Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum

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.

Rex Whistler - A Talent Cut Short

24 May — 29 September 2013 *on now

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

Explore and create together with lively, themed activities. The theme for the July event is "Buried Treasure". Suitable for 2-5 year olds. Baby play area.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

When

10-11:30am

Admission

Booking: No booking required.
Cost: The under fives are free. Normal admission charges apply to accompanying adults and older children.

Enjoy a day of Roman-themed activities: fighting gladiators, tales from Britannia and Roman arts and crafts.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

When

10am-4pm

Admission

Free

Help create a community mural, make a mask or create your own funny faces - be inspired by Rex Whistler.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

When

10am-4pm

Admission

Free

A lecture by Nikki Frater. Rex Whistler had a dazzling career as a muralist, portrait painter, illustrator, stage designer and graphic artist. Although we all know some of his works – whether it be the mural in the restaurant at Tate Britain, his funny adverts for Shell, or the beautiful illustrations for Gulliver’s Travels – he remains quite an enigmatic character. Here’s an opportunity to get to know more about this fascinating man and his work. We’ll follow his career from the highly imaginative creations in his childhood sketchbooks to his magnificent designs for ballet, theatre and film. Rex Whistler had what seemed a very glamorous life, with famous friends and patrons from actors to the aristocracy, but we’ll go ‘behind the scenes’ and get a deeper sense of the man himself, his humour, distinctive vision and creativity.

Nikki Frater is an artist and art historian who has been researching and presenting on the life and work of Rex Whistler for many years. Having returned to academia as a mature student, she is currently completing her PhD thesis on the artist at the University of Plymouth. She has presented and given papers on Rex Whistler at Tate Britain, the Rex Whistler The Triumph of Fancy exhibition in Brighton, on BBC Radio Wales, the University of St Andrew’s, the Association of Art Historians, the Courtauld Institute of Art, and at the National Trust at Plas Newydd, Anglesey where Whistler’s most important mural is located.

Suitable for

When

6-7:30pm

Admission

Booking: Booking required. Please contact the museum.
Cost: £12

A talk by Adrian Green, Director of Salisbury Museum. This lecture is in the Salisbury Museum Archaeology Lectures (SMAL) series.

Suitable for

When

7:30-8:30pm

Admission

Cost: Museum Members £2
non-Members £3.50
payable on the door

A talk by Alex Langlands, University of Winchester. This lecture is in the Salisbury Museum Archaeology Lectures (SMAL) series.

Suitable for

When

7:30-8:30pm

Admission

Cost: Museum Members £2
non-Members £3.50
payable on the door

A talk by Professor Mike Parker-Pearson, Institute of Archaeology UCL. The lecture takes place at Salisbury Museum. This lecture is in the Salisbury Museum Archaeology Lectures (SMAL) series.

Suitable for

When

7:30-8:30pm

Admission

Booking: Booking required. Please contact the museum.
Cost: £8 in advance or £10 on the night (includes light refreshments).

A talk by Martyn Barber, English Heritage. This lecture is in the Salisbury Museum Archaeology Lectures (SMAL) series.

Suitable for

When

7:30-8:30pm

Admission

Cost: Museum Members £2
non-Members £3.50
payable on the door.