Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum

Rex Whistler - A Talent Cut Short

24 May — 29 September 2013

This exhibition is the latest in Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum’s series of shows exploring the work of significant British artists with links to the locality, starting with Constable & Salisbury in 2011, and Circles & Tangents: Art in the Shadow of Cranborne Chase in 2012.

Rex Whistler (1905-44) leased the handsome Walton Canonry in Salisbury Cathedral Close, sometimes known as Whistler House, a few doors from Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum. He spent much time in the locality, at nearby Wilton House, whose architectural features and Palladian Bridge inspired – and appear in – much of his work; with his close friend, Edith Olivier, at Daye House, which he painted many times, on the Wilton Estate; at Mottisfont Abbey, near Romsey, where he created magnificent trompe l’oeil designs for Maud Russell’s drawing room, now called the Whistler Room; at Ashcombe, which he visited on many occasions and, together with Oliver Messel and Lord Berners, decorated Cecil Beaton’s bedroom; on Salisbury Plain, when training with the Welsh Guards, and in the village of Codford where he was stationed.

The magnificent, rotating Rex Prism, engraved by Sir Laurence Whistler with scenes in and around the cathedral, is a memorial to his brother Rex. It is displayed in the Morning Chapel of Salisbury Cathedral, which is opposite the Museum.

Rex Whistler was a prominent and prolific twentieth century artist on the British scene between the wars. A prodigious worker, he produced enchanting and important mural cycles, stage designs and book illustrations, as well as portraits, designs for the decorative arts and commercial material. At the outbreak of war, he joined the Welsh Guards, training as a tank commander on Salisbury Plain, 1941-4, where he not only painted and sketched many of his fellow soldiers, but also transformed the interior of the officers’ mess - painting the inside as a Bedouin tent. Tragically, he was killed on his first day of action in Normandy, in 1944.

This exhibition, which embraces Whistler’s whole career and artistic development, has a special emphasis on his Wiltshire connections. The show includes around 75 items that are key to his oeuvre and demonstrate his importance as a painter. There are loans from important collections including the Regimental Headquarters of the Welsh Guards, Wilton House, the Whistler Archive and a number of private collections, as well as oil paintings owned by Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum, bequeathed by Edith Olivier’s family. A number of items are exhibited in public for the first time.

Where

Salisbury Museum

Admission

Not yet finalised.

Website

http://www.salisburymuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/exhibitions/303-rex-whistler-a-talent-cut-short.html

During 2012 over 40 schools from South Wiltshire, North Dorset and West Hampshire have been helped to explore the history of their school and surroundings. What’s Under Your School? is a project funded by Dr Alistair Somerville Ford, through CBA Wessex and delivered by archaeologist, writer and broadcaster Julian Richards and Claire Ryley, formerly the education officer at Fishbourne Roman Palace.

The idea is to help schools and the communities that they are part of to investigate the past in a fun way, using maps and documents, aerial photographs, simple observation and even, in some cases, geophysical survey and excavation. The emphasis is on helping schools to bring their local history to life, teaching skills rather than just providing information.

Each school project has been different, tailored to the location, the individual school curriculum and the curiosity of the staff and children. The exhibition brings together the results of their findings, from 7000 year old flint tools to the site of a Victorian school and showcases the skills that have been acquired, from prehistoric pottery making to Roman cookery.

Suitable for

• Any age

Where

Salisbury Museum

Admission

Normal admission charges apply.