Looking After The Queen’s Pictures
Christopher Lloyd talks about working with Her late Majesty
Sunday 22 October 3pm
Seagull Theatre, Lowestoft
Christopher Lloyd CVO is a distinguished art historian, curator and author who was surveyor of the Queen’s pictures from 1988 to 2005. Previous holders of this post, which goes back to 1625, include Sir Kenneth Clark and Anthony Blunt. He was responsible for the care and maintenance of the pictures owned by the Queen in her official capacity (not her own stuff). That’s some 7,000 pictures and 3,000 miniatures.
Christopher Lloyd’s duties also included helping the Queen choose artists to paint official portraits of the newly ennobled. So he has lots of stories to tell about his close association with the Queen, and seems perfectly relaxed about being candid. He’s a confident and accomplished speaker who has also worked in the Ashmolean Museum, Harvard University, the Arts Institute in Chicago and Villa I Tatti in Florence.
Christopher Lloyd will be in conversation with Stuart Pearson Wright, a prize-winning portraitist who lives near Bungay and has painted Prince Philip, King Charles – and the royal corgis. They will have a lot to talk about. Book at theseagull.co.uk.
Sandlings Sculpture Garden – FREE entry & open until December.
Waveney and Blyth Arts has been curating sculpture trails for about ten years, and we have seen the idea spread around Suffolk and Norfolk. This year we are trying something different and simpler – and free for visitors – a sculpture garden. This is thanks to the generosity of Potton Hall, our sculpture trail partners over the past few years.
Potton Hall is a splendid venue for showcasing creative talent: its grounds provide an easily accessible yet remote space for showing and selling artistic and craft works designed for outdoor display. It’s open from 10am to 4pm, has good car parking, an African-themed Yurt Café, formal gardens and a glorious wildflower meadow, all within a rather hidden valley edged by forest and heathland – classic Sandlings scenery. And perfect for a sculpture garden. Between Blythburgh village and Westleton, IP173EF.
The Sandlings Sculpture Garden will be open until December.
See what our creative members are up to…
Funding
Waveney & Blyth Arts has been involved with artists, organisations and venues – through its membership and its events – for over 12 years. We’re now planning to put a bit of our money where our mouth is, and develop our involvement with the arts community in these valleys.
We have already chipped in £500 to an exciting project, Procession, being organised by the Norwich-based Voice Project. We have a close connection: the choir has members in our area and you may remember our collaboration, Translated by Reeds performed in Diss, Halesworth and Great Yarmouth in 2013 and the performance of Distance Between Us in Blythburgh church last summer.
Procession is an ambitious series of events inspired by WG Sebald’s celebrated journey through Suffolk for his book, The Rings of Saturn. Starting this year and running for three years, there will be community workshops as well as the development of choral music. Read more about it here.
On a more modest level, we are planning to fund one or two projects in our own patch where £150 would make something happen that otherwise wouldn’t. It could be for an individual member or a small organisation. It’s as open as that: applications to info@waveneyandblytharts.com. And if we can’t help financially, we may be able to help in other ways, so do get in touch.