ONE of the first decisions made by the Bank of England’s Banknote Characters Advisory Committee after it was joined by the historian and curator Sandy Nairne was to put J. M. W. Turner on the new £20 note that is to be launched tomorrow. The reverse of the banknote shows the painter’s youthful self-portrait in front of The Fighting Temeraire being tugged along the Thames Estuary to her final berth, one of his and the public’s favourites of his works. It was doubly fitting that Mr Nairne should have been involved in the choice, for not only is he a former director of the National Portrait Gallery, but he has come up with a line in praise of the River Thames that deserves to stand with the famous quotations by Spenser, Morris and John Burns: ‘A curving spine for the history and landscapes of England,’ he wrote in a blog.
The river could be said to have had the same importance in Turner’s life, from his birth in Covent Garden a couple of hundred yards from it in 1775, to his death in 1851, only feet above the riverbank at Chelsea. At various times, he lived beside it—at Brentford, Isleworth, Hammersmith and Twickenham—and he owned the Ship and Bladebone public house at Wapping. He saw the Thames not only with the eye of a painter, but with that of a sailor and of a fisherman.
Denne historien er fra February 19, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra February 19, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
