People's Choice, Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne

A trip to Eastbourne to visit the Towners' permanent collection in the new gallery which was chosen entirely by the public. After they were divided into seven themes, taken from the full range of the collection, from historic through to modern and contemporary pieces the ones with the most votes were brought together in the People's Choice Exhibition. Eric Ravilious holding his own category. Being raised in Eastbourne and attended the Eastbourne School of Art. Towner Art Gallery purchased works from Ravilious who was best known for his watercolour paintings of landscapes, while he worked and lived as an artist.

Winning piece- Cuckmere Haven, 1939



"Emphasises the space and feel of the Sussex landscape, as in most of the work Ravilious suggests human intervention in the landscape through the inclusion of the fence and the road winding around the hill. His eye for design is evident in the sweeping curves of the river contrasted with the straight hatched lines in the foreground. On close inspection it is even possible to read Ravilious' own notes for the work, written in pencil and visible under the paint."

Downs in Winter, 1934


The Bedstead 1938


Lombardy Poplars, 1935
"In 1938 Ravilious stayed for two months in the Hamlet of Capel-Y-Fin, Wales, where the weather was often wet. As a result Ravilious found new in door subjects such as his bedrooms. In the bedstead he concentrated on the patterning of the walls and the rug, the iron work of the bed and the architecture of the room itself."

"Lombardy Poplars" 1935

This piece is in private ownership and has been rarely exhibited ever since. This being on a long term loan to them.

"Expert manipulation of simple trees"

"I like the misty colours and it was the first picture i was attracted to on that page"



Train Going Over a Bridge at Night Watercolour and pencil on paper

"Ravilious had very little interest in the technicalities of machinery but he was fascinated by the shape of the component parts and how they fitted together to form a whole. He was particularly interested old cars, steam engines and discarded vehicles and metal objects. His skill as a designer is evident in these works. In this work it can be seen through the contrast of the straight railway line across the bridge and the winding road. The darker colours in this work are unusual compared to Ravilious' typically more muted palette, but it captures the excitement and romance of the night time train journeys."


Back Garden at Great Bardfield 1933 Edward Bawden

"Almost all of Bawdens' work over a ten year period was done within a short distance of Great Bardfield. His subject matter limited to his own home, garden, village streets and his adjoining fields. This painting depicts his back garden out buildings and pathways as seen from the house. It has however, the added narrative intrigue of the policeman peering into the building and the female figure walking along the path."

"I like the observation of a slice of life, colours are peacock like."

Newhaven 1935 Edward Bawden


"The painting depicts the harbour at Newhaven in East Sussex, with three large ships in dock. Despite its industrial subject matter, the Sussex downs runs along the big, placing the image in its landscape. In the foreground, there are houses and farm buildings, suggesting a meeting of the rural and the functional that is a feature of much of the south coast."

It was painted during one of Bawdens' trips to Sussex with his friend Eric Ravilious. Towner holds the broadest collection of Ravilious' work, but only a handful by Bawden, so the recent acquisition of this important painting is particularly significant.

Seeing Ravilious' paintings in reality shared a different experience than seeing previous prints. The contrast in the scale and quality of the spontaneous watercolour marks and sketches, beautiful line markings and composure of the scenes. I could sense a passion for the place and landscape, a brilliance of accuracy i could see in his elements of, paths, bridge ways, machinery.

I particularly enjoyed seeing the painting 'The Bedstead" , another place from a certain expedition! In a similar way in my own work i like to concentrate on pattern and detail so i could really appreciate how Ravilious had concentrated on adding elements of the wallpapers and rug into the piece. I love the effective use of colour palette which Ravilous continually uses.