I got so excited about writing my first blog last week that I completely forgot to introduce myself!  As Joanne mentioned, I am a Museum Studies student at Leicester, but I am originally from Malvern – so I consider myself to be a bit of a West Midlands lass. That was a long time and many cities ago, and suffice to say I am now embarking upon my second career!

The gallery has been buzzing with activity as we continue with our programme of Summer events, and coming up this week – on Wednesday 12th August, at 11am - we have a talk by one of our art interpreters, Keith Oram, called “The Highland Laddie’s Return”. As part of our adult event calendar, this talk looks at Scotland in the Victorian times, with a focus on the history of  tartan.   

The title of Keith’s talk is drawn from one the paintings in the Victorian Room at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, which shows a soldier being welcomed back after fighting in the Second Afghan War.

Also on Wednesday is a family event at Bantock House Museum – Musical Mayhem will be led by the ever popular Andy Casserley and is sure to be lots of fun. The times can be seen on our website.

Both events are free, just come along!  

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Tennyson’s poetry provided subjects for many works of art during the Victorian period.  John Alfred Vinter (1828-1905) was inspired by Tennyson’s love poem The Miller’s Daughter. He depicted a husband declaring undying love for his wife as he holds a symbolic blue flower, a forget-me-not. The frame is inscribed: 

                                           And now those vivid hours are gone

                                           Like mine own life to me though art

                                           Where past and present wound in one

                                           Do make a garland for the heart.

The Miller’s Daughter, by John Alfred Vintner, 1859. Image © Wolverhampton Arts + Museums. 

This painting is on display in the Victorian rooms of Wolverhampton Art Gallery and was given to the gallery by Philip Horsman upon his death in 1891. Horsman was a Wolverhampton-based industrialist, who built and paid the total cost of £8,500 for Wolverhampton Art Gallery, which opened in 1884. This makes The Miller’s Daughter one of the earliest works of art in the city’s collection.

Many of Lord Tennyson’s poems were based on classical mythological themes and legends such as King Arthur, which satisfied the desire for a romantic vision of a chivalrous and pre-industrial past. The Pre-Raphaelites were particularly influenced by the ‘Arthurian’ legends. During the second half of the 19^th century, Tennyson’s famous poem, The Lady of Shalott, spawned a number of paintings of this beautiful and tragic figure. The heroine lives on an island nearby King Arthur’s city of Camelot. She is under a curse and sees the world only in a mirror, weaving on her loom the reflections of the life that passes outside her castle.

Henry Darvall’s 1854 painting was inspired by Tennyson’s poetic lines; it was given to Wolverhampton Art Gallery in 1919 and also can be seen in the recently redisplayed Victorian rooms.

The Lady of Shalott, by Henry Darvall, oil on Canvas, 1854. Image © Wolverhampton Arts + Museums.

The famous Pre-Raphaelite artist John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) was inspired by other part of the same story:  the Lady of Shalott saw in her mirror the reflection of Sir Lancelot and fell in love with him. She left her tower for Camelot, but her journey brought her to death. Waterhouse famous painting can be seen at Tate Britain, London.

 The Lady of Shalott, by John William Waterhouse, 1888. Image © Tate Gallery, London.

from → The Victorian Gallery at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, information on Victorians, information on WAG

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There was a great turn out last Saturday at The Mander Centre of people having their Victorian style portraits taken, thank you to all those who took part and came this Saturday 25th July to collect their images. There are some fantastic photos, most of them have been uploaded to our Flickr with more being uploaded shortly. If you didn’t collect your photo on Saturday, don’t panic! We will hold onto these images here at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, so you can request to have your image by calling the Marketing team on 01902 552040.

For more chances to dress up as Victorians check out the Victorian Fancy Dress Competition happening over at Bantock House Museum next Wednesday 5th August 2009. This free event is suitable for all ages, so you can bring along your whole family for a great Victorian style day out! There will be prizes awarded for  best costumes and if you bring along your favourite toy or teddy bear and dress them up as Victorians, they too could be in with the chance of winning a prize! Judging is between 2pm and 3pm, for more information please call reception on 019102 552195.

Bantock House Museum, Finchfield Road, Wolverhampton, WV3 9LQ

www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/bantock

from → Bantock House, Events, Victorian Portrait, photographs

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This Saturday 25th July at Bantock House Museum, be inspired by the dolls on display in the Victorian Rooms to create your very own Victorian style paper dolls. In light of this, I was intrigued to know more about these make-your-own style toys, so I thought I would do some research into them to find out some more information.

Some of this information has been taken from The Original Paper Doll Artists Guild website.

Paper dolls are two dimensional figures drawn onto paper that have paper clothes which you can cut out and attach to your figure so that your doll can have several outfit changes. Here at Wolverhampton Arts and Museums, we offer many paper doll making workshops in which children can colour in the figure and its clothes before cutting out and attaching. The clothes are attached by extra paper ‘tags’ which can be folded around the body of the doll.

In Europe, the first paper dolls were made in France during the 1700’s, however, the first manufactured dolls were made in London in 1810. Manufacturers from Europe “…produced beautifully lithographed full-colour paper dolls. They often represented royalty and famous theatre personalities, including the German Royal Family, the House of Windsor, and actresses Ellen Terry, Lily Langtry and Lillian Russell.” (Taken from The Original Paper Doll Artists Guild) These beautiful dolls portrayed the latest fashion trends but also provided hours of entertainment for children and due to the nature of how they are made- they could easily be made at home to save on costs.

The first paper doll to be printed in a magazine was in 1859 in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Here they printed a black and white doll followed by several costumes for children to colour in. By the turn of the century, the paper doll had become hugely popular having been featured in many magazines for both lady’s and children. During the 20th century, there were all sorts of different paper dolls including a set of Disney characters published by Western Publishing.

On The Original Paper Doll Artists Guild website, there are claims that the demise of these dolls could be to blame on Barbie- perhaps children no longer wish to play with a two dimensional piece that can easily be destroyed. But then they go on to say that in fact Barbie was one of the most popular paper dolls up until the 1990’s!

“Paper-doll versions of Barbie and her sister, Skipper, were strong sellers in the 1970s to supplement their three-dimensional counterparts. Boyfriend Ken and girlfriend Midge were also made as paper dolls. Paper Barbies appeared in books and in boxed sets from 1962 through the 1990s…Another Barbie artistto appear in the 1990s was Barb Rausch, whose love of paper doll art started with Bill Woggon’s famous Katy Keene, first done for Archie Comics.”

Nowadays in this digital age, it seems that these works of art on paper are no longer as popular but for rainy days or if you feel like being creative, paper dolls are perfect to have a go at making. For more things to make at home visit The Victoria and Albert’s Museum of Childhood ‘Things to make at home’ page.

To join in the fun at Bantock House Museum this Saturday you will need to book a place by calling reception on 01902 552195. There are two worshops running throughout the day, one at 11am-1pm and one at 2pm-4pm, £2 per child. Look out for more workshops at Wolverhampton Art Gallery throughout the summer, there will be a Victorian Toy Extravaganza on Monday 3rd August and Friday 28th August to create your own Victorian style toys.

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Come and join in the fun at Wolverhampton’s Mander Centre on Saturday 18th July to have your very own Victorian style portrait taken! We have plenty of things for you to get dressed in from hats and wigs to moustaches and monocles! This free event is suitable for all ages, just drop in to the Mander Centre on the day between 12pm and 4pm.

Collection of your free Victorian portrait is taking place the following Saturday 25th July at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Don’t miss your chance  to have a great photo taken that you can keep,  and to come and enjoy the Victorian Gallery for yourself to see what all the fuss is about!

The portraits will be available to view on our Flickr site and some will be uploaded here for you to have a mooch!

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Emma Sproson

Wolverhampton’s first female councillor was a lady called Emma Lloyd Sproson. She was born in 1867 and as a child she would help her father with his canal boat building business.The Independent Labour Party was formed in 1893 and many of the women who joined were part of the women’s rights movement who actively campaigned to vote..Sproson in her teens and became a Sunday school teacher but returned to Wolverhampton in 1895 and joined the Independent Labour Party. She had expressed a keen interest in socialism and feminism from a young age and went on to marry the local party secretary, Frank LancashireShe moved to

During 1897, the National Union of Women’s Suffrage (NUWS) was founded by a lady called Millicent Fawcett. They were campaigning for women to have the right to vote.

 At this time, some women could vote but not in Parliamentary elections. The NUWS were known as the Suffragists, they believed that the best way to achieve their goals was to influence politicians in a peaceful way whilst others thought that the best way was to take part in violent protests. As a result of these two conflicting views, the NUWS was divided in 1903 when Emmeline Pankhurst decided to form the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). This group were known as the Suffragettes.

                    Millicent Fawcett and Emmeline Pankhurst taken from Northallerton College    

When Emmeline and her daughter Christabel Pankhurst came to stay in Wolverhampton, they stayed at the Sproson’s house. Emma was invited to take part in a Suffragette march to Parliament Square, London in 1907, she took part in this march and became one of 67 women who were arrested for doing so. It would not be the first time that Emma was to be arrested, she was imprisoned for a month during 1907. Some women who took part in the Suffragette protests were held in prison for much longer and some even died for their cause.

                                                     Image © Wolverhampton Arts and Museums

Emma began working for Wolverhampton Borough Council and during her time there, she was involved with many committees that dealt with child welfare, maternity rights and the care of what were then known as ‘the blind’, ‘the distressed’ and ‘the mentally ill’.

Ellen Thorneycroft-Fowler

The granddaughters of the first mayor of Wolverhampton, George Thorneycroft and the daughters of the first Lord of Wolverhampton, Henry Fowler; were Ellen and Edith Thorneycroft-Fowler.

Both had been educated at home in Wolverhampton but Ellen later went to study at a private school in London. Their father had encouraged them to have witty conversations and to write from an early age.

Ellen began writing stories and poems and had two volumes of her poetry published; Verses Grave and Gay in 1891 and Verses Wise and Otherwise in 1895.

                    Ellen Thorneycroft-Fowler. Image © Wolverhampton Arts and Museums

‘Concerning Isabel Carnaby’ was her first novel which was published in 1898 and sold millions of copies. She had several other novels published and some mentioned areas and places of interest in Wolverhampton. In 1903, she married a School master named Alfred Felkin and they moved to live in London, but she continued to reference the Midlands in her novels.

Sara Page

Born in Wolverhampton in 1855, Sara Page trained at the Wolverhampton School of Practical Art. She travelled to Italy and then went to Paris where she enrolled at The Academie Julian. This school was unusual for the time as it offered exactly the same training for both male and female students. This gave women artists the opportunity to compete as professionals in the art world.

The Academie awarded Sara a medal for portrait painting and she went on to have her work exhibited at the Parisian Salon and The Royal Academy in England. By the turn of the century, she was living in Paris but still remained loyal to her native of Wolverhampton.

In 1926, Sara gave her large scale painting called ‘Andromeda’ to Wolverhampton Art Gallery, this painting had previously been exhibited in Paris. There is a piece by Sara Page displayed in The Victorian Gallery entitled ‘Whisper of a Spring’.

Jane Besemeres

The founder of Wolverhampton Deaf Mission was a lady called Jane Besemeres. She was born in 1827 and was known for her writing, she had written children’s books and poetry. Her experiences of being a governess of a deaf boy named Rupert Dent inspired her to write books entitled ‘Picture Teaching for Young and Old’ and ‘Hints for Teaching the Deaf and Dumb’.

She founded the Church Mission to the Deaf and Dumb in South Staffordshire and Shropshire in 1886, this was based in Bath Street, Wolverhampton. Some of the aims of the Mission included providing spiritual instruction, visiting the sick at home and encouraging pre-school training for children.

In 1901 she founded a Home for Deaf and Dumb Girls on Compton Road, Wolverhampton. Jane Besemeres died in 1905 at the age of 78 and is buried in Wolverhampton cemetary.

For more information about the women of Victorian Wolverhampton, check out Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies website.

The Victorian Rooms at Bantock House Museum are now open and tell the tales of Victorian family life in the setting of a Victorian ladies’ bedroom and a children’s nursery. Take a look at their website for more details. www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/bantock

What did you think of this post and this blog? Let us know by filling in our short survey so that we can understand what you like and what has been successful. Fill in the Victorian Wolverhampton feedback survey by clicking here. Thank you!

from → Bantock House, information on Victorians, local history

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These images are courtesy of Stuart Williams a curator at Bantock House Museum.

The ladies bedroom, showing beautiful examples of japanned ware and decorative arts.

See examples of Victorian ladies’ clothing displayed in the authentic bedroom within hand-made wardrobes and a chest of drawers.

This dress shows what a typical Victorian lady would wear. Wolverhampton used to house a large collection of dresses which were donated to the Walsall Museum in 2000. You can arrange to view these dress, check out the Places to visit page for more information.

This light and airy room provides a space for young visitors to have some good old fashioned Victorian style fun, with the mural, dressing up features and the dolls house.

Here you can see the mural which is marked with locations of importance to a Victorian child in Wolverhampton during the Victorian period. The mural is displayed across one of the walls in the nursery.

More images can be found on our Flickr site

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With the sun shining, I thought it might be worth mentioning one of Wolverhampton’s finest Victorian treasures- West Park. Nationally recognised as being one of Englands finest Victorian parks, it provides visitors to the city with a little haven to escape to.

It was opened in 1881 by the Mayor of Wolverhampton, John Jones. The site where it was built had previously been home to Wolverhampton racecourse.

West Park is on the English Heritage National Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Interest. Set over 46 acres, there is something for everyone with tennis courts, a putting green, a boating lake and beautiful floral displays,  there are also many special events held throughout  the year.

                                                                                 Image taken from Flickr

The park also features several listed buildings and items including the Bandstand (below) which was presented in 1882 and was restored in 2002. The conservatory which opened in 1896, houses plants from all over the world. Other listed features include; Villiers Statue, the clock tower, the bridge over the lake, the pavillion north of the lake and several walls and railings.

                                                                  Image taken from Flickr

Check out the BBC’s website for a 360 degree panoramic view around the conservatory.

For more information about West Park and other parks in the city, check out Wolverhampton City Council’s website.

For further information about the history of the park, take a look at Wolverhampton History and Heritage’s website.

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                                                         Image taken from Victorian T Cakes

How much do you know about the Victorian era? To put your knowledge to the test and to learn some very interesting bits of information, check out the quiz on ‘Yesterday’s’ website. From predecessors to the throne to famous poets of the time, these 10 questions will put you to the ultimate test!

Click here to test your knowledge.

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