This in-focus exhibition is centred on a new acquisition: Jan Adam Kruseman’s posthumous portrait of the celebrated adventurer, Giovanni Battista Belzoni, known as ‘The Great Belzoni’. Painted in 1824, and presented to the Museum in 2018 through the Arts Council’s Cultural Gift Scheme (in honour of ex‐Director, Tim Knox), the portrait will be displayed alongside paintings and watercolours from the Fitzwilliam’s wider collections, which reflect the allure of Egypt and Egyptian antiquities to British artists of the 19th century.
This small display brings together objects from the Fitzwilliam’s collection that particularly resonate with the award-winning artist and potter, Jennifer Lee. Her choice includes modern studio ceramics, ancient Chinese bronzes and antiquities from Greece and Rome, with each object accompanied by an explanation of the affinity she feels with it. This display accompanies the larger exhibition of Jennifer’s own work, Jennifer Lee: the potter’s space on display at Kettle’s Yard (9 July-22 September).
Image: Earthenware Bactrian Camel, Chinese, c. 618-907
FREE, come along
FREE, come along
FREE, come along
FREE, come along
FREE, collect a token at the Fitzwilliam Museum information desk (first come first served)
This display highlights some of the outstanding pieces of decorative art on loan to the Museum from the Keatley Trust. John Keatley founded the Trust in 1968 in order to purchase the best-designed and most finely-crafted ceramics, glass, metalwork, woodwork, furniture and book bindings and subsequently lend these to museums around the UK for the benefit and enjoyment of the public. The collection focusses predominantly on the 20th century which, as John says, represents the period of greatest transformation of the lives of most people, in the history of Britain.
The Salisbury family, based locally in Cambridge, have kindly lent part of their studio ceramics collection to the Museum. This collection, formed over many years, includes pieces by some of the finest artists to work in clay from the mid-20th century onwards. These include Austrian and German emigrés Lucie Rie, Hans Coper and Ruth Duckworth, and contemporary artist Jennifer Lee, winner of the Loewe Craft Prize 2018.
Image: © The estate of Hans Coper
Over the past fifty years, Francesca and Massimo Valsecchi have built up a remarkable collection of paintings, furniture, sculpture, glass and ceramics. This includes the renowned nude portrait of Patricia Preece by Stanley Spencer (Gallery 1), a Spanish 17th-century polychrome wood sculpture of the Christ Child (Gallery 6), Art Nouveau Tiffany glass (Gallery 22) and an extremely rare Meissen porcelain vulture (Gallery 27).
