYMember of the AADFAS (Group Associate Member of The Arts Society)A0020282R

YARRA IncABN 89 563 628 670

Yarra NewsSummer 2018 Vol. 29 No. 1

From the ChairI am very pleased to welcome the new members who are joining us this year to share our love of the decorative and fine arts. I know our members will look after you and help you find the Caulfield Cup Room upstairs for refreshments and a chat after our lectures. Please introduce yourself if you are sitting in the theatrette next to a member with a star on her badge. She’s new!

We welcome artist Norma Sullivan to our Yarra committee. A vivacious new member, she joined ADFAS only a year ago. Her beautiful watercolours are part of the Robe to Riches Art Exhibition celebrating the epic journey of Chinese goldminers in 1857. It was shown recently at the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre in Ararat and at the Victorian Artists Society. You can see this wonderful exhibition in June 2018 in Queens Hall, Parliament of Victoria.

At the end of last year we were sad to farewell two valued committee members; our member-ship secretary, Helen Hunwick and Christine Sweeney, the newsletter editor.

Carol Johnston has taken on the role of Membership Secretary (thank you, Carol) so she is the person to contact if you wish to bring a guest or make a member related enquiry. All the committee contact details are shown in the lecture program card you received in December. May I mention that several afternoon members missed our AGM last year as they arrived for it in the afternoon. Unavoidably, the final lecture in November is a combined one at 10am in the large auditorium as we cannot by law conduct two AGMs. Why not make a note of this in your diary now?

This is our first Emailed newsletter. I am sure you will become accustomed to the new format and enjoy the security of knowing that you have a confirmed booking for one of our popular excursions or events by booking online with trybooking.

Our first full day excursion on Thursday 8 March will delight music lovers. Beleura has ar-ranged a special day for us, with movie raconteur Steven Rattle introducing the vintage Chopin movie, A Song to Remember, followed by a recital of Chopin’s music by concert pianist Alan Kogosowski.

On Thursday 2 May, British lecturer Rosalind Whyte presents an overview of the development of late 19th Century French Landscape Painting. Whether or not you are planning a visit to Adelaide to see the AGSA exhibition from the Musee D’Orsay, Colours of Impressionism, this talk with afternoon tea is a must. Guests are welcome.

Booking information for these events can be found on page 4 within this newsletter

I look forward to seeing you at Christopher de Hamel’s lecture on illuminated manuscripts in February and remind you that unfortunately we do not have room for guests at our first lecture of the year. Ruth Caple

Young Arts

ADFAS Yarra encourages organisations to promote activities that inspire young people with a lasting enthusiasm for the arts and each year we make donations to a wide variety of these groups and, in some cases, to an individual.

In 2017, for the first time, a donation was made to the Australian National Academy of Music, (ANAM). Committee members attended the final of their Chamber Music

competition on Saturday 18 November and Denise Sarah presented the ADFAS prize to Jonathan Békés (cello) and Eliza Shepard (flute) for outstanding solo performances throughout the year. As the standard was so high, the judges could not separate Jonathan and Eliza so awarded our prize equally. These effervescent young people were delighted with the award and extremely grateful for it. ADFAS is clearly well regarded at ANAM and committee members were made to feel very welcome.

ANAM is modelled on the Juilliard School in New York and is one of our cultural jewels, training as it does ‘the best of the best’ of our Australasian musicians. Its founding patron was Isaac Stern and its excellence has since been acknowledged internationally. Artists like Steven Isserlis, Imogen Cooper, Angela Hewitt, Richard Tognetti and Paul Lewis have given master classes. Internationally acclaimed English violinist, Anthony Marwood, was on the judging panel this year. After completing a music degree, ANAM students spend three years developing their performance skills. Their progress can be followed through a series of recitals, master classes and concerts.

This elite talent was highlighted in a spectacular concert featuring chamber music by Britten, Mendelssohn and Paul Stanhope. The playing was crisp, disciplined and emotionally engaging. ADFAS Committee also researched and supported some local and regional projects - the Sandy Point Music Club and the Ripponlea Primary School. A fabulous wool wallhanging installation by Zetta Kanta, one of our individual recipients, has been on display over summer at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Flinders Street.

Even the smallest donation can make a huge difference. The Committee would like to thank all members for theirongoing support of young people on the threshold of their careers in the decorative and fine arts.

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Books for Art Lovers

Novels and fictional biographies about art and artists have always been popular. Although not to everyone’s taste, they can provide an easy opening or avenue into art works themselves and into the lives and times of the artists, adding another dimension to our enjoyment. The NGV has introduced a monthly book club for members; selecting books that add value to their exhibitions. I enjoyed the wonderful Constance Stokes exhibition at the Mornington and Peninsula Regional Gallery last year and thrilled to the fabulous Hokusai works at the NGV. The following titles added greatly to my understanding of these two very different artists. Members may enjoy reading them.

Anne Summers.The Lost Mother:A Story of Art and Love. MUP, 2009.After her mother’s death in 2005, Anne Summers inherits a portrait of her mother as a child, painted by Constance Stokes (nee Parkin). Entranced by this image, she finds herself drawn into the story of how this portrait was painted and discovers that Stokes painted a second portrait of her mother, this time as the Madonna. This narrative is part art history, part detective story and part meditation on the relations between mothers and daughters. Summers examines why, unlike other women artists such as Preston, Cossington Smith, Bowen and Beckett, Connie Stokes was “forgotten’ for so long.

Katherine Govier.The Printmaker’s Daughter. Harper, 2011. Govier recounts, in this fascinating work of imagination and scholarship, the story of Hokusai’s artist daughter, Oei and plunges us into the colourful and evocative world of Edo where courtesans rub shoulders with poets, warriors consort with actors and the arts flourish in an unprecedented moment of creative upheaval. Whether, as Govier argues, Oei painted many of her father’s stunning works is really neither here nor there, this novel submerges the reader in the fascinating life of Hokusai and his very talented daughter and adds greatly to our understanding of their art, the times in which they worked and the tender and indelible bond between a father and daughter.

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Lecture 1Thursday 22 February 201810.00 am & 1.30 pmDr Christopher de HamelMeetings with Remarkable Manuscripts Dr Christopher de Hamel has handled and catalogued more illuminated manuscripts and over a wider range than any person alive, and possibly more than any individual has ever done. He knows the medieval manuscripts of Australia and New Zealand intimately and has lectured to large audiences throughout Australia; he is probably the best-known writer and lecturer about illuminated manuscripts in the world today. Christopher was involved with the State Library ofVictoria’s hugely successful Medieval Imagination exhibition. He holds doctorates from both Oxford and Cambridge and has been awarded two honorary doctorates as well. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquities and the Royal HistoricalSociety, Christopher was responsible for catalogues and sales of illuminated manuscripts at Sotheby’s in London fortwenty-five years. In 2000 he was appointed Parker Librarian at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University.

Dr Christopher de Hamel’s book of this lecture title, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, became one of the best-sellers of its year. Amongst its many literary awards and prizes, it was awarded the Duff Cooper Prize for the best non-fiction book of 2016, quite unprecedented for any book on the history of art. It is a fascinating book being an account of the adventures of the author across the world in pursuit of 12 of the finest illuminated manuscripts in existence. The lecture is party autobiographical, with Christopher relating how this book came about, what illuminated manuscripts can tell us and why they matter. Like his book itself, this lecture is a richly-illustrated tale of discovery and revelation about medieval art. Christopher will share first hand encounters with manuscripts as famous as the Book of Kells and the Camina Burana. This lecture will touch on religion, art, literature, music, science and the history of taste - a wonderful start to our 2018 lecture series.

Lecture 2Thursday 22 March 201810.00 am & 1.30 pmTrisha DixonContemporary Landscape DesignTrisha is a prolific writer and photographer with a deep interest in landscape, literature, music, art and history; passions she loves to share with her audiences. Trisha has written, edited, photographed and co-authored many books and has led numerous very popular tours all over the world. She has worked as a presenter on ABC Television, and as both alandscape consultant and heritage adviser. Trisha is on the Board of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and on theNational Management Committee of the Australian Garden History Society.One of her latest books, Adagio, (2012) is a beautifully illustrated treatise on slow gardening and the importance of slowing down and enjoying life. At the same time, it has a strong environmental message regarding living ethically and sustainably. Her book is an eloquent “call to action” on vital issues concerning our landscapes.Trisha’s lecture will be delivered in her inimitable style drawing on her gardening background and extensive knowledge and experience and her wide-ranging interests, highlighting her passion for protecting and using our environmentintelligently and sensitively.

Lecture 3Thursday 3 May 201810.00 am & 1.30 pmRosalind WhyteWilliam Hogarth: ‘A terrier snapping at the heels of the great’Rosalind Whyte holds a Masters degree in Gender, Society and Culture from Birkbeck College, University of London and a second Masters degree in Art History from Goldsmiths’ College, University of London. Her knowledge of the history of art is extensive and wide-ranging. Rosalind is a guide and lecturer at both Tate Modern and Tate Britain, and at the Royal Academy and she frequently lectures at the wonderful Dulwich Picture Gallery, London. Rosalind leads art appreciation tours and has been a guest lecturer on many cruises, both as an individual and as part of a team from the Tate galleries. She lectures extensively for NADFAS and other art societies in Britain, Europe and South Africa.Rosalind’s lecture will look at the life, times and works of the remarkable William Hogarth (1697-1764), who has been described as “The Father of British Art” and who is considered the pioneer of sequential art. Hogarth was a prolific artist being skilled as a painter, printmaker and engraver but who may be just as well-known as a political satirist and a scathing social critic of his times. Hogarth knew everyone of importance in 18th century London and was closely involved with the social and political issues of his times. Rosalind will explore and discuss his relationships with some of the important personalities of the time and will examine the variety of forms of art he developed and mastered.

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EXCURSION

Thursday 8 March 2018Beleura, Mornington8.15am - 4 pm. Morning Tea and Lunch supplied.Cost: $ 87 (includes coach, admission, morning tea & lunch)

Our coach will leave from Central Park, Malvern East (opposite 9 Kingston St) at 8.25 am sharp. There is ample all day parking in the surrounding streets. After morning tea, we will watch the beautiful vintage movie A Song to Remember in the comfortable theatre at Beleura, then lunch, a stroll in the garden and a piano recital by the renowned Alan Kogosowski. Melbourne born, Alan won a Churchill Fellowship which enabled him to study in Paris and London. He will play in full for us the piano pieces heard briefly in the movie and discuss Frédéric Chopin’s life and music.

Please book using our on-line link with TryBooking: http://www.trybooking.com/tqyvBookings open 9am 8 February 2018All the event details are available on this link.

INTEREST AFTERNOON

Ms Rosalind WhyteFrom Corot to Monet – Developments in French Landscape PaintingCaulfield Cup Room, Level 1, Glen Eira City HallCorner Glen Eira and Hawthorn Roads, CaulfieldWednesday 2 May 20181.30 pm to 4.00 pmCost: $ 45 (includes a delicious afternoon tea)Rosalind traces the development of French landscape painting, from its humble beginnings when it was not even considered by many to be a worthy subject for painting, to the gradual acceptance of landscape by the art establishment – if it included an “historical” element. From here it developed in radical form with an insistence on realism and the harshness of rural life, as illustrated famously by Jean-Francois Millet’s The Gleaners and in the work of others of the Barbizon School. This realism was subsequently “undermined” by the Impressionists who, with their sketchy, visible brush strokes, attempted to capture the moment and the changing qualities of light in nature. Rosalind will look at the battles landscape artists fought and won to gain acceptance and recognition for their subject, culminating in the highpoint of landscape’s popularity – and the huge acceptance and popularity of the “rebel’ Impressionists, whose work now attracts universal plaudits and commands unbelievably huge sums on the art market.

Please book using our on-line link with TryBooking: http://www.trybooking.com/tqzpBookings open 9am 8 February 2018

All the event details are available on this link.Should you be unable to complete your booking online, the following committee members will be pleased to help. Please have your credit card number at hand before you call.Carol Johnston 0409 871 254 Ruth Caple 0403 053 852 H 9523 8035

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Mulberry Hill Helen Cook

Inspired by a recent article in Trust, and after many years, I made a visit to Mulberry Hill, the country home on the Mornington Peninsula purchased by Sir Daryl and Lady Joan Lindsay in the 1920s.The simple 4-room 1880s cottage was completely redesigned, enlarged and transformed by well-known and popular Melbourne architect Harold Desbrowe Annear, 1865-1933, into an elegant and charming American Colonial-style home. The Lindsays took up residence in 1926. Daryl, an accomplished painter and print maker was a member of the well-known artistic Lindsay family. Appointed Director of the National Gallery of Victoria, 1941-56, he then went on to assist in founding the National Trust. Joan Lindsay (1896-1984) was an accom-plished artist in her own right but is far better known as an author – she was distantly related to the famous Boyd family and wrote the

iconic Australian novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock, sitting on the floor in this house. Her autobiography, Time Without Clocks tells of their life together at Mulberry Hill and provides a wonderful commentary on the arts and social history of the times – as well as providing some very valuable insights into the themes and ideas underpinning her evocative Picnic at Hanging Rock. Their guest book read like a Who’s Who of the Australian cultural and political scene of much of the twentieth century. The Lindsays quickly created an environment that was enormously attractive to their friends – the Murdochs visited from nearby Cruden Farm, Lord and Lady Casey were regular house guests (Joan and Maie had studied at the Gallery School and then shared a studio together) and members of the talented Lindsay family were constantly ‘popping’ in. Robert Menzies was a regular guest. Dame Nellie Melba arrived with a Sevres clock. Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh came to stay. Time Without Clocks is a charming read – an urbane, sparkling and slightly eccentric reminiscence. Although painting was Joan’s first love, when she and Daryl moved to the country she switched over to writing. She said, “I might have produced more if I hadn’t been so happily married but you can’t have everything.” I am delighted for Joan but sorry that we haven’t a larger collection of her writings – the inescapable charm of her personality shows through in her work and makes the history of those days come vividly to life.

Mulberry Hill has been left exactly as it was the day Lady Lindsay died in December 1984.The house is situated amongst the tall elegant gums that she loved so much. A gorgeous walled garden protects theoriginal mulberry tree, and the contents of the house reflect the Lindsays’ lifelong interest in the arts, and their lifetogether. Beautiful pieces of Georgian furniture are dotted throughout the rooms of this charming home. Visitors can see Joan’s blue brushed-nylon dressing gown hanging on her bedroom door and Daryl’s studio is left so the visitor feels he may have just popped outside for a minute. The walls of this delightful home hang with paintings by some of Australia’s best loved artists - Margaret Preston, Constance Stokes, Rupert Bunny, John Perceval. Daryl’s exquisite drawings of the Ballets Russes alone make visiting a real treat. As Lady Lindsay said herself of these times, “I was filled with a sense of continuity of all beautiful things”.

Mulberry Hill is one of very few literary/artistic homes open to the public in Australia so do make a special pilgrimage to this lovely spot on the Mornington Peninsula. We need to ensure that this treasure is protected for future generations. February is the month when the jam from the famous mulberry trees is available for sale. Enjoy!

Mulberry Hill385 Golf Links RoadLangwarrin South 3911National Trust property is open every Sunday 11.00-4.00 (closed July and August). Do check the recent article thatappeared in Trust: The National Trusts of Australia magazine. Issue No. 3 Spring 2017.

Jenny Harkin andJenny Grebler withMaryanne Mooreunder thefamous mulberrytreeDaryl’s studio

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BROUGHTON HALL EXCURSION Jane Anthony

Just 20 years ago, Broughton Hall’s owners David Musker and Philip Hunter began a massive program of tree planting. This would provide the structure for theirbreathtaking garden situated on a hillside near Jindivick.Confident that the soil and the rainfall at the site were both ideal, David, a landscape designer and collector of rare plants, set about transforming 10 acres of farm land into a formal garden, conceived as a series of hedged terraces looking down to the distant Tarago Reservoir

A gravel drive winding through a forest of birch and poplars drew us towards the beautifully positioned home, cleverly finished to give it an aged patina.Welcome pots by the front door contained a variety of interesting and rare specimens. Peacocks obligingly spread their tails as they wandered across the lawns.There is nothing accidental about this garden – every detail is the result of careful research and planning by

David, whose absorbing passion for his evolving garden is palpable. Classic influences of symmetry and symbolism from Italian gardens provided a starting point, but David does not necessarily conform. He likes to “bend the rules” He explained that a key element of his design was to restrict the distant views of the reservoir. He wants the visitor to focus closely on the abundance of rare plants and the detail in textures and colours of eachsection of his creation.From the house with its extensive colonnade of wisteria, a wide walkway descended along the central axis of the garden,

and we were led gently through a series of terraced gardens along gravel paths, and down stone steps.At each level our views were given a purposeful focus; perhaps of a central bed of roses chosen not only for fragrance and flower but perhaps for the stunning deep colour of their stem providing dramatic contrast of colour out of season. Banks of myrtles, high hedges and densely planted banks of foliage against garden walls provided shelter from the wind and the summer sun.

There were statues, urns, water features, dry stone walls, open sections with rock and gravel features and grassy walks lined with spring foliage in vivid colour. We were constantly surprised and delighted.Animated conversation while enjoying morning tea and later lunch at the Jindivick cafe and

rare plant nursery attested to the success of the expedition. A short visit to the adjacent Barambah garden was also very pleasant. Many exotic plants found their way to the coach at the end of the day.There are more elements to the organisation of such a trip than one might imagine. Our thanks to Ruth, Denise and to all who so ablyassisted.

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The Bayside Coastal Art Trail Helen Cook

The Bayside Coastal Art Trail celebrates the lives and art works of notable Australian artists who painted the bayside coast in years past and features more than 50 artworks on signs along the 17km of coastline from Elwood to Mentone.Many of Australia’s greatest landscape artists are represented along this stretch of local coastline that they loved to paint. They range from works painted in the earliest years of the Port Phillip colony such as Thomas Clark’s Red Bluff (c1860s) to the most modern sculptures purchased by the Bayside councils and installed along the coastline. Most of the painters of the Heidelberg School are featured beside spots where they worked ‘en plein’ air.

Thomas Clark Red Bluff c1860s Lenton Parr Windhover 2001Collection; Port Phillip City Council Collection: Bayside City Council

Five women artists are included in this selection. They include two works by Clarice Beckett and single works by Jessie Trail, Anne Montgomery, Jessie L Evans and Emma Minnie Boyd. Boyd’s water colour, Coastal Scrub, Sandringham 1925 is featured on the trail. Members may have seen the original in the recent Boyd Women exhibition at the Glen Eira City Council gallery.Visiting the actual locations that were so admired by our great artists does add another dimension to our appreciation of the works themselves – and shows, rather sadly, the rapidly changing coastal environment. The originals of many of these iconic landscape paintings can be seen in our major galleries but some are held in private collections so this walk does provide an opportunity to “imagine’ them in situ.This 17km stretch can be undertaken in shorter stretches. The section from Mentone to the Ricketts Point Tea House provides a glimpse of some of our greatest landscape artists – and a welcome cup of tea awaits you at the end. Anne Bult and I enjoyed a 90 minute walk from Green Point, Brighton to the Sandringham Yacht Club and back. So often we travel to Europe to walk in the footsteps of the artists we admire but forget about our own local stars.Additional information about this walk can be found at www.bayside.vic.gov.au or by downloading the Bayside Walks & Trails App.

Two windswept ADFAS Yarra members

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A Visit To Farley Farm House Ann Wilhelm

Members of ADFAS will well remember the lecture and presentation in February 2015 by Antony Penrose, son of model, photographer and war correspondent Lee Miller and her husband Roland Penrose, a surrealist painter. My interest in Lee Miller had been sparked some eight years earlier by the gift of a splendid coffee table book entitled ‘The Art of Lee Miller’.Thus it was with great delight that, when holidaying in East Sussex in 2016, I discovered that we were staying very close to Farley Farm House, situated in glorious countryside at Muddles Green, near Chiddingly. Miller and Penrose came to live in this idyllic spot in 1949 and Lee’s ashes were spread there after her death in 1977. Today the house and grounds are a museum and gallery housing a collection of contemporary art, including works by Picasso, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Henry Moore and Joan Miro, all friends who came to stay and who would be given various household duties by Lee.

Upon our arrival at the barn, where visitors are initially received, we were thrilled to find Antony Penrose at the reception desk welcoming the folk who had come to visit on that day. He had time for a chat and we recalled together his visit to Melbourne and some of the features of his warm and generous talk at our ADFAS gathering.Farley Farm House is open to visitors every Sunday, from April to October. While one can wander at leisure through the working farm and the gardens, the latter boasting many sculptures and stunning views of the South Downs, our access to the house, in which photographs are prohibited, was via a guided tour, taken by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable local guide.

The house is largely as it was when the family lived there and displays numerous works by many of the celebrated visitors. The kitchen was clearly a key working space, as Lee enjoyed a reputation as a gourmet cook. One of the tiles behind the stove has been painted by Picasso, who is said to have peeled vegetables a s one o f h i sassigned tasks. A sitting room featured a large fireplace, the broad surrounds of which were painted in striking surrealist style by Roland Penrose. Other rooms were decorated and furnished with an eye to comfort and r e l axa t i on , r e t a in ing agenuine ‘lived-in’ look.

Departing through the barn, which served also as a gift shop, we purchased two children’s books written by Antony, ‘The Boy Who Bit Picasso’ (It was Antony!) and ‘Miro’s Magic Animals’, a lovely collection of artwork by children, all inspired by Miro.

Under sunny skies, Farley Farm House had given us a memorable morning and we felt fulfilled as we settled down in a cosy country pub, ‘The Runt in Tun’ at Maynards Green, where we late-lunched on a ploughman’s and a pint.

Send contributions by email to: Editor: Helen Cook - hcook1947@hotmail.comwww.adfas.org.au Copyright © ADFAS Yarra Inc. 2018