kettle’s yard and friends’ news | summer 2013

As Kettle’s Yard continues to take a leading role in city wide and

regional cultural development, we are increasingly looking a little

closer to home to enrich our programmes and activity. Kettle’s Yard sits

just across the road from the wards of Arbury and Kings Hedges and

in the coming years we hope to strenghthen our relationships with

these parts of the city so that our neighbouring communities feel like

Kettle’s Yard is their local museum and gallery.

On Saturday 22 September 2012, we held the inaugural Castle Hill

Open Day (supported by local company Tees Solicitors), in partnership

with The Cambridge and County Folk Museum, St Giles’ Church,

Churches Conservation Trust (which has responsibility for St Peter’s

Church) and Cambridgeshire County Council (which has responsibility for

Castle Mound). The aim of the day was to celebrate the unique heritage,

history and culture of Castle Hill and to open our doors to new visitors.

Visitors had the opportunity to discover modern and contemporary

art, architecture, archaeology and the local history and heritage of the

area. There were tours, talks, musical recitals, family activities, handling

collections, trails, and a pop-up café. Over 1500 people attended the

sites and 417 people visited the Kettle’s Yard house, of which half were

first-time visitors. 20 volunteers supported the running of the day and

feedback was very positive.

The success of this event is a strong first step in raising awareness of

the cultural and heritage offer in this part of Cambridge.

In April, we welcomed a new member of staff

to the team as Karen Thomas took up the post of

Community Officer. The focus of her role will be

to develop long-term creative partnerships with

the communities of North Cambridge, on behalf

of Kettle’s Yard and the University of Cambridge

Museums. The aim is to create a dialogue with our

neighbours and increase community involvement

with our programmes, year on year.

This year’s open day is Saturday 21st September 2013. Please save the date!

Kettle’s Yard goes Local!

33rd greATeST gAllerY in THe world!

we are thrilled to be included in The Times

greatest 50 galleries in the world.

Kettle’s Yard was listed as the 33rd greatest

gallery just ahead of the National Gallery of

Art, Washington DC. We were 6th in the U.K.

The top spot was taken by the Uffizi Gallery,

Florence.

Tour of Castle Mound during Castle Hill Open Day 2012. Photo: Marisa Sutherland-Brown.

Stories from the ArchiveMost of those with whom Jim

ede came into contact could

expect to be a recipient of his

letters, in tiny handwriting which

covered every centimetre of the

page. The famous names are too

many to list here. in addition

to the well-known Alfred

wallis, Constantin Brancusi, Ben

nicholson, david Jones and the

many other Kettle’s Yard artists,

one could also include, T.e.

lawrence (lawrence of Arabia),

ezra Pound, John gielgud, and a

whole host besides …

Over the past eighteen

months the archives at Kettle’s

Yard have been the subject of

a major project. Together with

Jane Morgans, a volunteer

with a degree in fine arts, and

Anna Ferrari, who has recently

completed a PhD at the University

of Cambridge, I have been

cataloguing much of what we

have termed the ‘Ede’ archive.

For the most part we’ve sat in

a corner and worked away quietly,

but we did have one public

outing! The archives service had a presence at the Castle Hill Open Day, and was a

popular corner of the house. I was able to put on show some original documents and

some copies of material not previously seen concerning some of the Kettle’s Yard

artists and Jim’s relationships with them.

Of course Jim is well-known as the author of ‘Savage Messiah’ (1931) and ‘A

Way of Life’ (1984), but as I started going through boxes of his conscientiously

annotated drafts, it became clear that he had written consistently during his life.

From 1920 onwards, he published dozens of book reviews spanning Renaissance and

non-Western art, drafted several series of lectures, which he delivered in America

in the 1930s and 1940s and wrote talks for radio broadcast. He also devoted essays

to individual artists who were close to him and are central to Kettle’s Yard: Ben and

Winifred Nicholson, Alfred Wallis, Christopher Wood and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska.

This wealth of fascinating sources forms the basis of the digital guide to

Kettle’s Yard. Drawing from the most exciting and interesting archives, we hope

to give visitors the opportunity to discover some of Jim’s writings, correspondence,

photographs and audio material, and to learn more about Kettle’s Yard.

So, we will leave you with this final quote from Robin Moore Ede, a distant

cousin of Jim, “Father always spoke of you as a colourful figure who rescued

paintings at the Tate during the flooded basement and entertained in your

Hampstead House wearing a FEZ. True or false?”

dr Claire daunton, Honorary Archivist

CirCUiT: A national Youth network for the Visual Arts

we have been accepted, in collaboration

with wysing Arts Centre, as one of 5

national partners, in a landmark youth

engagement programme funded by the

Paul Hamlyn Foundation and initiated by

Tate. over four years, Circuit aims to reach

80,000 young people aged 15-25 and spark

a long-term transformation in the way that

young people engage with art.

Beginning this summer, Kettle’s Yard

and Wysing aim to engage young people

in art activity and peer-led programming

at both our venues. In addition, we will

work with Cambridge’s online and digital

community to develop a festival that will

use new technology to uncover hidden

aspects of the city. We aim to help young

people connect with the resources and

facilities in their area and understand the

employment routes into the creative and

digital industries.

With sustained involvement in local

youth services, we hope our participation

in Circuit will offer opportunities for young

people from all backgrounds to co-curate

ambitious arts projects, build their own

creative community and have a real and

positive impact on the cultural life of our city.

rosie o’donovan, education officer

Documents from the archive. Photo: Marisa Sutherland-Brown

Kettle’s Yard Poet in residence Jackie Kay. Photo: Mary McCartney

HoUSe gUeSTSSpecimens, objects and artworks take up residence at Kettle’s Yard

From April to July 2013 visitors to Kettle’s Yard have

the opportunity to see ‘guests’ from eight other

University of Cambridge museums and collections

carefully placed amongst the artworks and objects

in the house. These works have been selected by the

museum directors in collaboration with Kettle’s Yard

Associate Artist Jeremy Millar.

From an Inuit carving to an ammonite, a Cairns

Birdwing butterfly to a bronze head by artist

Marguerite Milward, the ‘guests’ have been installed

amongst the permanent displays in the cottages at

Kettle’s Yard creating new conversations between art

works, objects, plants and stones – creating new and

diverse juxtapositions.

A key part of the ‘House Guests’ project is the

collaboration with the Critical Writing in Art and

Design programme at the Royal College of Art. The

post-graduate students will be contributing to a

publication that will accompany the exhibition. The

publication will include interviews with the curators of

each museum.

We hope the ‘guests’ will inspire visitors to see

Kettle’s Yard in a new light and will encourage them to

discover more about the other University of Cambridge

museums.

Bridget Cusack, Curator

Kettle’s Yard was delighted to take part

in this year’s Thresholds project. Poet

laureate Carol Ann duffy chose ten of the

best poets in the UK to take up residencies

at the University of Cambridge, one for

each museum, the University library and

Botanic gardens, interacting with their

environment and collections and writing

about their experiences.

For two wonderful weeks this winter

Jackie Kay was our poet in residence.

Jackie is a poet, novelist, and writer of

short stories, and has enjoyed great

acclaim for her work for both adults and

children, winning The Guardian Fiction

Prize for her debut novel ‘Trumpet’.

Jackie was a joy to have at Kettle’s

Yard. One could often find her curled up

in the dancer room contemplating the

collection and the fate of the dancer.

She said the shadows the sculpture cast

reminded her of a Hitchcock movie.

Jackie said she was loving spending

time at Kettle’s Yard, ‘it incurs a new way

of thinking‘.

She held a poetry reading on a very

cold evening in March where she delighted

THreSHoldS: Poet in residence the crowd with her wit, charm and astute

observations about life. During her stay

she worked with artist Filipa Pereira-Stubbs

on a six-week poetry course for a group

of young people. The group worked with

Jackie to form their own poems inspired

by the collection at Kettle’s Yard. They

then worked their words into installations,

which were exhibited across the house at a

special family and friends event.

She has written a new poem inspired

by Kettle’s Yard, which is available on the

Thresholds website:

www.thresholds.org.uk

Marguerite Milward, Bronze portrait of Luivao in the dancer room, courtesy of Jeremy Millar

welcoming in 2013 we relinquished control of the gallery to

two Artists-led spaces from the east; Aid & Abet in Cambridge

and ‘oUTPoST’ in norwich. director, Andrew nairne explains

his reasons for the ‘take over’:

‘From my time working in Glasgow I know how artist-led

spaces can make a real difference: supporting practice and

influencing the culture of the city. Kettle’s Yard has evolving capital

plans, which have meant the creation of a smaller exhibiting

area within the gallery. This has given us an opportunity to

experiment and try some new approaches in relation to our gallery

programme. I was confident that Aid & Abet and OUTPOST would

bring artists and energy to Kettle’s Yard ‘

The exhibitions were enhanced by opportunities for the

public to meet the artists and attend talks and events. We also

hosted an important panel discussion concerning issues of

support for artists in Cambridge and the East Region.

As part of our remit as a major visual arts organisation we

will continue to find ways to encourage and support artists living

and working in the area as well as nationally and internationally.

This year we have solo shows by artists Katie Paterson, resulting

from her residency at the Sanger Institute just outside of

Cambridge, and Sophy Rickett recently in residence at the

Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge.

See Katie Paterson’s exhibition until the 23rd June 2013.

we are thrilled that one of our generous Kettle’s Yard

supporters donated a roy lichtenstein screen print that was

sold at Christie’s on 20 March 2013.

The timing for the sale could not have been better as it

coincided with the hugely popular Lichtenstein retrospective

at Tate Modern (21 February - 27 May 2013). Lichtenstein is

renowned for his works based on comic strips and advertising

imagery, coloured with his signature hand-painted Benday dots.

We were delighted that the print realized well above the

estimated price, closing at £10,000.

Donations like this are a lovely way to raise money for

Kettle’s Yard. They contribute to the on-going conservation of

the house and collection, our exhibition programme and our

work with schools and the community.

If you would like to support Kettle’s Yard please do get

in touch with Kathryn or Marisa in our Development Team,

development@kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk or phone 01223748100.

Roy Lichtenstein, Brushstrokes 1967, © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein / DACS 2013, sold by Christie’s, London

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in 2011 we were awarded £2.32m by the Heritage

lottery Fund to create a much needed education

wing for Kettle’s Yard. Trusts and Foundations and

many individuals also very generously provided

support. during 2012 we had to reschedule the

building work due to technical difficulties. in

this period we looked again at our options and

decided that we could make further significant

improvements to Kettle’s Yard – and that it would

make sense to undertake a single, larger scheme.

The Education Wing will be a great

enhancement, transforming our work with schools,

groups and individuals. Our new plan is for the

Education Wing to be complemented by beautifully

designed, sustainable exhibition galleries and

greatly improved services for visitors including a

cafe on the ground floor.

How will this larger plan be paid for?

Arts Council England have a capital investment

programme to which we can apply. Their fund

is focused on the refurbishment of arts spaces

undertaken in such a way as to increase financial

resilience. I believe our plans would do exactly

that. Grouped around the Kettle’s Yard House,

renewed galleries could attract the best artists to

Cambridge and an entrance space and cafe will

encourage greater community involvement. The

design will enable us to welcome new visitors and

increase earned income through the shop, cafe

and hires.

The cost of the larger scheme is estimated at

£8m. Through the support of the Heritage Lottery

Fund, trusts, foundations, the Friends of Kettle’s

Yard and many individual donors we have raised

over £5m (£3.7m for the capital build) for the

Education Wing and linked endowment. This is a

tremendous achievement. I would like to express

my gratitude especially to those who served on the

Development Appeal Group for their commitment

and hard work over a number of years. These

existing funds will greatly increase the likelihood

of success when we apply to Arts Council England

later this year for £3.5m as a major contribution

towards the cost of the whole scheme. Support

from Arts Council England will leave us with £800k

to £1m to raise during 2014 before we can begin

construction in 2015.

In the event that our application to Arts Council England is not

successful we will proceed with building the Education Wing as a stand-

alone project in 2014.

what will Kettle’s Yard look like in 2017?

A state-of-the-art four floor Education Wing, with creative workshop

space and digital seminar room, that will enable significant expansion of

our education and community activities.

Two high-quality exhibition galleries, built on the same

environmentally sustainable design principles as the Education Wing, that

will provide facilities that better serve both artists and visitors.

A new entrance area, shop and café on the ground floor that will

greatly improve our ‘welcome’ and the overall visitor experience.

A dedicated archive and research space that will make the treasures

of Kettle’s Yard’s collection more accessible to both researchers and the

general public.

what will the project mean for Kettle’s Yard:

Kettle’s Yard grew out of one man’s deeply-held belief that art is too

important to be the privilege of a few. The larger scheme will enable

us to organise exhibitions with major artists from around the world,

display 20th century art in the right conditions, and have the facilities to

encourage even more people to enjoy Kettle’s Yard.

Andrew nairne, director

LOOKING AHEAD

View of the new entrance area: Jamie Forbert Architects

rosemary davidson (1929-2012)An appreciation by Michael Harrison written shortly before

his death

There are not many galleries where you open the door and step

over the dog and are then offered a cheery greeting and a cup

of coffee but these were some of the unique selling points of

Broughton House.

I first met Rosemary soon after I arrived at Kettle’s Yard in

1992. She arrived at the office door with a poster for her next

show and we hit it off straight away – a couple of northerners,

she more evidently and delightfully than I, washed up in

Cambridge plying the same trade. I knew no other but here was

Rosemary, then in her early sixties, launched on her second career

as a gallery owner and clearly knowing what she was about.

Born on the wrong side of the Pennines in 1929, her family

had swiftly remedied the fault to turn her into a Yorkshire

woman via a dose of Northumberland. She read Modern

Languages at Oxford and, to her later amused embarrassment,

picked up a hockey blue. England in the early ’50s was not

an exciting prospect and Rosemary took jobs in Germany and

Finland on either side of travel in the United States where she

linked up with her elder diplomat brother, later food writer, Alan

Davidson. But London brightened up and Rosemary launched

into educational publishing in which she would make her mark,

at Longmans in its heyday until 1978, and then CUP as head of

the educational division and the first woman on the executive

board. According to colleagues, there was something of the

dragon about her but she was risk taking and inspirational in

showing how a woman could function in a big management role.

With retirement in prospect, Rosemary was planning ahead

and by 1987 had already opened the doors of Broughton House

on King Street. It was to become an invaluable foil to Kettle’s

Yard. If Jim Ede had preached the place of art in the home,

here was Rosemary supplying it. With no pretension of being

either gallery professional or connoisseur, she had a knack of

infecting customers with her own sense of enthusiastic enquiry

and discovery. Personally delivered invitations and double private

views made attendance obligatory and purchases followed

naturally. Cambridge artists found themselves exhibiting, not in a

‘local’ gallery but in one with international perspectives with new

work brought from far and wide.

I was always daunted by Rosemary’s productivity and deeply

envious of her capacity for having time to do things, whether

walking Millie on Midsummer Common or getting away to

Spain. If she wasn’t in the gallery or abroad, she was up in her

beloved Swaledale where her artistic and educational energies

set more fires burning. Occasionally we referred artists to each

other and I was particularly thrilled when I asked Rosemary if she

would extend her northward journey to visit Nerys Johnson in

Durham. Nerys was an extraordinary colourist whose paintings of

flowers became smaller, more intense and more life affirming as a

cruelly debilitating disease progressed. An instant friendship was

struck up, each recognising in the other the genuine article, and

Rosemary presented two wonderful exhibitions, the second after

Nerys’s death.

In its later years, Gwen Raverat was at the heart of Broughton

House, Rosemary having been entrusted with her archive.

Exhibitions and handsome books appeared and, even as Rosemary

physically shrank, she put to bed a Raverat calendar for 2013, a

year she wouldn’t see.

Rosemary was a great enthusiast for Kettle’s Yard. Sadly, both

she and Broughton House Gallery are now gone. Happily, that other

northerner, Lynne Strover, is still plying the trade out in Fen Ditton.

Michael Harrison and the FriendsThe Friends of Kettle’s Yard were extremely fortunate to

have had Michael Harrison as the Director for 19 years. Those

of us who help run the Friends have been lucky enough to

draw strength and inspiration from this remarkably talented

and generous man. Michael’s outstanding commitment to

maintaining and expanding Jim Ede’s creation has been our

guiding force when supporting Jim’s legacy. Michael was

someone for whom you wanted to do your best. In return, he

showed his appreciation of the many ways we give support

to Kettle’s Yard, be it financially or by organising our varied

programme of events. It was a privilege and pleasure to get

to know him well during nearly nine years as Chair of the

Friends. Alan Munro

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The Friends hit the South Coast in March

The South Coast can boast a great Modernist icon at Bexhill

and two exciting new art galleries at Hastings and Margate.

Add to these treats, a chance to hear the finals of an

international piano competition and a visit to an important if

underrated contemporary artist and you have the ingredients

for a fascinating weekend.

First, a visit to the De La Warr Pavilion at Bexhill designed

in 1930 by Mendelsohn and Chermayeff, the latter the subject

of a memorable exhibition at Kettle’s Yard some years ago.

The still controversial structure has succeeded in becoming a

true People’s Palace with exhibitions, concerts and a café. We

were captivated by artist Shaun Gladwell’s widescreen video

of a BMX biker performing balletic moves in slow motion on

the seafront on a grey day that echoed our own view from the

windows of this sleek, very unBritish building.

The new Jerwood Gallery at Hastings, with its iridescent

skin echoing the hues of a mussel shell, sits comfortably within

a group of traditional black-pitch covered fishermen’s huts

on the beach. Its changing exhibitions and displays from the

outstanding Jerwood collection of 20th Century British painting

are bringing many tourists to the town. Our one-night stay in

Hastings coincided with a chance to sit in on the exciting finals

of the Hastings International Piano Competition with the RPO

providing the muscle.

En route for Margate, we called in to the studio of artist

John Blackburn who was ‘discovered’ by Jim Ede and who is still

producing exciting and challenging new work well into his 80s.

John’s reputation has had a recent fillip with an exhibition at

the University of Kent and its art historian curator, Ben Thomas,

gave us a fascinating overview of John’s career.

Finally to the new Turner perched above the sweep of

beach at Margate – its pale glass-tiled skin reflecting the milky

sea beyond – a non-showy building designed by the ubiquitous

David Chipperfield with excellent spaces filled with highly varied

exhibits. These ranged from Turner’s perspective drawings for

Poitiers and Touraine TripSeptember 2012

From Cambridge to Paris by eurostar and on to Poitiers by

coach where our driver demonstrated reassuring skill in

guiding his huge vehicle through the narrow streets of the

medieval city.

Next day, we drove to Le Grand Pressigny where we visited

the new Museum of Prehistory, cleverly inserted into a wing

of the old castle. A massive stone staircase leads up to the first

floor – a wonderful light space with splendid views from which

you turn into a windowless corridor of the original building.

Archaeological finds are presented in a long run of well-lit cases

down the centre of this richly decorated darkness. A stunning

museum. Then to lunch, served in a garden on shaded trestle

tables. In the afternoon, we stopped at St Savin-sur-Gartempe

to see the painted abbey church, described in nicely Frenchified

English as housing ‘ the most considerable assemblage of

Romanesque paintings anywhere preserved’, with ceilings

thought to have been painted c.1100 AD.

Friday was spent in Poitiers where we visited the

Médiatheque Francois Mitterand, a calm set of spaces in a large

new building, followed by the T.A.P Theatre, a striking series of

black cubes. In the ‘free’ afternoon most of us visited some of

the wonderful mediaeval churches.

On Saturday morning, we first visited Saint Maure de

Touraine where we paused to look at a set of three sharply

angled, sustainable new public buildings. Then we set off for

Chaumont-sur-Loire to visit the International Gardens Festival,

where artists had created striking installations on this huge

estate. Pausing at Amboise en route to Tours allowed our keen

photographers to take pictures of the Loire and the chateau.

Sunday provided one of our greatest treats. We visited

an historic house in deep countryside whose owners seem to

have spent their adult lives in collecting beautiful objects – he

is primarily interested in ancient wooden furniture and she

collects paintings, drawings, ceramics, rugs and other textiles.

I was amazed by the ceramic collection –beginning with

prehistoric Chinese bowls and continuing in later centuries

with Chinese vessels, Iznik and other early pottery, through

wonderful 19th century tiles and pots up to modern potters

such as Lucy Rie. Finally, we briefly visited Loches, a mediaeval

town, before returning to Tours to begin the journey back

to Paris, the Eurostar and home. Our thanks go to organiser

Christine Botes.

gill Brown

his famously incomprehensible lectures to Carl Andre’s wooden

sculptures to Brazilian artist Maria Nepomuceno’s exuberant

knitted and woven colourful ‘play garden.’

Our thanks go to Ruth Rattenbury who conceived and ran

a memorable trip. For many of us, our traditional view of the

English seaside has been transformed.

Martin Thompson

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Kettle’s Yard

Castle Street, Cambridge CB3 0AQ

01223 748100 • www.kettlesyard.co.uk

new committee membersThis year we said goodbye to three members of the Kettle’s Yard committee,

Susan Smith, John Talbot and Stephen Rudder. We would like to thank them for

their commitment and hard-work on behalf of Kettle’s Yard.

Though we are sad to see them go we are very fortunate to be welcoming

two new members to our committee, Anne Lonsdale and Alex Van Someren.

Anne Lonsdale, the new Chair of the Committee, has been a long-time

supporter and Friend of Kettle’s Yard. She will be a familiar name to many

as former President of New Hall, now Murray Edwards College, from 1996-

2008. Alex Van Someren is also a Friend of Kettle’s Yard and contemporary art

enthusiast. Alex is Managing Partner at Amadeus Capital, based at the top of

Castle Hill. We are delighted they have agreed to bring their considerable skills

and experience to support Kettle’s Yard in the coming years.

Michael HarrisonWe are very sad to report that Michael Harrison, former Director of Kettle’s Yard

(1992-2011), died peacefully at home on the 25th April 2013. A full appreciation

of Michael will be included in the next edition.

CHriSToPHer wood To accompany this Summer’s

Christopher Wood show we are

producing lots of new merchandise,

there will be a Christopher Wood book

to add to our beautiful ongoing series

of publications on Kettle’s Yard artists,

a life size print of ‘Flowers’ and a wide

range of cards. This show is supported

by Hannay Robertson Ltd.

CASTle Hill oPen dAY Save the date for this year’s Castle Hill

open day on Saturday 21st September

2013. A range of talks, tours and family

activities, celebrating the unique heritage

of the Castle Hill area, will be available

free of charge. Please come along.

To reQUeST THe newSleTTer

in An AlTernATiVe ForMAT

PleASe CAll 01223 748100

This newsletter is made possible by a donation from the Friends of Kettle’s Yard.

Kettle’s Yard is grateful to the following who have recently supported our programme:

The Friends of Kettle’s Yard, Arts Council England, The Higher Education Funding Council, The Heritage Lottery Fund, Cambridge City Council,

The Isaac Newton Trust, The PRS for Music Foundation, The Radcliffe Trust, The RVW Trust, The Faculty of Music, Dr Shirley Ellis, and other individual donors.