St Barbe’s A to Z celebrates a decade of success

A quirky A to Z of notable objects and works of art, reflecting ten hugely successful years at Lymington’s St Barbe Museum opens on Saturday 20th feb – with free entry for all on that day and runs until Saturday March 20th.

The Museum and Art Gallery, opened in 1999, has staged a decade-long series of exhibitions that have been acclaimed locally and nationally.

The ‘A -Z’ show celebrates not only the St Barbe’s first ten years, but also a refurbishment of the museum’s two galleries.
“We wanted to mark our first successful decade and the refurbishment,” said museum director, Steve Marshall, who has been in charge since 1998, guiding the exhibitions and playing a key part in establishing the permanent museum displays that portray the life and history of Lymington.
“The new exhibition reflects life in and around Lymington, and it also shows off some world-class paintings and sculpture from our own collection and from artists who lived and worked in the area,” he said.

He revealed that the last exhibit, signalled by the letter ‘Z’ is a painting by artist and sculptor, Sven Berlin, of his second wife, Juanita, reclining on a zebra skin. Berlin painted Gypsy families living in the Forest, recording their lives.
“What makes this painting remarkable is that we also display a photograph of Juanita riding the same zebra around Minstead about 50 years ago,” said Steve.
‘A’ stands for the rare American bittern, one of only a few to reach British shores and, sadly, shot by wild-fowlers at Keyhaven in the days when anything that moved was fair game. The marksman had the bird stuffed.

 
 
 
A Dalek, made from recycled materials, is one of the entertaining objects on display in the ‘A-Z’ retrospective opening on Saturday (feb 20th) at Lymington’s St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery.
It’s the work of Lymington sculptor, Michael Turner, noted for his often dazzling and brilliantly coloured metal sculptures, using recycled material.

In between there are 24 exhibits, including paintings by landscape artist Kurt Jackson and by Richard Eurich, who lived and worked in the New Forest after making his mark as an official war artist, recording the withdrawal from Dunkirk.

Bird sculptures by Geoffrey Dashwood are internationally renowned while Lucy Kemp-Welch’s oil painting reflects the moods of the New Forest. An Eric Gill nativity, belonging to the museum, represents the letter ‘N’.
Steve  said: “Over the years we have featured many of these artists, sourcing the paintings from private collections or major galleries.
“Last year Daily Telegraph critic Andrew Graham-Dixon, reviewing exhibitions country-wide, singled us out, saying that perhaps the pick of a number of compelling exhibitions was a revelatory show of marine painting at the St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery.  “Because our security is good, we are probably the smallest gallery in the country able to display works from national collections, such as the Tate and the National Maritime Museum. We have also been nominated by The Guardian as a top museums to visit,” said Steve.