What`s On - Compton Verney

March – June 2016
ART GALLERY & PARK Where art meets nature
What’s On
for
2016
Welcome
New Admission Prices and Membership
Gold 12 Months Membership
Spring 2016 is a fabulous time
for Compton Verney. Our Park
Restoration Project is in full swing,
as we harness the immense
splendours of our wonderful
landscape for engaging with history, art and
wildlife – and for just having fun.
It is, of course, ‘Capability’ Brown’s 300th
anniversary year, too, and we will be celebrating
by creating a Landscape Hub in the gallery as
well as showing what Brown actually achieved
at Compton Verney. June sees the return of our
hugely popular Park Life! Big Weekend and our
first-ever Regency Ball.
At the same time, in the galleries we will be
commemorating the 400th anniversary of
Shakespeare’s death through a unique partnership
with the Royal Shakespeare Company, in the form
of our spring exhibition Shakespeare in Art.
So please do come and join us for our most
exciting year ever!
Includes unlimited free admission to Exhibitions, Collections and Park.
Discounts and priority booking for special events. Priority restaurant booking.
Guest pass for 1 free visitor on selected days.
Silver 12 Months Membership
Includes unlimited free admission to Exhibitions, Collections and Park.
Upgrade to Gold Membership for additional benefits.
Exhibition Day Ticket
Collections & Park Annual Ticket
Includes unlimited access to the Collections, Park and selected
tours and talks all year!
Where art meets nature
Professor Steven Parissien, Director
March
Season opens Sat 19 March,
Tues – Sun and Bank Holiday Mons
Spring Exhibitions open
Includes access to the Collections, Park and selected tours and talks for
the date of ticket purchase.
Why not upgrade to the annual ticket below and come as often as you like for free!
Welcome Centre*, Park, Shop
and Café open 10.30am
Gallery open 11am – 5pm
Restaurant open 11.45am – 4.30pm
* from April
April
May
‘Capability’ Brown Tour
Sat 19
Thurs 7
Art in the Afternoon
4 May
Slow Art Day
Sat 9
‘Capability’ Brown Tour
Easter Holiday
Activities
Talk on Theatre Design
and Production
Fri 15
Museums at Night
Fri 13
Fri 20
Welcome Centre Opens
Welcome Centre and Café close
15 mins before Gallery.
Park closes 1 hour after Gallery.
Art in the Afternoon
Wed 6
£62
£27
£48
£52
Direct
Debit
Direct
Debit
Tai Chi
Sat 16
Talk on Jane Austen’s
Shakespeare
K’antu Ensemble
Sun 24
Tai Chi
£3
–
Direct
Debit
–
–
–
–
£3
–
–
–
–
Free
£52
£56
£24
£44
£48
Direct
Debit
Direct
Debit
Direct
Debit
£15
–
–
£9.50
–
£8
–
£7.25
Without
donation
–
Under 5
–
£28
Without
donation
Concession* Child 5-15
£30
£14
£3
£27.20
£12.70
£3
Without
donation
Without
donation
Without
donation
Free
£19
£8.50
£3
Free
Free
£16
£7.20
£3
£14.50
£6.50
£3
Without
donation
Without
donation
Without
donation
Free
June
Curator’s Tour and Tea Thurs 24
Sat 19 – Sun 3
Family
£58
Collections & Park Day Ticket
What’s on this spring...
Opening times
Joint
£32
£13.60
Visit the current Exhibitions, Collections and Park on the date of purchase.
Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park
Adult
Art in the Afternoon
Thurs 5
Sat 21
‘Capability’ Brown Tour
Wed 1
Thurs 2
Talk on Art in Shakespeare Fri 10
Half Term Activities
Sat 28 - Sun 5 June
Conference:
Visions of the North
Tai Chi
Fri 17
Sat 18
Spring Exhibitions close
Park Life!
Sun 19
Tues 21 - Thurs 9 July
Park Life!
Big Weekend
Sat 25 - Sat 26
Regency Ball
Sat 25
*Concessions are the over 60’s, students and the unwaged.
NE W
All change for 2016
Walks around
the park
New Welcome
Centre
The new Welcome Centre will open in April with
better ticket facilities, a shop with new and exciting
stock and a Café area for hot drinks and snacks
- perfect for those visiting the Park or Woodland
Play Area. Visit the Interpretation Space inside the
Welcome Centre to explore the history of Compton
Verney and its parkland, pick up a trail or add your
finds to out sensory wall.
The newly-reinstated walks and trails
around the park follow the original
‘Capability’ Brown paths from the 1770s.
You can now explore the new Wilderness
Area on the south side of the lake, where
you will find a wetland board walk, a
dipping platform and a bird hide. Visit
throughout the year to see new plants
grow and wildlife emerge as the reed beds
settle in. New interpretation points will
help you discover more about our Park.
NE W
‘Capability’ Brown 300
Sat 19 March – Sun 11 December
2016 marks the 300th anniversary
of the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability’
Brown, a designer who changed the
national landscape and created a style
which has shaped our image of the
quintessential English countryside.
Compton Verney is taking part in the
national celebrations. See page 11 to
see all the exciting events taking place.
Portrait of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, Richard Cosway (1742-1821)
/ Private Collection / Bridgeman Images
fo
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New website and
online booking
Our brand new website
launches on Sat 19 March.
With more opportunities
to explore and learn
about Compton Verney
and improved search and
navigation tools, it will help
you plan your day easily.
Find out more at
www.comptonverney.org.uk
4
Chapel update
Our Georgian Chapel was designed
by Brown not as a folly but for use,
which makes it doubly rare. The
Chapel will not be open to the
public until late spring but stop by
our social media sites to watch the
progress of restoration. Once open
the Chapel will host concerts, talks
and other events - it will also be
available for hire.
5
Exhibition and related events
Curator’s Tour
and Tea
Thurs 24 March, 2.30pm
A special opportunity to tour the
exhibition with Antonia Harrison,
Curator of Shakespeare in Art: Tempests,
Tyrants and Tragedy and Dr. Rosie Dias
of the University of Warwick, author
of Exhibiting Englishness: John Boydell’s
Shakespeare Gallery. Discover the main
themes in the exhibition and find out
how it was put together. Followed by
informal discussion over tea.
6
Commemorating the 400th
anniversary of Shakespeare’s
death, Shakespeare in Art offers an
exceptional opportunity for art and
theatre lovers to discover his works
through a unique series of theatrical
encounters. These include paintings,
photography, projection and a
sound score and readings by leading
Royal Shakespeare Company actors.
Uniquely for an art gallery, the
exhibition will be designed by the
RSC Director of Design,
Stephen Brimson Lewis.
Organised by Compton Verney
in association with the Royal
Shakespeare Company.
Advised by Michael Dobson,
Director of the Shakespeare Institute
and Professor of Shakespeare
Studies, University of Birmingham.
Included in exhibition, collections
and park admission.
Images left to right
Philip James de Loutherbourg, ‘The Tempest’ Act I Scene I,
the Shipwreck © Royal Shakespeare Company Collection
Ophelia’s Ghost © Kristin and Davy McGuire
George Romney, The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 1,
engraved by B Smith, 1797 © Bolton Council
Henry Fuseli, ‘Macbeth’, Act I, Scene 3, the Weird Sisters
© Royal Shakespeare Company Collection
Sat 26 March – Sun 19 June, 12 noon and 2.30pm
Discover more about our exciting celebration
of Shakespeare with this 45 minute tour.
Your guide will start by taking
you around Boydell’s Vision:
The Shakespeare Gallery in the
18th Century before introducing
you to the theatrical presentations
of Shakespeare in Art where you’ll be able to
explore the sensory mix of art and sound on
your own. Your guide will meet you at various
points to answer any questions you may have.
Places limited to 16 per tour. Sign up on the day. No advance
booking. Included in exhibition, collections and park admission.
Talks
Sat 19 March – Sun 19 June, 11am – 5pm
Shakespeare was a master of
dramatising human emotions in
their myriad forms. His plays are as
relevant to us today as they were
over 400 years ago and they remain
a vital source of inspiration to artists.
This major new exhibition focuses on
pivotal Shakespeare plays, including
The Tempest, Hamlet, Macbeth and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, all of
which have motivated artists across
the ages, from George Romney,
Henry Fuseli, DG Rossetti, John
Singer Sargent and GF Watts to
Karl Weschke, Kristin & Davy
McGuire and Tom Hunter.
Exhibitions Tour
Tickets: Adults £25, Concessions £23.50,
Gold Members £10.
Advance booking is required.
Call 01926 645 500 to book.
Includes exhibition, collections and
park admission.
Don’t miss the K’antu Ensemble play
Shakespeare inspired music. See page 13
Theatre Design and
Production
Art in Shakespeare
Fri 15 April, 3pm
Join Michael Dobson, Professor of Shakespeare
Studies and Director of the Shakespeare
Institute, University of Birmingham, as he
explores references to art and artists in
Shakespeare’s plays and how Shakespeare’s
texts have inspired the artists in the exhibition.
Stephen Brimson Lewis, Director of Design for
the RSC, will lead this talk giving a unique insight
into the process of theatre design and production
at the RSC and the design of the exhibition.
Fri 10 June, 3pm
Tickets: Adults £25, Concessions £23.50, Gold Members £10 each.
Advance booking is required. Call 01926 645 500 to book. Includes exhibition, collections and park admission.
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Compton Verney is great for groups of all sizes and types. Book in advance and you receive
discounted admission and other benefits. Call 01926 645 516 for more information.
7
Exhibition and related events
Family Trail
Sat 19 March
– Sun 20 March,
11am – 5pm
Sat 19 March – Sun 19 June, 11am – 5pm
Created in conjunction with Shakespeare in Art:
Tempests, Tyrants and Tragedy, this new exhibition
traces the history of John Boydell’s famous
Shakespeare Gallery which opened in 1789 on
London’s Pall Mall. The Shakespeare Gallery was the
first thematic public exhibition of its time and also
the first devoted to the Bard.
Using Shakespeare
Henry Fuseli, Prospero, Miranda, Caliban and Ariel, Plate 4 from
as a vehicle for
The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery 1786-89 © York Museums Trust
the development
of a national school of history painting, the print publisher
John Boydell commissioned prominent painters, sculptors and
printmakers of the day, including George Romney, Henry Fuseli
and James Northcote, to produce works depicting scenes from
all of Shakespeare’s plays.
Boydell’s Vision is the first exhibition in the UK to explore the
formation of this early blockbuster, and includes paintings and prints
by the artists commissioned by Boydell, as well as a recent digital
reconstruction of The Shakespeare Gallery as it looked in 1796. Exhibition devised with Dr Rosie Dias, University of Warwick.
The Merry Wives of Windsor,
Falstaff Disguised as Herne © Royal
Shakespeare Company Collection
8
Find out more about the exhibition on the Daily Exhibition Tour.
See page 7.
Use the family
trail to guide
you around the
exhibition.
*Free entry with valid
Shakespeare Passport
(children only).
Museums at Night
Fri 13 May, 5.30pm – 8.30pm
For one night only see our exhibitions
Shakespeare in Art and Boydell’s Vision in
the evening. Experts from The Shakespeare
Birthplace Trust will be on hand to introduce
you to the plays featured in the exhibitions.
Try our new labyrinth in the Park and make your
own finger labyrinth to take home.
Tickets: Adults £10, Concessions and 16 – 24 years
olds £8, Gold Members £6 and under-16s free.
Sketching Trolley
Talk
Faces and Feelings
Jane Austen’s Shakespeare
Sat 19 March – Sun 19 June, 11am – 5pm
Fri 20 May, 3pm
Sketch an emotion of one of the characters in
the Shakespeare exhibition. What does it tell
us about that person in the play? How does
it make
you feel?
In 1796, Jane Austen stayed just around the corner
from John Boydell’s famous Shakespeare Gallery.
Join Austen scholar Janine Barchas from the University
of Texas as she walks you through her meticulous
digital reconstruction of the gallery as Jane would
have seen it on her visit. An opportunity to discover
more about Shakespeare, the art on display and
Austen’s admiration for the Bard.
Included in
collections
and park
admission.
Tickets: Adults £25, Concessions £23.50, Gold Members £10.
Advance booking is required. Call 01926 645 500 to book.
Includes exhibition, collections and park admission.
Left: The Boydell
Shakespeare Gallery, 1804
© The Shakespeare
Birthplace Trust
Above: The Boydell
Subscriber’s medal, 1804
© The Shakespeare
Birthplace Trust
Shakespeare and the
Emotions Talk
A Midsummer Night’s Dream screening
5.30pm – 6pm
Watch a screening of the 1968 film A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, directed by Peter Hall and starring Helen Mirren,
David Warner, Diana Rigg and
Judi Dench which was filmed
entirely at Compton Verney.
Come and find out what people thought
about emotion in Shakespeare’s times,
and explore how his plays contributed
to – as well as challenged – such beliefs.
With Dr Erin Sullivan, Lecturer and Fellow
at the Shakespeare Institute, University
of Birmingham.
Places limited. Sign up on arrival.
6pm – 8pm
Places limited. Sign up on arrival.
Diana Rigg as Helena and Helen Mirren as Hermia /
Judi Dench as Titania with Paul Rogers as Bottom
Photographs by David Farrell,
© David Farrell Photography
9
Collections and Park
Tiny Tuesdays
Our Permanent Collections
•Carved sculptures and panel paintings in our
Northern European Collection
Soft play and fun games for the under-5s.
Included in collections and park admission.
Art in the Afternoon
Enjoy our six stunning permanent collections:
•Paintings and objects from Naples during the
golden age of Baroque Art
Every Tuesday during term
time, 11.30am – 3pm
Daily in the Collections:
Discovery Room, Family Area,
Family Activity Packs
•Paintings of Tudor royals from in the British
Portraits Collection
•Ancient Bronzes and pottery from China dating
from 4500 BC
•One of the UK’s largest collections of British Folk
Art objects and paintings made by everyday people
•Works created by designer and artist Enid Marx.
Our
Parkland
We are set in 120 acres of
parkland landscaped by
‘Capability’ Brown.
Wed 6 April, 4 May, 1 June,
2pm – 4pm
• Enjoy our woodland walks
During these monthly classes you
will learn new skills to help improve
your confidence and ability in
drawing. They take place in our
Collections or Park and are a great
way to socialise with friends and make new ones.
• Try out the boardwalk
Booking available in advance and on the day.
Tickets: Adults £11, Gold members £6. Call 01926 645 500
to book. Included in collections and park admission.
•Try our orienteering course
and follow a nature trail
• Stroll around the lawns
•Have a go on the pond
dipping platform
•See what animals are out
there in our bird hide
Landscape Hub
A year round display about ‘Capability’ Brown,
the man and his landscapes.
Visions of the North: Reinventing
the Germanic ‘North’ in 19th Century Art and
Visual Culture in Britain and the Low Countries
Fri 17 June
This international conference explores changing
definitions and meanings of early Germanic
art, asking how responses to it shaped ideas
of Victorian modernity and redefined
narratives of ‘national’ character and culture.
Organised by Professor Juliet Simpson, Coventry University.
For details contact [email protected]
10
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Venus and Cupid © Compton Verney
Includes collections and park admission.
Collection Tour
Daily from Sat 19 March, 3.30pm
Talk: Discovering Brown
Wed 6 April, 4 May, 1 June, 2pm
Discover the history and stories
behind the artworks in one of
our six collections.
Sarah Rutherford author of The World of Capability
Brown gives a fascinating talk on how she
discovered Brown and his world through visiting
his family places, letters, plans and design drawings
Sign up on the day. No advance
booking. Included in collections
and park admission.
Tickets: Adults £25, Concessions £23.50, Gold Members £10.
Advance booking required. Call 01926 645 500.
Includes exhibition, collections and park admission.
Early Years Forest School
‘Capability’ Brown Tour
Park in Focus
Tai Chi
Every Thursday during term time
from 7 April, 12.30pm – 2.30pm
(excluding 12 May)
First Thursday of the month, 1.30pm
Every day from Tues 21 June
to Sat 16 July, 2.30pm
On the third Saturday of
the month, 11.15am
Take a closer look at the park,
with this daily talk focusing on
the different features in our
Capability Brown Landscape.
Join Swan Tai Chi and learn the
flowing and graceful movements
of Tai Chi in our peaceful landscape.
Try our exciting and educational
activities in our Forest School site.
Great fun outdoors for the under-5s.
Join Gary Webb, Head of
Landscape, for an hour-long
walking tour about ‘Capability’
Brown - the man and
the landscape.
Drop in session. Included in collections
and park admission.
Sign up on the day. No advance booking. Included in collections and park admission.
Booking available in advance
and on the day. £6 per session.
Call 01926 645 500 to book.
11
Slow Art Day
Special events and family activities
Sat 9 April, 11am – 5pm
‘’The course of
true love never
did run smooth’’
Easter Holiday
from Sat 19 March – Sun 3 April
This international event encourages us to
slow down and take a good look at the art
on the display. Take part in our self-guided
trail around the Collections and spend five
minutes with selected pieces before trying
your hand at some drawing.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
English Country
Garden
Drop in. Included in collections and park admission.
Fri 25 – Mon 28 March, 11am – 4pm
Design your ideal garden then
bring it alive through collage or
modelling. You can take your
creation home or leave it in our
giant patchwork garden.
Sc h o
V is i t o l
s
Compton Verney is a great
place for school visits. We have
a dedicated Learning Centre and a wide
range of popular exhibition, collection and
park learning programmes available for all
key stages and higher education. Discover
our collections on page 10 and 11.
Call our Learning Team on 01926 645 529
for more information.
Forest School Thursdays
Pond dipping
and bird hide
NE W
for
2016
From Sat 19 March
Try our brand new Pond Dipping Platform
and Bird Hide in the newly cleared and
restored Wilderness Area on the south bank
of the lake. See what you can find lurking
in the watery depths and discover what is
hiding among the reeds.
Shakespeare Heart Trail
Sat 19 March – Sun 3 April, 11am – 5pm
Go on a journey around the park with this
trail based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Follow the hearts and discover the different
textures on each one. Can you find the one
which is smooth?
All Easter holiday activities included in collections and park admission.
12
Thurs 24 and 31 March,
11am – 4pm
Join us at the Forest
School and take part
in spring activities.
Meet the RSPB
Sun 3 April
Drop in and find out about birds, get some
top tips to help wildlife in your garden,
and make a ‘Bug Hotel’ to take home.
K’antu Ensemble
Sun 24 April, 2pm – 3pm
Listen to K´antu Ensemble, awardwinning multi-instrumentalists
and singers from Birmingham,
performing early music inspired
by the Shakespeare exhibition.
Their lively mix of music will
appeal to Folk, Classical and
World Music fans alike.
“Working their magic!”
Max Reinhardt, BBC Radio 3
Tickets: Adults £25, Gold
Members £12. Includes exhibition,
collection and park admission.
Advance booking is required.
Call 01926 645 500 to book.
13
Special events and family activities
May Half Term
Sat 28 May – Sun 5 June
All activities are drop in and included in collections and park admission unless otherwise stated.
Family Workshop
Screen Printing
Sat 4 June, 1pm – 4pm
Book onto this specially designed workshop
and get creative together. Find inspiration in our
collections and work as a family to develop your
own unique design. Then learn how to print it
onto a tote bag to take away.
Tickets: Adults £16, Under 15’s £11, Gold Members £9.
Advance booking required.
All materials provided.
Call 01926 645 500
to book.
Shakespeare
Outdoor Games
Sat 28 May – Sun 5 June,
11am – 5pm
Who will win the games?
Play in the Park and discover new
games such as Pinecone Skittles,
Knuckle Bones, Checkers
with a twist and
Marvellous Marbles.
Weaving Around the Willow
Sat 30 April – Mon 2 May, 11am – 4pm
Take part in the
weaving activities
around our willow
tunnels (or in
the Studio if it
turns into a wet
Bank Holiday).
Open 10.30am – 4.30pm
Breakfast 10.30am – 11.30am
Lunch from 12 noon – 3pm
Afternoon Tea 3pm – 4.30pm
The Big Picnic
Sun 5 June
Design Your Own
Theatre Set
Join us at lunch time for a giant teddy
bear’s picnic. Remember, your favourite
teddy bear has to come along and join
in as well (adults can bring their bears
too!). Pack your own picnic or enjoy
a fresh selection of picnics available
from the Café.
Sat 28 May – Fri 3 June, 11am – 2pm
Create your own mini-theatre set in
a box. Imagine, design and make a
stage, background and actors for a
Shakespearean play.
t
Don’ !
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14
Forest School Thursday. Thurs 2 June, 11am – 4pm.
Sit back, relax and enjoy the friendly waitress service
in The Lawn Restaurant. There is a delicious seasonal
menu of freshly prepared food to choose from,
including vegetarian, gluten free options and a child
friendly menu. This is the perfect place for lunch
with the family and afternoon tea with friends.
Café
Open 10.30am – 4.45pm
Serving light lunches,
snacks and treats plus hot
and cold drinks. This is a
great meeting point or pit
stop for a quick refuel.
15
Amazing events
Park Life!
Tues 21 June – Thurs 9 July
Park Life! Big Weekend
Sat 25 – Sun 26 June, 11am – 5pm
A variety of activities
celebrating our Georgian
heritage and ‘Capability’
Brown parkland, including:
Enjoy two distinct days packed with entertainment,
music and craft.
Knit and Natter
Tues 21 June – Thurs 7 July, 11am – 5pm
Saturday: Georgian
Heritage and Elegance
Sunday: Practicality
and Rural Life
Georgian Re-enactors • Historical
Gardener • Ice Cream Making •
Avon Floral Art Displays • Chapel
Concert • Talks with Gary Webb /
Lord Willoughby de Brooke /
Veronika Vikova • Side Saddle
Displays • Scything Demonstrations
• Wild Man of the Woods
Georgian Re-enactors •
Stonemason • Thatcher •
Weaver • Brick Maker • Pole
Laithe Turner • Sheep Shearing
• Dog Duck trials • Stratford
Spinners Weavers and Dyers
• Felt making • Ice Cream
Making • Jacob Sheep
To celebrate World Knitting Day you
can join in with our ongoing
drop-in knitting activity.
Add to our quilts which
will be on display
in the Park later
in the year.
Georgian Games
Tues 21 June – Thurs 7 July, 11am – 5pm
Try out our Georgian games in the
Park such Bilbocatch, Quoits, Lawn
Bowls and Ringing the Bull.
Concert: The Rocco Singers
present 18th Century Pop:
Handel, Mozart, Haydn
Tues 21 June, 2.30pm
To celebrate ‘Capability’ Browns
tercentenary the acclaimed Rocco Singers
present a selection of popular music of
his day, in the newly restored chapel.
Tickets: Adults £25, Concessions £23.50,
Gold Members £10. Advance booking required.
Please call 01926 645 500 to book.
The Handlebards
Wed 22 June, 6.30pm – 9pm
Painting Leaves from the
Landscape
Wed 29 June, 10am – 4pm
This one-day workshop will take you
through all the steps necessary to
produce accurate and life-like paintings
of leaves, starting with observation
and drawing, progressing to botanical
techniques for watercolour.
Tickets: Adults £65, £50 Gold members.
Advance booking is required. To book call
01926 645 500. No previous experience is
necessary. All materials will be provided.
The Regency Ball
Sat 25 June, 7pm
As part of the celebrations
for Compton Verney’s Park Life!
Weekend next summer, our
Georgian house and park will be
transformed into the venue for a
fabulous costumed Regency Ball.
The evening will include drinks
and a sumptuous buffet in our
beautiful Robert Adam-designed
Hall and period dancing directed
by dance caller Dr Garth Notley,
with music by the Birmingham
Baroque Collective. Alongside the
dancing there will be a whole host
of amusements including talks,
tastings and Regency gaming.
Price £90 per person (£85 for bookings before 1 May) call 01926 645 500 to book.
‘Uproariously funny’ Sir Ian McKellen
The Handlebards
have cycled
over 5000 miles
performing
Shakespeare, with
only the props
they can carry on
their bikes. This
unique brand
of extremely energetic and charmingly
chaotic theatre will be performing
Much Ado About Nothing in our Parkland.
Tickets: Adults £15, Concessions £12, Family
£50 (2 Adults and 2 Children). Bring your own
seats and blankets. Advance booking required
through www.peculius.com/handlebards.html
16
Adult Workshop
Talk and book signing
Lancelot Brown and the
Capability Men
Wed 6 July, 2pm
This book by David Brown and Tom
Williamson investigates ‘Capability’
Browns business and draws comparisons
with similar figures such as the Adam
brothers, Thomas Chippingdale and
Josiah Wedgewood.
Tickets: Adults £19.50, Concessions
£18.50 and Gold Members £10.
Advance booking is required.
To book call 01926 645 500.
Compton Verney Festival
Sat 2 and Sun 3 July
After the roaring success of our
first Festival last year we are
pleased to announce we will be
having another festival in 2016!
Join us for fairground rides,
fabulous food and, of course,
some excellent music, in the
setting of our lovely park. Early
Bird tickets are on sale for a
limited time from March.
LIVE MUSIC • GREAT FOOD AND DRINK • ENTERTAINMENT • CAMPING
Compton Verney
Warwickshire
CV35 9HZ
T: 01926 645 521
[email protected]
www.comptonverney.org.uk
Registered charity no. 1032478
@CV_Hire
Compton Verney Venue
Compton Verney Venue
Compton Verney Venue Hire
Postcard-V5.indd 1
06/09/2015 12:34:11
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and keep up to date with
everything going on here
at Compton Verney.
Visit www.comptonverney.org.uk for more information.
17
Summer and autumn exhibitions
Britain
in the Fifties:
Watercolours from the
Royal Collection
Sat 15 October – Sun 11 December
In August 1855 Queen Victoria made a
momentous state visit to Paris, the first
British monarch to visit the French capital
in over 400 years.
Design and Aspiration
Sat 9 July – Sun 2 October
Weddings
Compton Verney is the perfect
place for a wedding. With a
tranquil lake, sculpted parkland
and a Georgian mansion house
re-designed as an art gallery,
this is a venue that will wow
your guests. Make your day
truly unique and say ‘I do’ in
the art galleries, the historic
Adam Hall or under the portico.
Royal Collection. Half of the works
have never been exhibited before.
Showing scenes with cheering
crowds, elegant guests at spectacular
balls and exquisite Second Empire
interiors, the watercolours capture
Paris at a remarkable historic moment.
They encompass a surprising turn
in Anglo-French relations, a great
personal friendship between the
Queen and Emperor and a city
undergoing transformative change.
Explore the history of British design in
the 1950s examining the crucial role
of design in shaping the Brave New
World of the post-war period and the
effect on everyday life of the growing
wealth and expanding choices of
`Never Had It So Good’ generation.
Forty-four watercolours which depict the
Queen’s enthusiastic reception in Paris will
be displayed at Compton Verney, generously
loaned by Her Majesty The Queen from the
Tracing the design experience of a
notional, average British couple from
the end of austerity and rationing
to the economic boom of the end
of the decade, we discover how
increasing choice, availability and
affordability became inextricably
linked to high artistic standards in
almost all areas of manufacture from Lucienne Day’s fabrics and
Robert Welch’s cutlery to Kenwood’s
Chef and Alec Issigonis’ Mini.
Faces of BBC Comedy
Picasso on Paper
Sat 9 July – Sun 2 October
Sat 15 October – Sun 11 December
From Tony Hancock to Victoria Wood the
popular stars of BBC Comedy have made
the nation laugh for decades. This unique
photographic display of 90 framed
photographs peeps behind the comic
mask to show us some of our greatest
comedians at work behind the scenes.
Ranging from the 1950s up to the present
day, these photographs have been selected
from the BBC’s iconic photo archive.
World renowned for his painting,
Pablo Picasso was also one of
the 20th century’s most inventive
and prolific printmakers.
The exhibition accordingly explores
themes ranging from 1950s textiles
18
Queen Victoria
in Paris:
and ceramics and timesaving kitchen appliances
to the motor car, the
changing High Street,
the role of British film,
the seaside holiday and
the growing influence
of television.
For more info please contact us on:
T: 01926 645 521.
Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot and Adrien Dauzats, The entry of Queen Victoria
into Paris Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II © Royal Collection Trust 2016
His desire to experiment with
new styles, forms and materials
is wonderfully demonstrated
in this landmark touring
exhibition of more than
70 works from Düsseldorf’s
Museum Kunstpalast.
Business Memberships and Partnership Opportunities
Become a Corporate Member and promote your brand, products or
services to our 70,000 annual visitors, whilst providing invaluable support
for our exhibition, learning and events programmes. Enjoy a wide range
of benefits such as tickets, private view invitations and discounted room
hire. Sponsorship and advertising opportunities begin from just £300
and we are happy to discuss and tailor specific opportunities to your
organisation. For details please call Deborah Watson on 01926 645 562.
Corporate Members:
Pablo Picasso, Poèmes et Lithographies, 1954
© Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Horst
Kolberg, ARTOTHEK © Succession Picasso
19
#ComptonVerney
M
14
B4
A429
6
Available throughout the season from
the car park to the gallery. Subject to
volunteer availability.
Stratfordupon-Avon
00
W
ay
sse
Fo
A range of programmes are available
for schools and colleges. These are £6
for students, accompanying adults free.
Call 01926 645 529 for information
and to book.
Dogs
Assistance dogs only.
Registered charity no. 1032478
VISITOR
11 Oxford
& London
How to find us
Season opens Sat 19 March,
Tues - Sun and Bank Holiday Mons
Postcode CV35 9HZ. We are
situated 9 miles south-east
of Stratford-upon-Avon, on the
B4086 between Wellesbourne
and Kineton. From the M40
take junction 12 and follow
the brown signs.
Gallery: Open 11am – 5pm
ATTRACTION
2
Banbury
Opening times
Welcome Centre and Park:
Open 10.30am
QUALITY ASSURED
B40
86
A42
40
Kineton
Compton Verney
Warwickshire
CV35 9HZ
M
Educational visits
T. 01926 645 500
[email protected]
www.comptonverney.org.uk
12
A42
Wellesbourne
B4086
3
B4
Shuttle bus
13
08
A4
A46
Compton Verney
Warwickshire
CV35 9HZ
Southam
25
15
B41
All our floors are accessible by wheelchair.
There are also specially adapted toilets,
large print guides and wheelchairs.
Hearing loops are available at the
Ticket Desk, Shop and Restaurant.
Assistance dogs are welcome. For more
information call 01926 645 500, email
[email protected] or ask
on arrival.
Leamington Spa
A4
Birmingham
5
Parking is free. Spaces are available
at the gallery for drivers who are blue
badge holders. Also visitors can be
dropped off in front of the gallery.
45
By rail: The nearest stations are
Leamington Spa, Banbury or Stratfordupon-Avon, each approximately
a 25 minute taxi ride away.
By bus: For details call 0871 200 2233.
Coventry
Warwick
7
Parking
40
Public transport links
Access
A46
Visitor information
(Welcome Centre and Café close
15 mins before gallery, Park closes
1 hour after gallery).
Sign up to e-bulletins
www.comptonverney.org.uk