Motherhood: an exhibition by the Lots Road Group of portraitists
Thursday 20 to Sunday 30 March 2014 (Mother’s Day)
The Chelsea Library, Chelsea Old Town Hall, King's Rd, London SW3 5EZ
Mon, Tues, Thurs, 9.30am-8pm
Wed, Fri, Sat, 9.30am-5pm & Sun, 1- 5pm
Closest tube: Sloane Square
Motherhood catalogue: Price £16.69+p&p
Motherhood is a Chelsea portrait exhibition and catalogue celebrating mothers, grandmothers and mothers-in-law, by the Lots Road Group.
The exhibition features 16 portraits by figurative artists who met when studying portraiture at The Heatherley School of Fine Art in Lots Road. It runs at The Chelsea Library, Kings Road, SW3 from Thursday, 20 March until Mother’s Day (30 March).
The catalogue contains all the portraits featured in the exhibition which are executed in a variety of media from oils, acrylics and pastels to print. Some were completed from life, others after death from studies and photographs.
Stella Tooth and her portrait of Mum and me for the Lot's Road Group's Motherhood exhibition.
It also provides a fascinating insight into the craft of portrait painting: from the artist who set aside her oils for speedier pastels to portray her mother with life-long back problems, to another who describes the quick work required to capture the likeness of a mother-in-law, suffering from Alzheimer’s, who would ‘forget’ her presence, to another who listened to the music she used to share with her mother to help her complete the portrait begun before her death.
It also features a foreword by Heatherley’s Principal Emeritus, John Walton RA, who writes about the portrait he painted of his own mother.
All portraits show the acute powers of observation and attention to detail instilled into students at one of the few art colleges in Britain that focuses purely on portraiture, figurative painting and sculpture.
John Walton said, “I am happy to think that this bunch of fellow artists derived a positive benefit from their studies at Heatherley’s and have used these as the vehicle for an imaginative project.”
At the private view, it will be sold, at a special exhibition price of £15, with a percentage of sales given in aid of Oxfam’s Mother's Appeal.
To see a preview of the exhibition click here.
The Lots Road Group was established to facilitate camaraderie and provide a platform for exhibiting and maintaining professional networks. In 2014 they have come together to create this tribute to motherhood.
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PHOTO
FILE NAME: Motherhood book cover-001
Motherhood - catalogue of portraits in oils on canvas of the first exhibition of the Lots Road Group of portraitists, including founding member Stella Tooth, runs from 20-30 March 2014 at The Chelsea Gallery,