Latest News

AN EVENING WITH CHRIS WADSWORTH
AN EVENING WITH CHRIS WADSWORTH 20th October 2017 In the midst of the most dismal weather we have seen for some time; hurricanes, torrential rain and apocalyptic skies in paint box colours, the Kelly exhibition has trundled on regardless and brought joy to many in these dark uncertain days. “Excellent and wonderful to see". "So beautiful, stunning works on show".  "The most absorbing exhibition I've seen for a very long time" are just some of the comments received during the first few weeks of the Percy Kelly Retrospective. Since the opening at... Read More »»
CORN FLAKES AND CALENDARS
CORN FLAKES AND CALENDARS 6th October 2017 Exactly 2 weeks  ago I was putting the final touches to the Kelly Exhibition before the opening.  It now seems a long time ago because so much is happening.  Visitor numbers are exceeding all expectations. I keep popping  into Tullie House and each time I see familiar faces (and lots of unfamiliar ones as well)  all eager to talk about Percy Kelly.  An excited woman chased me on Sunday for a signed copy of The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Drawing and laughed as she told me she’d never heard of him befo... Read More »»
THE POWER OF PERCY
THE POWER OF PERCY 25th September 2017 Walking through the shopping precinct and on past Carlisle Cathedral on Saturday I was meeting people I knew who were all heading in the same direction.  They were going to see Percy Kelly in all his glory in Line of Beauty at Tullie House  The afternoon brought close on 200 people to the gallery. People had travelled a long way: from Brittany, the south coast of England, London, Sussex, Edinburgh, Cheshire and it was a treat for me to watch them enjoying it all.  Having been in lockdown in the ... Read More »»
LINE OF BEAUTY - NEARLY THERE 22nd September 2017 It is impossible to drive through or walk around Carlisle at the moment without seeing a giant poster or banner with a beautiful Percy Kelly image on it. It makes my heart sing and brings a smile to everyone’s face. I have been locked in the beautiful gallery at Tullie House every day this week with an ever increasing team of people working hard to get it all hung to perfection. Only those directly involved have been let inside so the excitement has been building.  Tomorrow is the opening day wh... Read More »»
COUNTING THE DAYS
COUNTING THE DAYS 13th September 2017 The countdown to the Percy Kelly opening has begun - only 10 days to go.  I promised you more excitement and here it is in the shape of the first ever Percy Kelly calendar and it is gorgeous.  14 of the paintings that are in the exhibition are displayed each month plus a beautiful cover painting and an intriguing inner page.   I guess you’ll want to keep it long after 2018.  You can buy them at the exhibition or, if you can’t wait that long, on www.percykelly.co.uk/merchandise. We are sending it... Read More »»
LINE OF BEAUTY
LINE OF BEAUTY 8th September 2017 The Percy Kelly Retrospective catalogue is here. Its 108 pages are filled with lovely images tracing Kelly’s artistic development from his first found drawing at the age of 9 to the end of his life aged 74.  You will see many works here that have never been exhibited before.  They go from standard pale watercolours of West Cumbria, the Lakes and Kendal area where he worked in the Post Office as a teenager through big bold charcoal drawings to his massive panoramas of harbours and cliff tops and ... Read More »»
THE TULLIE HOUSE ETCHING
THE TULLIE HOUSE ETCHING 23rd August 2017 Preparations for the Kelly retrospective are accelerating at a pace.  The big news this week is that the etching of Newlands Church is printed, it’s here and it’s wonderful.  All I have to do now is to get the special folder organised.  Robert Adam of Graal Press has printed an edition of 75 from Kelly’s etching plate and there will be no more. The plate will be on display as part of the exhibition and cannot be used again. It is finished. I said I’d tell you the story in my last newsletter. Wel... Read More »»
BUZZ
BUZZ 6th August 2017 With just 7 weeks to go there is a real buzz building up around the Percy Kelly Retrospective which opens 23rd September.  It is all progressing according to plan and looks set to be a real knockout show. In the 4 month duration of the exhibition (it ends 28th January next year – there’s a sobering thought) there will be many special events taking place as we celebrate Kelly’s centenary year and mark the 25 year anniversary of his death. Curating an exhibition in a public gallery has been a very... Read More »»
LATEST NEWS RE THE KELLY RETROSPECTIVE.
LATEST NEWS RE THE KELLY RETROSPECTIVE. 21st June 2017 Plans for the long awaited Kelly retrospective (September 23rd 2017 – January 28th 2018) are now all coming together. There will be more than 100 paintings plus prints, letters, fabrics, photographs and artefacts as well as film. It is all very exciting – and hectic. I have had my head down over the computer for the past 2 months putting the catalogue together.  Friendships have been on hold, newsletters have not been written, birthdays have passed forgotten, phones switched off and visits kept ... Read More »»
PERFECT HARMONY - ROSEHILL REIMAGINED
PERFECT HARMONY - ROSEHILL REIMAGINED 13th April 2017 Last Monday I approached the ‘reimagining’ of Rosehill Theatre, Whitehaven with a degree of trepidation.  This beautiful gem of a place , opened in 1959, was originally imagined by Sir Nicholas Sekers, an Hungarian émigré who came to Whitehaven in 1937, opened a textile mill and spent the war making parachute silk on a government contract  He was a charismatic man – a man of vision whose interest lay in arts and culture. He was on the board of Glyndebourne and Covent Garden and had a compelling ... Read More »»