Edward Bird (1772-1819)

The Reading of the Will Concluded (1811)

Oil on panel

An old bachelor has died and his heir is the dignified naval officer, shown with his family. His portrait as a young midshipman with the deceased gentleman hangs above him to show their early affection. The varied emotions from those who have not benefited from the will are contrasted with those who have. When the painting was shown at the Royal Academy in London it had to be roped off to protect it from crowds, who were intent on reading every detail.

Art Shed at M Shed group

The Will of the Earth (Responding to The Reading of the Will Concluded by Edward Bird)

Pastel and mixed media

Created after seeing the wildlife photography exhibition at M Shed. At a time when extreme weather filled the news with fires wrecking Australia. The title of the original painting took on a more contemporary slant. There is a threat but there is hope for new opportunities. The frame reflects this. It’s from an ancient Ecuadorian design called Serpent Passing Through the Earth.

Edward Bird 1772-1819

Expounding the Scriptures (about 1819)

Oil on panel

Bird usually sketched and painted from the life and portraits of his wide circle of friends and acquaintances appear in his paintings. We know that this elderly man was Robert Underwood, who worked for a Bristol butcher, and he was perhaps painted in the spring as he has a snowdrop in his button-hole. The girl on the left may be Martha, the artist’s daughter. It is said that this is the last picture Bird painted; he died in November 1819 after a long decline.

Mary Rutt

Difference of Opinion (Responding to Expounding the Scriptures Edward Bird 1819)

Acrylic on canvas

“Although this was an older aged picture, the opinions of the younger generations have not changed. They still argue with the standards of the older generation. I have put a mobile phone in the young girl’s hand. She would rather use her phone than read The Bible.”

Edward Villiers Rippingille (about 1789-1859)

Portrait of Edward Bird, R.A.                                                                  

The artist is seen working at his easel at his home in Portland Street, Kingsdown. His elegant dress is protected only by a cloth draped over his knee; his hair is fashionably tousled. The curtain across the bottom half of the window provided the top light preferred by artists but also allowed his friend Rippingille to emphasise his head against its dark cloth. Rippingille had recently settled in Bristol and probably worked with Bird, whose genre paintings he much admired.

Miss Roots

Portrait of a Rootsman AKA Desmond Murray (Responding to Portrait of Edward Bird, by Edward Villiers Rippingille)

Parcel paper, pencil and acrylic.

“Dezi was the most inspirational, unique and free-spirited person. The first time he went to Kenya was a one way ticket with only £60 and suitcase of reggae music. He stayed a year and returned fluent in Kiswahili with new friends and contacts kept for most of his life. Every January his ‘fans’, friends and family now remember him. It is now known as ‘International Dezi Roots Day’.”

Edward Bird (1772 – 1819)

Princes Caraboo  (1871)

Oil on panel

‘Princess Caraboo of Javasu’ was an imposter who both captivated and fooled Bristol and Bath society for ten weeks in 1817. She spoke an unknown language, actually gibberish, and indicated by signs that she was a person of rank from the East Indies (modern Indonesia) who had been captured by pirates. Her fanciful clothes are just as she described them to the family with whom she stayed. Before her final sitting with Bird for this portrait she was exposed as the eccentric daughter of a Devonshire cobbler.

Due to the nature of this project,
not all of our artists were able to
complete their work.
This space can act as symbol
of all the wonderful art that
has been made across our
communities but didn’t quite
reach the finish line.

Edward Bird (1772-1819)

The Embarkation of Louis XVIII at Dover                                                            about 1816

Oil on panel

This ambitious painting of a recent event was made after Bird had achieved national success. In 1813 he was appointed Historical Painter to Princess Charlotte, the Prince Regent’s daughter, and in 1815 he became a Royal Academician. Bird had permission to sail on the royal yacht when Louis XVIII returned to France as king, after Napoleon had been exiled to Elba, and he made many portrait sketches from life. He was bitterly disappointed when the Prince Regent (in the centre, in white trousers) refused to buy the painting.

Wednesday Art Ease, Knowle West

(Chris Shoare, Amie Horwood, Jan Britt, Amy Pickford, Zoe aka Zoebuggy, John Dicker, Maria j Hueston_

The Last Bus (Responding to The Embarkation of Louis XVIII at Dove, by Edward Bird)

Collage, mixed media on paper.

“This is our 21st century take on Edward Bird’s Embarkation, set in a bar down town. We are celebrating, our self-portraits have a modern twist, in dress, drinks and shopping.  Outside, people fight and scrabble for the last bus. The wallpaper is a nod to King Louis the XVIII.”

Edward Villiers Rippingille (about 1789-1859)

The Recruiting Party (1822)

Oil on panel

This fine narrative painting is set in a village, said to be Long Ashton, where a dashing recruiting sergeant tempts gullible young men to enlist in the army. He promises glory, rank and wealth, but the true outcome for the ordinary soldier is shown on the far right where a forlorn veteran approaches a cottage for alms. Rippingille’s criticism of the army is biting and the various emotions of his characters show the divisive effects of the recruiting party on a village community.

The Village – Ye Olde Graphic Novel (Responding to The Recruiting Party by Edward Villiers Rippingille)

Acrylic paint

“The Village is a tale of life interrupted, of loss, pain and the inevitability of change. A story of wellbeing and optimism in the face of adversity sharing themes with the painting it is inspired by.

The Village uses a selected a hypnotherapy story, part of a visualisation aid used to reduce anxiety and stress. The frame’s constructed with words denoting the many facets of illness, pain, trauma and wellbeing.”

Francis Danby  (1793-1861)

View of the Avon Gorge  (1822)

Oil on panel

This is one of the finest of Danby’s Bristol paintings and was painted as a companion to ‘A Scene in Leigh Woods’, which shows a couple relaxing in a glade. Here, we look down the Avon Gorge with the entrance of Nightingale Valley, leading to Leigh Woods, on the left. It would have been an ambitious undertaking for Danby to paint a pair of paintings and it is likely it was a commission. The patron is not known, but it might have been Richard Bright, an eminent merchant, who lived nearby at Ham Green.

Anonymous

Untitled (Responding View of The Avon Gorge by Francis Danby)

“In contrast to Francis Danby’s depiction of a peaceful summer’s day, a raging storm brings misery in its wake.”

Francis Danby (1793-1861)

Clifton Rocks from Rownham Fields (about 1821)

Oil on panel

This is one of Danby’s finest paintings from his years in Bristol. His main interest was on the contrast between the cool shade and lush wasteland weeds together with a sunlit patch where ill-shod boys loll in the heat. The dramatic Avon Gorge is relegated to the background, but Danby was careful to include the detail which makes it unmistakable. The Old Hotwell House is on the right, and the foliage of the oak tree is carefully arranged to reveal the ruined windmill on the summit of St Vincent’s Rocks and the old lime-kiln at their foot.

Brian Harding and Maria Hueston

Monkey Business (Responding to Clifton Rocks from Rownham Fields by Francis Danby)

Acrylic, collage, gold leaf on board

“We were inspired by Francis Danby’s painting, it showed a very peaceful scene, but because the original was dark and dull we wanted to brighten it up with some bright colours and humour. Hence, our Monkeys sitting having a picnic in replace of the previous humans.”

Francis Danby 1793-1861

A Scene in Leigh Woods  (1822)

Oil on panel
Leigh Woods was the favourite haunt of the Bristol School artists; here two sketchers relax in a glade. The woods are on the south side of the Avon Gorge and were very secluded at that time. To reach them, visitors crossed the river at Rownham Ferry, then walked along the tow path and ascended Nightingale Valley. The Clifton Suspension Bridge did not yet exist. Danby boldly painted this work almost exclusively in green, in all its rich variety, with few other colours.

Jean Osley

Not Seen in Leigh Woods (Responding to A scene in Leigh Woods by Francis Danby)

Acrylic on board

“I love painting trees and the landscape of trees, without people.

I think it is more peaceful that way.”

James Baker Pyne 1800-1870

View of the Avon from Durdham Down (1829)

Oil on canvas

An artist, supporting his work with a shoulder strap, paints the evening light. A companion holds his materials and it is uncertain whether they are oil paints or watercolours. This is one of the most evocative of Pyne’s Bristol paintings, not merely a view but with a Romantic quality expressing man’s response to the beauty of nature. Pyne added the trees to improve his composition; at that time the downs were heavily grazed by sheep and were much more open than they are today.

Art Shed at M Shed group

Where Dur you come from?: A disrespectful modern version of an iconic view (Responding to View of the Avon from Durdham Down by James Baker)

Fabric, paint, cat hair

“Our picture reflects the ever-changing nature of life on the Downs. It shows it’s evolution from prehistoric wilderness to 21^st Century concert venue. Grace Jones rides a woolly mammoth and modern Bristolians relax, while the Avon flows ever onwards. The Avon was once the lifeblood of Bristol’s industrial past. Now it’s a space for peace and reflection.”

Rolinda Sharples 1793-1838

The Stoppage of the Bank (1825-1831)

Oil on panel

The stock market crashed in 1825 and many banks failed soon after. Rolinda Sharples set her narrative in a fictional ‘Guinea Street’ although several of the buildings here are based on ones in Bristol, particularly in Corn Street. Sharples chose the subject because it was ‘well suited to a great variety of expression’ in the many people who had rushed to the bank demanding their capital, and were now financially ruined. She exhibited the painting in London in 1827 but later worked on it again.

Dawn E

The Bank Crash to Discontent of the Times (Responding to The Stoppage of the Bank by Rolinda Sharples)

Photo montage

“A traditional Bristolian street with a fictional protest of discontent.The original painting reminded me that there remain parallels with the here and now. There may be more technology, but wealth is still for the few. People remain unheard and unseen. Messages of discontent appear in a kaleidoscope of colour. Images by a Bristol artist show ‘The Man’ not listening to the problems of the day.”

Samuel Colman (1793-1861)

A Romantic Landscape with the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba  (1822)

This exotic Old Testament scene shows the Queen of Sheba arriving in Jerusalem to visit King Solomon. She came ‘with a very great train, with camels that bear spices, and very much gold, and precious stones’ and is shown here in the distance, being carried through an arch. The Bristol School artist Samuel Colman, while retaining the naïvity of a self-trained artist, produced remarkable romantic, apocalyptic and genre scenes with minute detail and clear colour.

Indie Arts Knowle West (Diane Wall, Ann Holden, Nicola Boniface, Pat Williams, Angela Reynalds, Jean Baldacchino, Diane Flowers, Valerie Knight, Bill Grayer, John Parsons & Elaine Parsons)

Fantasy Land (Responding to A Romantic Landscape with the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba by Samuel Colman)

Acrylic and collage on board

“We loved the romantic fantasy of the original painting.  We wanted to create our own Fantasy world. Our Star represents a new beginning for our world. A happy place, where all creatures and humans are as one. The colours of the mountains and scenery represent our inner-self, full of life and colour. The lake and fishes show how we can live together in harmony with different species. John designed the frame, being creative with bits of wood.”

Rolinda Sharples ( 1793-1838)

The Artist and her Mother (1816)

Oil on panel

The artist is supporting her right hand as she paints with a mahlstick (literally ‘paint stick’ from the Dutch ‘maalstok’). It has a leather ball on the end to prevent damage to the painting. Sharples had been painting in oils since the age of 18 and also drew pastel portraits. Her mother, Ellen, had advanced views on the education of her daughter and encouraged her career as an artist; their close relationship is evident here.

Heather Fry    

Modern Youth (Responding to The Artist and her Mother by Rolinda Sharples)

Prints, paint, recycled materials

“I felt inspired by Sharples’ self-portrait with her mother. As a mother of three young adults, I wanted to highlight rebellious ‘youth’ from the past era to the present day. Powdery eye stare, they linger their presence in Mothers’ words of encouragement: “it’s in your best interests” to follow the family tradition. Freedom beckons. It calls me from my suppressed regimental expression. I will break free to become, ‘Just me’.”

Rolinda Sharples (1793-1861)

The Cloak-Room, Clifton Assembly Rooms (1818)

Oil on canvas

The Clifton Assembly Rooms had opened in 1811 and Sharples chose a society gathering there for her first multi-figure painting. Ladies and gentlemen are arriving at a ball and a maid in the foreground is helping with one lady’s overshoes. These would have protected her satin shoes from the dirt of the streets. Although Sharples’ technique and composition is unsophisticated, the painting has a charm and accuracy of observation which has made it one of her most popular works.

Art Shed Blaise Group

Putting on the Ritz (Responding to The Cloak-Room, Clifton Assembly Rooms by Rolinda Sharples)

Acrylic, fabric and collage on board

“We want to use a hint of the original painting then go mad on it! The original shows a fashionable crowd in the 1800s but we wanted to show fashion through the ages.  It’s a celebration of a night out in Bristol that shows the city’s rich diversity. This is reflected in all the different techniques we used.”

Edward Villiers Rippingille (about 1789-1859)

John Whitmore Isaac (about 1829)

Oil on panel

John Whitmore Isaac (1807-1884) was the son of Elias Isaac, a partner in the Worcester ‘Old Bank’, and a brother of Harriet, whose portrait was painted at the same time. They lived at Boughton Park, in a fashionable suburb of Worcester, and were an influential local family. John Whitmore Isaac was also a banker. He is about 22 years old here and is shown with his cello and a bound volume of Haydn’s music. Playing music was a popular home entertainment.

Maria Burne

Groovy Tunes (Responding to John Whitmore Isaac by Edward Villiers Rippingille)

Acrylic Paint

“Rippingille painted John Whitmore Isaac, at 22 years old, with his cello and a bound volume of Hayden’s music. Playing music was a popular home entertainment at this time. This painting is my 21^st century interpretation – a vibrant colourful and informal image of a male with a mobile phone and headphones, still enjoying music but in a different way.”

Edward Villiers Rippingille (about 1789-1859)

Harriet Isaac (1829)

Oil on panel

Rippingille painted many portraits in the late 1820s and this is a particularly fine example. In 1829 this elegant young woman was 19 years old. She wears informal day dress with an elaborate hair style and is shown painting in watercolours. An ability to draw and paint in watercolours was considered necessary for a young lady in a middle or upper-class household. Harriet Isaac (1810-1890) was the daughter of a Worcester banker, and sister of John Whitmore Isaac whose portrait was painted at the same time.

Helen Pillinger

Screen Deep (Responding to Harriet Isaac by Edward Villiers Rippingille)

“The original is of a teenage girl painting, a skill that would improve her place in society. It’s now 2020 and, whilst we notice the girl appears more liberated, she is fixated on her screen, the window to her dreams and aspirations, where she is fed endless images of lifestyles she can never achieve.

The background is dark. Would she be aware there are opportunities in the real world if they were not masked by her synthetic world?”

Samuel Colman (1780-1845)

St James’s Fair, Bristol (1824)

Oil on panel

St James’s Fair had taken place since the 13th century but by the 1820s it was notorious for the crime and general debauchery it attracted. Colman, a strict Nonconformist, preaches a very visual sermon contrasting virtue with vice. The house on the left compares middle-class domestic contentment with the run-down brothel on the right. Between, there are references to slavery, lost virginity, the transience of beauty, the evils of gambling, theft and deception. Colman believes only Christianity’s moral code can save these people.

Wellbeing Arts, Central Bristol Children’s Centre

(Responding to St James’s Fair by Samuel Coleman)

Collage, print, rhinestones, paint

“Inspired by the painting of St James’s Fair which took place from the 13th Century until the 1820’s in the area of Bristol which is now St Paul’s. The resulting image is a joyful mish-mash of summer fun in Bristol. Initially focusing on St Paul’s Carnival, elements that reflect Pride also emerged. Colour, sparkle, dance, music, food. Bristolians like to celebrate on the streets and in the open spaces.”

Edward Villiers Rippingille (about 1789-1859)

Inn Scene (about 1820)

Oil on panel

Bristol School paintings can be recognised by their style although sometimes the identity of the artist is not certain. This painting is not signed and there has been doubt in the past whether it is by Edward Bird or Rippingille. As the faces are not characterized in depth and the handling of the paint is loose it is most probably an early example of Rippingille’s work imitating his friend, Bird. It clearly tells a story, and might be titled ‘Closing the Bargain’.

Dawn E

 Bargain over a beer (Responding to Inn Scene by Edward Villiers Rippingille)

Photo montage 

“The original is of a very old Bristolian pub. I wanted to compare how we communicated in a pub then and now. The original shows a transaction at a pub table. My work shows people, gossiping and bargaining in the 21^st Century way. Their conversations may be hundreds of years apart but they talk about things of that era. Then perhaps it was crops, taxes and local gossip now its cars, partners and social media. The frame is handmade with the drinks of the day but I kept to an industrial work feel.”

Francis Danby  (1793-1861)

River Scene with Weir and Mill (about 1823 or 1850s)

Oil on canvas

This scene was once thought to be of the Frome valley at Stapleton but Danby is just as likely to have painted it towards the end of his life when he was living at Exmouth in Devon. It shows his continued fascination with the flickering effects of sunlight shining through trees, reflecting off water and creating rich shadows. Deep in the shadow on the right a boy sits fishing.

Wellbeing Arts Southmead group

(Responding to River scene with weir and mill about 1823 to 1850 by Francis Danby) 

Acrylic paint/collage

“Danby painted an idyllic scene of a river sparklingly clean and teaming with fish. In his painting, a boy is fishing. In our painting you will see no boy fishing. This is the 21^st century! What you see is a sad but common scene as the world struggles to get rid of the stuff that inhabits it today that was not present in 1823. Look closer and you will see.”

Francis Danby (1793-1861)

Boy Fishing, Stapleton ( about 1822-1823)

Oil on panel

Most of the mills and weirs which characterized the Stapleton section of the River Frome have gone, and the precise location of this scene is unknown. The artist composed it with great skill, carefully placing his figures and cows so they are a natural part of the landscape. Children appear in many of Danby’s paintings at this time; he had four or five young ones of his own by now and five more were to follow

Rob Bridges

A Place to Play (Responding to Boy Fishing, Stapleton by Francis Danby)

Paint, recycled materials

“In the original, Danby paints a more restful time, when families enjoyed countryside walks. I hope all the people in power realise we need our trees and nature for the next generation.”

Francis Danby (1793-1861)

Boys Sailing a Little Boat (about 1822)

Oil on panel

The scenery on the River Frome at Stapleton inspired this painting but it also tells a story. One of the children has been sent to peel potatoes but they have been left in the basket in the foreground. The knife brought to peel them is on the steps and the children have instead carved a sailing boat. Danby omitted the sky, which gives an intimacy to the scene and its sensitive depiction of the self-contained world of childhood.

Suniti Lee

(Responding to Boys Sailing a Little Boat by Francis Danby)

Collage

“This is my response to Boys sailing a Little Boat by Francis Danby. Me and my brother grew up in St Paul’s, everyone thought we were twins although we were born 18 months apart. I have memories of sneaking off to St Agnes Park and then getting lost in our imaginations.”

William West (about 1793-1861)

The Israelites passing through the Wilderness, preceded by the Pillar of Light (1845)

Oil on canvas

The departure of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt is told in the Old Testament book of Exodus. God guided them at night with the light from a pillar of fire. West painted a dramatic night scene, with the light streaming down on tiny figures of Moses and the Israelites. By 1845, such an epic treatment of a biblical subject was old-fashioned and it is the last of the Bristol School’s imaginary, Romantic landscapes. It would be 20th-century film-makers who were to reinvent the epic dramatisation of history with casts of thousands.

Art-Ease group (Ali lloyd, Elise, Ellie Norris, Zahrah, Ros, Derek, Fran,Kimberley,  Yvonne May, Sandy)

Rebellion (Responding to The Israelites passing through the Wilderness, preceded by the Pillar of Light by William West)

Acrylic, recycled materials

“The biblical scene in the original work sets the tone for our painting. The 21st Century takes over, plastic and rubbish spills from the houses, a fire rages in the distance, maybe it’s Australia or the Amazon. Our planet is in trouble. Moses is replaced by Sian our eco warrior who is leading the Extinction Rebellion. People come running to join the Rebellion. We think Sian is a Bristolian.”

A note on the frame by Sue Williams

Paint, recycled materials

“I was fascinated by the frame of the original picture. Intrigued as to how it had been made and how I might reconstruct it.  As they say on ‘Blue Peter’, you can make anything with empty cereal packets and sticky backed plastic! It took several weeks to plan and make trial pieces. Once the plan came together, it took 2 months to complete.”

Samuel Colman  (1780-1845)

The Destruction of Pharoah’s Host  (about 1830)

Oil on canvas

This is a dramatic scene from the Old Testament. The tiny figure of Moses (top left) raises his staff to summon the waters of the Red Sea to pour down upon the Egyptian army. God is concealed in the pillar of cloud and fire and Pharaoh is silhouetted at its base, horrified at the mayhem. Colman painted a number of apocalyptic scenes like this, a popular taste in British art at the time. Divine intervention is shown unleashing nature’s forces to destroy evil.

John Wooton

The Destruction of the Pharoah’s Host 2019 (Responding to The Destruction of Pharaoh’s Host by Samuel Colman)

Acrylic on board

“I was inspired by The Destruction of Pharaoh’s Host. I really liked the painting, I thought it was different. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to reproduce it. I used new techniques like printing to get the effect different for the Pharaohs at the bottom. I made the frame with wood I had knocking about.”

James Johnson

Redcliffe Street, Bristol  (Around 1821)

Although this scene looks picturesque, Redcliffe Street was narrow, congested and dirty as it was one of the main routes for traffic going to and from Somerset. It was also a densely populated area with many inns, taverns, and boarding houses and a network of alleys and squalid courtyards. The mix of timber-framed buildings and Georgian façades was typical of the centre of the city at the time when the Bristol School artists were working.

Jacqueline Braithwaite

Redcliffe Street Past, Present and Future (Responding to Redcliffe Street by James Johnson)

Mixed Media.

“My piece shows how Redcliffe street has evolved since 1821. The church steeple is now complete. A skip represents today’s throwaway society. Transport and housing are huge issues in Bristol. The golden, decorative imagery is inspired by kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing cracked pottery with precious gold metal and lacquer. I wanted to show that Bristol’s problems shouldn’t be hidden, but illuminated. Let the city’s imperfections shine!”