Tag Archives: Artist

Singing in the Wilderness

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Swinging in the wilderness poster

 
Where: St John’s C of E Primary School, High Road, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5RX

When: Saturday 29 September

Time: 3pm – 7pm

Price: Free (some activities may be charged for; all money raised will go to the school)

Everyone welcome

 

 

 

Epping Forest District Council’s Museums, Heritage and Culture team and St John’s C of E Primary School, Buckhurst Hill are hosting an event to celebrate the life and work of local artist Walter Spradbery.

IMG_1022 Open Air SocialIn 1938, Spradbery and his wife Dorothy held an ‘Open Air Social’ with stalls, sideshows, donkey rides, traditional dances and art displays. This will be recreation of that event on its 80th anniversary.

There will be a specially choreographed dance performance by Flux Dance Collective who has been working with pupils from the school to create a piece inspired by Spradbery. A historical interpreter will play the role of Walter Spradbery, leading tours into the wilderness to visit the site where the house once stood. The day will end with a fun performance by Impropera, the world’s only improvised Opera Company. Buckhurst Hill Community Association will have an art display, and there will be a small exhibition about Walter Spradbery.

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The Wilderness

 

He lived next door to St John’s C of E Primary School, in a house known as ‘The Wilderness’ from 1929 – 1969. The site is now part of Epping Forest and a stone plaque marks where the house once stood.

 

 

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This event is part of a programme of activities for the ‘Walter Spradbery, Artist in War and Peace’ exhibition, at Epping Forest District Museum, Waltham Abbey; on display from Saturday 21 July to Saturday 22 December 2018. For more information visit http://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/museum

 
Walter Spradbery
Spradbery is best known for his poster designs for London Transport, one of which was recently used on the new signboards marking the boundaries of Epping Forest. He and his wife, opera singer Dorothy D’Orsay, also held many musical and opera performances in the gardens of ‘The Wilderness’ for the local community.
Spradbery was also a committed pacifist. He served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War, receiving the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery in rescuing injured comrades under intense enemy fire.

Artwork of the Month – Octavius Dixie Deacon

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Octavius Dixie Deacon, a Loughton Artist



Goldings Hill, Loughton

Octavius Dixie Deacon was born at Bow in 1836. His father owned Samuel Deacon and Co., an advertising agency which Octavius described as the oldest in England, established in 1812.

We know very little of his early life; however, with the media contacts of the family business they must have been kept up to date with the latest events and the latest celebrities.  

Octavius Dixie Deacon married Louisa Anna Horncastle in 1868.  The young couple lived in Stoke Newington where their first child, Elgiva, was born, moving to Grove Street in South Hackney and then to Goldings Park Road (now Goldings Road), Loughton in 1874.  Their house was the first on the south side of the road and had a 200 ft long garden.  They lived there until 1888.


By 1888, the Deacon family had moved to the top of Upper Park Road.  Their new house, Kettering, had been largely designed by Octavius himself, although the project was managed by Edmond Egan, the Loughton based architect who designed the Lopping Hall.  This house was demolished in the 1980’s.

In 1998, Epping Forest District Museum acquired a collection of letters, books and sketchbooks connected with Octavius Dixie Deacon and some of his large family of nine children.

The drawings and pictures in this collection show life in a small rural village in Victorian times.  From examining Deacons’s sketches, one gets an image of a caring and loving family.  Octavius often recorded his children’s lives in his drawings and also produced sketches for their entertainment.

Octavius Deacon died on December 13, 1916.


Artwork of the Month – Lucien Pissarro

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Lucien Pissarro The Garden Epping oil on canvas 1893-1897

The Garden in Epping
Oil on Canvas
1893 – 1897

Lucien Pissarro was born in Paris in 1863, the son of Camille Pissarro and Julie Velay. Lucien was a skilled painter, engraver and lithographer. He was taught by his father, Camille, who was a celebrated Impressionist.

As an artist Lucien’s work combined elements of both the French and English traditions and he was a founder member of the Camden group of artists. His paintings record the landscape of Dorset, Westmoreland, Essex, Surrey and Sussex. Lucien’s works are reflected in a number of public collections including the Tate and the Ashmolean.

Lucien visited England in 1870 as a child, worked there briefly in 1883–4, and settled permanently in the country in 1890 (although he often made trips to France), becoming a British citizen in 1916.
Between 1893 and 1897 Lucien and his family lived at 44 Hemnall Street, Epping which he named ‘Ergany House’. This house still stands today and is marked with a blue plaque commemorating Lucien’s occupancy.
During his first stay in Epping between 1893 – 1895 Lucien produced some 23 oil paintings of Epping as well as a number of watercolours. These capture a variety of scenes in the vicinity of Hemnall Street and also studies of local landmarks such as Coopersale Hall.

He continued to paint right up until his death in 1944.

Festive Art in Epping Forest District Museum’s Collection

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In the spirit of the season we thought we would share some seasonal art work from the Museum’s collection with you.
As some of you might be aware the museum houses a great collection of art from a variety of important and renowned artists that have strong connections with the district.
Here is a little more information about them and some of their festive and season inspired art.

Walter Spradbery
Walter Spradbery was a renowned commercial artist, who lived in Buckhurst Hill. He was best known for his travel posters which were commissioned by London Transport and a number of rail companies which later became British Rail. His early work was influenced by William Morris and the New Art movement which can be seen in his exact attention to detail.

Walter Spradbery card designs
‘Winter’ by Walter Spradbery

Haydn Mackey
Haydn Mackey was also a commercial artist and a close friend of Spradbery. The museum’s collection house prints, drawings, watercolours and oil paintings by Mackey showing his great skill. He has an international reputation as a painter, illustrator and war artist.

Mackey lived in the Vicarage, Waltham Abbey for a while during the 1930’s.

Both Spradbery and Mackey served together in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War and both had close links to Walthamstow School of Art & Buckhurst Hill Community association.

Calendar by Mackey showing Waltham Abbey Church and the Vicarage in winter
Mackey card proofs 1934-1935
Mackey family card interior 1936-1937

Octavius Dixie Deacon
Octavius Dixie Deacon was a publisher, businessman and artist who lived in Loughton for a large part of his life. His work shows rural village life in the Victorian period. The museum houses letters, books and sketchbooks connected to Deacon.

Deacon Christmas card design

Deacon Christmas card design