Blackwell unveils exciting new discovery (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Blackwell unveils exciting new discovery

3:00pm Sunday 31st January 2010

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TREASURES from one of the finest periods of design have helped create a dream exhibition.

Aspects of the Arts and Crafts Movement is the first show to grace the walls of Blackwell and is part of several new Arts and Crafts displays due under the its roof this year.

The exquisite exhibitions - each focussing on a particular designer, craftsman or process - are a prelude to celebrating Lakeland Arts Trust’s tenth anniversary since it opened the renovated Bowness Arts and Crafts House.

The trust bought Blackwell in February 1999 and with money from many private donors, as well as charitable trusts and foundations, and a £2.25 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, proceeded with Blackwell’s full restoration, opening in 2001.

The exhibitions will include new loans in the period rooms and a private collection of ceramics, textiles and silver used to furnish Barn Close, an Arts and Crafts house, near Carlisle, up until 1940s, and discovered by Blackwell curator Kathy Haslam when she started to research material for the exhibitions and went on an unknown trail of adventure.

Last year she was contacted by the grandson of a Carlisle architect and designer, who he explained that he still had many items from the house his grandfather, Edwin Scott-Nicholson, had commissioned in 1902.

"We spoke for a while and then he asked if I would be interested in borrowing any of them for display at Blackwell.

“It just sounded too good to be true so I accepted an invitation to visit.

“As soon as I arrived at their house, I realised that his description was something of an understatement.

“The extent of the legacy of the family’s former home was much richer than I had anticipated.

Kathy explained that the collection included objects by Morris and Company, furniture by Ernest Gimson, three large scale vases by William de Morgan, silver by John Paul Cooper and both jewellery and silver by Omar Ramsden.

“It was obvious that Edwin Scott-Nicholson and his wife Maud were uncompromising in their pursuit of beautiful objects."

But what made these finds all the more exciting from Kathy's point of view is that however appealing they are in themselves they are enriched by the context they have been discovered in: "The supporting material which came to light when I made a return visit to the family made the prospect of exhibiting them such an exciting one and which lent a coherence to the planned display.

"This is, of course, is the stuff that curators’ dreams are made of, and making the selection has been a challenge.

“It is also such a pleasure working with families who are so open and willing to shed light on the stories as you, the curator, want to tell with their objects.”

Blackwell is often described as the jewel in the region’s crown.

The exhibition continues until March 14.

For further information telephone 015394-46139.

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