feature highest standard to offer a luxury hotel that matched in all aspects of its hospitality the high standard of haute cuisine for which Michael is known. Wendy Adams, who’d known Michael from his time at Gidleigh Park and seen the talent and drive he possessed, invested in his new venture and became a director of Lympstone Manor. Wendy had always had an interest in art, with her own personal collection of paintings and sculpture growing over the years. Living on the border of Devon and Cornwall, both rich in artistic talent, she has met and established friendships with many artists, watching them at work in their studios, learning from each their influences and creative process and following their progress. Getting to know the artists showed Wendy how hard it is for a lot of them to break into the commercial art world. It was this genuine regard for professional artists and her love of art that led Wendy to want to establish her own art company, but an art company with a difference. On becoming a director and discovering that Michael shared her interest in the arts, so the concept of Fine Art @ was born. Instead of displaying art in the conventional setting of a gallery, to which interested buyers have to make an active decision to enter and view the work, she took a more passive approach. This refined hotel would display the art on its wall, or sculptures in its gardens, and guests would view them while staying at the hotel. The viewing would therefore be a natural, not intimidating, experience that could be done in the guest’s own time, as part of the overall hotel experience. Should any guest be interested in a work, they can enquire discreetly about it without having to talk to anyone. Each individual piece is labelled clearly with title, artist, price, dimensions, medium and a QR code. This code can be scanned with any smartphone, instantly
MANOR | Spring 2019
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