Yesterday we went to Gainsborough’s House to see the latest exhibition. The garden was looking fantastic, as you may be able to see from the photograph.
The exhibition features Humphrey Spender, who was the brother of the poet Stephen. Spender was born 100 years ago and died in 2005. Best known as a photographer, Spender was also a painter, printmaker and designer. Examples of these are all on show. I was particularly stuck by his wonderful fabric designs which being very ‘retro’ are also very contemporary.
Gainsborough’s House owns a set of photographs of Sudbury taken by Spender in the 1930’s when he was living in the Great House in Lavenham with his brother. Some of these are on display along with others showing scenes of ‘ordinary British life’ in other parts of the country.
I was unable to find an image of Sudbury by Spender on the web, but the picture above, which comes from the Bolton Museum, gives a good impression of his work!
The show is well worth investigating. Don’t miss the additional photos of Sudbury which are hanging upstairs by the lift, and don’t forget that entry to the House is free on Tuesday afternoons.
