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ARTISTIC | CITY
BEAUX ARTS Aidan Quinn First opened in 1979, Beaux Arts is the longest established and most renowned commercial gallery in Bath and is the sister gallery to Beaux Arts in Maddox Street, London W1. The gallery is situated in York Street near the Roman Baths and adjacent to the Abbey, in a grade II listed Georgian building, and specialises in the very best in contemporary painting, sculpture and studio ceramics. Works by well-known artists of the 20th century, such as Elisabeth Frink, Lucie Rie and Lynn Chadwick, rub shoulders with new luminaries such as Nathan Ford, Anna Gillespie, Sarah Gillespie and Simon Allen. The gallery has a programme of eight annual exhibitions, half of which are dedicated to promoting new talent. Beaux Arts was established by Reg
and Patricia Singh when they moved to Bath from St Ives, bringing with them the work of artists they knew as friends and neighbours who were based in the Penwith peninsula, and who formed the vanguard of the British post-war art scene. These included Barabara Hepworth, Peter Lanyon, Roger Hilton and Terry Frost. Nowadays there is a new generation of talented sculptors, painters and potters making a name for themselves at Beaux Arts. Among these is the 2015 Sunday Times watercolour artist of the Year Akash Bhatt, also a previous winner of the Villiers David Prize and the BP Travel award, among many other accolades. Nathan Ford is another artist of great talent and promise, much lauded by the late Brian Sewell who compared his portraiture to the great Russian painter Ilya Repin. Ford’s most recent exhibition
OUT OF TOWN The Art Gallery, Tetbury, is a lovely contemporary art gallery in the splendid Georgian property, Spencer House, at 34 Long Street in Tetbury. It is home to ArtGallery.co.uk, one of the UK’s leading website art galleries with more than 2,000 artists and over 30,000 artworks. Aileen Mitchell, and her husband, Mike, acquired the embryonic ArtGallery.co.uk in 2008 and have built it up to the successful business it is today. Spencer House was purchased a little later, in 2010, and it became Aileen and Mike’s home, as well as a gallery. The on-line gallery is at the heart of Aileen’s business but if you visit in person you are sure of a warm reception – Aileen and her team believe that original art is for everyone and visitors are very welcome. Aileen manages the on-line and high street businesses with a small team, and personally selects 15 or so artists from the website gallery
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drew an audience from far and wide, as well as being a sell-out for the gallery. Sculptor Anthony Scott is another favourite, his beautifully rounded, tactile bronze animals inspired by gods and fighting men of Irish mythology. There is also a wealth of local talent to be seen at Beaux Arts, among them the popular Bath-based Anna Gillespie, with her indefatigable bronze figures. Painter Helen Simmonds also lives locally and her wonderful, tranquil still lifes are highly sought after. Sculptor Beth Carter, is also a firm favourite with gallery-going visitors. The gallery is a wonderful space in which to have work exhibited. The domestic features of the gallery, with its high ceilings and old fireplaces lend it a relaxed and unhurried atmosphere, where a visitor is free to be inspired by the high standard of work on view. n
whose work is exhibited in the gallery. These include: l award-winning Mariusz Kaldowski, who was the artist in residence at Regent’s Park until recently, and paints delightful landscapes. His interpretation of the colours and shapes of trees and flowers is breathtaking. l Andrew McNeile Jones, a graduate of Ruskin College, Oxford, who specialises in modern “lifestyle” works in oils and wonderfully presented. Typically, Andrew’s work will comprise a life scene in a home setting, and he captures light and shade brilliantly. His career as a film-maker is brought to bear on his paintings and there is usually a story that sits behind the image. l Gillian Luff recently turned professional and her gorgeous, dynamic abstract paintings have proved a hit with ArtGallery.co.uk customers. l Peter Mason’s stamp art combines his love of art, with his stamp collecting bug. Peter has produced artworks of many celebrities. His work has been sold by ArtGallery.co.uk far and wide, including a number to the Ripleys
A WEALTH OF TALENT: left, a portrait of Beaux Arts’ Aidan Quinn by painter Nathan Ford and right, the David Simon gallery in Bartlett Street
Believe it or Not business in the United States. Aileen is proud of the success of the business, and its membership of the Arts Council’s art scheme is testimony to its reputation – this means customers can buy with the help of interest free loans from £100 to £2,500. If you are in Tetbury, do pop in to The Art Gallery and say hello or visit: artgallery.co.uk.