An artist's path I.
Today I will dedicate this post to one of the areas of London that I have walked most often, the path from Hammersmith Bridge to Kew, Richmond and Twickenham. Maybe I have done it more than a hundred times, but always enjoying its magic and discovering new old stories. As a pretext to start this journey I will show a small engraving that is also part of my art collection.
The artwork is entitled "Furnival View / Hammersmith Bridge", and is a limited edition print, hand signed in pencil and numbered 20/50, dated 2016, by an artist named Keira Rathbone, who defines herself as a typewriter artist. I found this piece in 'Made in H and F', a small space at Kings Mall devoted to promoting the artwork of local artists.
Born in 1983 in the UK, she is an established fine artist living and working in London. After completing an ND Foundation in Art and Design at The Arts Institute, in Bournemouth, in 2002, Keira studied a BA (hons) Fine Art at the University of the West of England, in Bristol (2005). Since then she has taken part in many group exhibitions and performances, and in at least a dozen solo exhibitions. This young artist has developed a unique drawing technique, which consists of using a manual typewriter as a drawing tool. With this unusual artistic method, Rathbone creates landscapes and drawings that capture everyday life. She is a close artist, who interacts with the public that observes her particular way of creating art.
The gem of Victorian engineering shown in this drawing is easily accessible from any of the Hammersmith underground stations.
The dignity of the Hammersmith Bridge and the path that begins on it has been sketched out by many artists throughout history. It is difficult not to be seduced by its beauty, by the spontaneous shifts of light, by the changing Thames with its capricious tides, which at every time of the day shows a different picture, and by its occasional nautical scenes or rowers training. In fact, the annual Oxford-Cambridge University Boat Race passes under this bridge. The painter Walter Greaves immortalised this event in his well-known painting "Boat Race Day at Hammersmith Bridge" (1862), showing a crowd gathering after climbing the bridge to better visualise the race.
The current Hammersmith Suspension Bridge, designed by the civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, is one of the most photogenic structures in London. Perhaps that is why it has been depicted in many paintings, engravings and photographs.
I myself was seduced by the picturesque beauty of this spot, and on one of my walks I made a view of the bridge, "The Thames at Hammersmith Bridge" (2019). I enjoy capturing the world through my camera, and also practicing traditional artistic techniques. Here in London I found photo-painting an interesting medium of expression. Of each original digital artwork I only print one piece, on high quality Giclée using Somerset paper of 255 g/m², 800 x 600 mm, which I then retouch using conventional fine art techniques. It is shocking that in the UK, artwork produced by digital media is not accepted in some art competitions, and even in some school competitions. "Oil, watercolour, acrylic, pastel, crayon, pencil or ink - no computer generated art and no writing on the picture. Collage is not encouraged but may be accepted at the discretion of the judges" is an example taken from the rules of a popular annual educational competition that exhibits the selected entries at one of Britain's most renowned arts institutions. Beyond long-established societies that promote the use of traditional techniques - Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, The Pastel Society, etc.-, banning or discouraging the use of the computer may be difficult to understand today, and it is even more surprising in a country that has always characterised itself by innovation in artistic techniques, with artists such as painter David Hockney who has been using new technologies for decades.
We leave the bridge and walk east, following the Lower Mall to Furnivall Gardens. It is here that the now-covered Stamford Brook, one of London's lost rivers, pours its waters. Until the early 19th century it was navigable to King St. and was called Hammersmith Creek. Some antique photographs show the barges sailing along the Creek loaded with coal or goods.
From here there are wonderful views of Hammersmith Bridge and the life on the Thames, with the barges moored at The Dove Pier. It is certainly one of the most picturesque settings in London, and it is not surprising to find artists here painting with their easels.
In front of The Dove Pier we will find some 17th century houses, among which is the Dove Pub, where the poet James Thomson is said to have composed the well-known strains of "Rule Britannia", although there is no historical evidence of this. Given the proximity of Kelmscott House, owned by the craftsman, designer, poet, printer, socialist and novelist William Morris, we can imagine meetings of Pre-Raphaelite painters here. Many of them lived in the nearby boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea. Kelmscott House is located in the Upper Mall, following the banks of the Thames.
The Dove pub.
Upper Mall was for a time the residence of the famous painter Eric Ravilious. Many artists have painted in this area, including Victor Pasmore and Mary Potter. Potter studied with Henry Tonks at the Slade School of Fine Arts.
One of the most attractive buildings in this area is Linden House, with its elegant south-facing facade overlooking the Thames. Today it houses the London Corinthian Trust sailing and rowing club. We should not confuse this building with another long vanished Linden House also in Chiswick (Turnham Green), which was the birthplace and home of the infamous triple murderer and artist Thomas Griffiths Wainewright, convicted and transported to Tasmania where he died in 1847.
Following our route along the Thames we will reach Chiswick Mall, one of the most relaxing and picturesque areas of London. In the Thames we will see a small river island called Chiswick Eyot (pronounced chizzik ait), subject of a painting by Ravilious. This small nature reserve on the Thames is accessible at low tide, and in the past was used for the cultivation of osier, for basket making. The problem of soil erosion - previously the island had a larger area - was solved by shoring up the banks.
Swans in front of Chiswick Eyot.
Many artists have lived and painted in this area of Chiswick. French artist Lucien Pissarro (1863-1910) lived nearby at 27 Stamford Brook Road, Chiswick, and some of his artworks are painted on the Mall. His father, the famous French impressionist painter Camille Pissarro also visited this area in 1897, living at 62 Bath Rd, Bedford Park, close to Stamford Brook, for a few months. By the end of 1920′s this area had its own community of artists, the so-called "The Chiswick Group", formed by artists William McCance, Raymond Coxon, William Coldstream, Nicola Counsell, Edna Ginesi, Eric and Celandine Kennington, Elizabeth Violet Polunin, sculptor Gertrude Hermes, writer A.P. Herbert and his painter wife, Gwen Herbert, and several others.
One of the places that almost goes unnoticed at the Mall is Durham Wharf, an old warehouse like building that was once home of artists Julian Trevelyan and Mary Fedden, from 1951 until Trevelyan’s death in 1988 and Fedden’s in 2012. Many artists visited Durham Wharf, among them Sir Stanley Spencer and Paul Nash, a riverside studio that became not only a place for artistic creativity -Durham Wharf itself became a subject for paintings- but also a center for socializing among artists. Julian and his first wife Ursula held annual parties on Boat Race Day. It was at one of those events that Julian met his second wife, Mary.
Throughout this tour we will have passed by some interesting houses, such as Walpole House, from the 18th century, which was the home of Thomas Walpole, nephew of Sir Robert Walpole, England's first Prime Minister. It is said that this house was inhabited by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, mistress of King Charles II. In 1817 Walpole House became a school for young gentlemen, attended by William Makepeace Thackeray. The writer was inspired by Walpole House as the setting for Miss Pinkerton's Seminary for Young Ladies in his novel Vanity Fair.
Bedford House.
Another Georgian-fronted architecture in the area is Bedford-Eynham House, now two separate properties, but formerly a single residence, that of the Russell family, Earls -later Dukes- of Bedford. The house was built in the mid-seventeenth century, a period of civil conflict between royalists and parliamentarians, which ended with the execution of the king, Charles I. The facade of the house was altered in Georgian times, and it was divided into two properties.
In the 19th century the house belonged to the family that owned the Lamb brewery. From 1945 until 1954 the house was owned by famous actor Sir Michael Redgrave, who lived here with his family, whose members include renowned actress Vanessa Redgrave, who still lives in Chiswick, and mother-in-law of actor Liam Neeson.
At the end of this Thames path, and after passing in front of the Fuller's Griffin Brewery walls, we will arrive at St. Nicholas Church. The village of Chiswick grew up along the riverside around this parish church. Chiswick ferry was the only way to cross the river in this area, as there were no bridges across the Thames between London Bridge and Kingston Bridge.
Fuller's Griffin Brewery.
The grave of James McNeill Whistler.
Field Marshall Montgomery was married at St Nicholas Church. Its churchyard was Chiswick’s only burial ground for many centuries. Important artists such as William Hogarth, who had a cottage very close to this place, or James McNeill Whistler, as well as the Italian poet Ugo Foscolo, are buried in his churchyard. Near Whistler's grave is the last resting-place of Henry Joy (d.1893), the trumpeter who sounded the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’. Also nearby we observe ancient small graves, without any inscriptions. In the 18th and 19th centuries child mortality was very high, and many of the babies and children who died in Chiswick were completely anonymous. During the 18th century there is little information about the age of the deceased in the burial registers of St. Nicholas Church. Only one name and the date of death were recorded, with no distinction between children and adults. However, strangers and foundlings were identified, because the parish had to assume the cost of the burial. By the 19th century the records were more specific, recording the age and sometimes the cause of death. Among the most frequent causes of child deaths are drownings in the Thames, typhoid fevers, scarlet fever, cholera epidemics and fires. Sometimes the records list children found in the Parish, who are described as foundlings. These used to be babies abandoned by their desperate mothers. William Hogarth was passionate about Thomas Coram’s vision to improve the lives of abandoned children, and became involved in the Foundling Hospital.
On Church Lane we will discover some ancient buildings, such as The Old Burlington, from the 15th century, and at the northwest end Page's Yard, one of the most charming spots in the area. Many artists have walked this route with its old buildings, portraying them in their drawings and paintings.
Very close to Page's Yard, following the lane, is the old and picturesque Chiswick Square, from the 18th century.
Illustration from chapter 1 of Thackeray's Vanity Fair (c.1861).
"'Stop!' cried Miss Jemima, rushing to the gate with a parcel (...) 'Becky, Becky Sharp, here's a book for you that my sister—that is, I,—Johnson's Dixonary, you know; you mustn't leave us without that. Good by. Drive on, coachman. God bless you!'
And the kind creature retreated into the garden, overcome with emotions.
But, lo! and just as the coach drove off, Miss Sharp put her pale face out of the window, and actually flung the book back into the garden (...).
The carriage rolled away; the great gates were closed; the bell rang for the dancing lesson. The world is before the two young ladies; and so, farewell to Chiswick Mall".
In his novel Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray used his experiences at Walpole House to create Miss Pinkerton's Academy for girls, but one of the illustrations for the chapter 1 resemble Boston House here, in Chiswick Square, where there was a girls' school run by Mrs Nethercliffe.
Nearby is Hogarth's House, a retreat and late studio of painter and engraver William Hogarth. The house, dating from the late 17th century with an 18th century bay window, is now a museum which, although small, is highly recommended. Poet and essayist, Alexander Pope, lived with his parents in Mawson Row, very close to here -the house is now the Mawson Arms pub-.
We will be continuing our route to Kew in other future posts on this blog, discovering amazing places that have attracted and continue to attract numerous artists, and finding inspiration where they once found it.
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