{"id":1909,"date":"2020-04-07T10:53:05","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T09:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/curiosi\/?p=1909"},"modified":"2021-04-28T11:24:17","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T10:24:17","slug":"miss-ashfords-painting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/curiosi\/miss-ashfords-painting\/","title":{"rendered":"Miss Ashford’s Painting"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Amara Thornton (Research Officer, Ure Museum)<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week, University of Reading Art Collections tweeted a picture<\/a> of a painting called “Roman Wall from Sewingshields Crags”.\u00a0 This painting now hangs in the MA student room in the Archaeology Department, but it was first offered to the Classics Department in 1946.<\/p>\n

Two letters in the Classics Department archive tell the story of this painting.\u00a0 In early spring 1946, the artist Faith Ashford<\/a>, a former lecturer in Reading’s Department of Fine Art, wrote a letter to Professor of Classics Percy Ure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Dear Professor Ure”,<\/em> she began. “I did a painting of ‘The Roman Wall from Sewingshields Crags’ which was hung in last year’s R. Academy.\u00a0 It is at present in the Tate Gallery for Dr Rothenstein’s inspection but I somehow think that they will not want to keep it.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

I remember your little Museum. I should very much like it to be where students could see it, especially those at some distance from the actual thing.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

If you would care to have it I should be very pleased to present it to you.\u00a0 It was a piece of real hard + accurate work \u2013 the distance + the weather both making it rather a trial of endurance.”<\/em>\u00a0 In a short postscript, she added “I do hope you can accept it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Classics Department archive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A follow up letter came in August, written this time to Professor JMR Cormack<\/a>, who had succeeded Percy Ure as Professor of Classics at Reading. Ashford wrote,<\/p>\n

“It gave me pleasure to learn that you were having my painting for your department. … I think you will find it interesting \u2013 it gives the stretch of the wall from Sewingshields to Whnishields [sic] \u2013 the Cragloch [sic] bit is unfortunately hidden behind Hot Bank \u2013 but you will be able to locate Borcovicium (Housesteads).\u00a0 There is a storm-cloud advancing + the Lough is curiously ridged by a gale of wind, an effect that I have only seen in Northumberland, tho’ a Scotch friend tells me he has often seen the effect in Scotland.\u00a0 I don’t think it’s very bright<\/u>, the N’land landscape tends to be grim instead, but there is a certain excitement about it.\u00a0 I do hope you’ll like it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Unfortunately for us, no other letters exist in the Classics Department’s archive that indicate the reception of the painting on its acquisition. \u00a0At the time the painting was offered Ashford was no longer at Reading \u2013 both letters were written from her residence in Newcastle.\u00a0 But while she was based in Reading she became an active member of its artistic community. One of the founder members of the Reading Guild of Artists<\/a>, she displayed work alongside her Reading colleague Allen Seaby<\/a> in the Guild’s fifth annual exhibition and in other Guild exhibitions. She also showed her work in London \u2013 not only in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in 1945 but also at the Wertheim Gallery<\/a> (one solo show in 1936, and one show jointly with Godfrey Grantham in 1937).<\/p>\n

The connection to the Wertheim Gallery reveals Ashford’s milieu as an artist. It was a recently opened contemporary art gallery close Royal Academy in nearby Burlington Gardens (when Ashford’s exhibitions were held, it was at No 8, in the Albany building). Its owner, Lucy Wertheim<\/a> supported many now well-known 20th<\/sup> century artists, both men and women, including Frances Hodgkin. A few months after Ashford’s second show at the Wertheim, the gallery had an exhibition of marionettes that included pieces by pioneering experimental film-maker Lotte Reiniger<\/a> (performances were also part of this exhibition’s programming). The gallery closed in September 1939, as gatherings of more than 12 people were banned and the rooms requisitioned for war.<\/p>\n

It’s not clear where Ashford’s painting hung on its arrival to Reading; my best guess is that it was destined for the “Romano-British Museum<\/a>” which Percy Ure had founded and managed his colleague Frank Stenton<\/a> (Professor of History) in the early 1920s. This would have been the obvious place for it in subject terms. The “Romano-British Museum” was transferred to the sole management of the History Department in 1957, when the University’s new campus at Whiteknights opened.\u00a0 Ashford died ten years later.<\/p>\n

References\/Further Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asford, Faith, 1946. Letters to Percy Ure and JMR Cormack. Classics Department archive.<\/p>\n

1934. Art Exhibitions. Reading Guild of Artists. The Times. <\/em>10 November: 10.<\/p>\n

1935. Individual Art Shows. Mr. Alfred Hayward … Miss Faith Ashford. The Times.<\/em> 18 September: 10.<\/p>\n

1936. Art Shows. The Wertheim Gallery. The Times.<\/em> 17 September: 10.<\/p>\n

1937. A Marionette Show. Entertaining Caricatures.\u00a0The Times.<\/em> December 8: 14.<\/p>\n

1971. Obituary: Mrs Lucy Wertheim – Engaging Young Artists. The Times. <\/em>December 15: 17.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Amara Thornton (Research Officer, Ure Museum) Last week, University of Reading Art Collections tweeted a picture of a painting called “Roman Wall from Sewingshields Crags”.\u00a0 This painting now hangs…Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[17,43,18,22,6],"class_list":["post-1909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ure-routes","tag-archaeology","tag-art","tag-reading","tag-romano-british-museum","tag-women"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMiss Ashford's Painting - Curiosi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/curiosi\/miss-ashfords-painting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Miss Ashford's Painting - 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