John Tunnard and Maurice Broomfield

Jackie and Bea joined us for a trip to the Pallant Gallery, Chichester. This was the second time I have seen the John Tunnard exhibition since it opened, and although I really liked his paintings both times, I could recognise few of them, no doubt because they are abstract. They are reminiscent of my 50s childhood, especially the scarf of Birds. I think of Woolworths china patterns which were so popular then and book covers and posters in his style. Perhaps John Tunnard was a great influence on contemporary designs then.

I liked Jeremy Gardiner’s Durdle Door paintings. There was some exquisite pottery by names like Leach and a Hepworth bronze and a marble which I loved. I hope we can do another tour of her St Ives garden.

We had an excellent lunch at the gallery restaurant then toured the St. Ives exhibition with  Alfred Wallis’ primitive ship paintings. Finally an unexpected treat with Maurice Broomfield’s industrial photography and portraits from the 50s and 60s. Brilliant photography, all black and white and portrait format. My favourite was the Weaver Girl. and they made  me want to rush out with black and white film. It can be seen at the start of this slideshow and interview.

I have included a couple of shots of Chichester buildings to give a flavour of this ancient Roman city.