Proof that card collecting is linked to rocket science

Posted on June 16, 2014 by maryannadair

Shell Citizenship seriesCard collectors can often get hooked on free promotional collector series cards and this is a clever form for maintaining brand loyalty. As long as you are willing to purchase the product, you will be rewarded – and this is often used with novelty cards or gifts. All of a sudden you realise you have to have the complete set and sometimes you have to move mountains to do so, rather than simply trading with your mates.  There are many types of products which venture down this path, and it seems that it is back in fashion . Over the past 12 months the various supermarket chains have been offering themed card collections and books to put them in, which has reminded me of earlier ‘Tazo’ collectors (ca 1995) and before that, the likes of leaf-tea, confectionery, or even those on offer at Petrol or Gasoline Stations such as those offered by the former Golden Fleece or Shell Refinery. Here we have two examples from the Shell Project Cards – Citizenship Series (which focuses on top job offerings in the 1960s in the service professions:

(Librarians Card No. No.56 in the series) . According to the information written on the back of this card, “Librarians must hold minimum educational qualifications (Matriculation) and must study to obtain a Registration Certificate or Diploma. They are employed by city and local councils, universities, schools and private organizations. Their duties include book selection, classification and cataloging, advice to readers and research services. Mobile libraries, similar to the one illustrated, carry books and magazines to residents of remote areas of Australia”.

Notice the gender difference between this and the one featured below? (Scientists – No.7 in the Shell Citizenship series) – According to the back of this card: “There is an ever-increasing need for scientists in this modern world. Australian scientists work in many fields. Some carry out research in medicine and physics to help improve our standards of living – others are engaged in the development of space rocket and war weapons. Recently at Woomera testing range in South Australia scientists of the Joint UK-Australian Long Range Weapons Project successfully completed tests with the British ‘Blue Streak’ missile.”

Without looking ‘bookish’ I think I may have discovered a link between card collecting, librarianship and rocket science! Nevertheless, as sure as Shell, I think I know what I want to be when I grow up!

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Let’s get to the Point

Posted on June 15, 2014 by maryannadair

Point-to-Point-Douglas-Annand-menuPoint to Point is the name of the cover art for this vintage Cruising Menu. It is one of a series of seven racecourse-themed menus designed for the Orient Line by Douglas Annand of Sydney. Point to Point relates to the steeplechase. By definition, all races are of a three mile length and are usually run on hunting horses. There is a race for women riders as well.

Douglas Shenton Annand (1903-1976), was a graphic designer and artist, born on 22nd March, 1903 in Toowoomba, Queensland; the third child of Frederick William Gadsby Annand, (an Accountant), and his wife Helen Alice, (née Robinson). Annand studied commercial art at the Central Technical College, Brisbane. In 1920, Douglas joined the English, Scottish & Australian Bank. Five years later he began work as a commercial artist at Reed Press and attended night-classes at Brisbane Central Technical College under L. J. Harvey. Apart from his work for the Orient Lines, he was commissioned by a Brisbane jewellery firm and prepared wildflower designs for the Royal Worcester Co. Ltd,  in England.

If you are more interested in the culinary offerings for this particular night’s dinner under the Point to Point Menu for Tuesday 18th February, 1958 some of the offerings included were:

  • Cream St. Cloud soup.
    Fillet of lemon sole, Doria.
    Stuffed breast of lamb with green peas.
    Roast sirloin of beef with Yorkshire pudding. Potatoes browned.
  • Cold buffet: roast pork or veal pate.
  • Salad lettuce and cucumber with American or French dressing.
  • and for dessert: Plum tart with cream or cream caramel.

The Point of the matter with this example of illustration, is that art does indeed mix with food, especially when artists are involved in the menu design! Bon appetit!

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A German conundrum? – I’ll drink to that!

Posted on June 15, 2014 by maryannadair

hans w. schmidtHere’s today’s conundrum – “What does a dozen bottles of German Riesling have in common with the artwork of Hans Werner Schmidt?” Well, first we need to know a little about who he was. Hans Werner Schmidt was born on 10th June, 1859 in Weimar, Hamburg.  He studied art at the Hamburg School of Applied Arts, and after that, as a master student for both Theodor Hagen and Albert Henry Brendel (Professor at the Academy of Weimar). Schmidt’s work was predominantly either figurative, landscapes or animal paintings. His work includes a wall mural at St. Petersburg (1906) and ceiling paintings in the Great Hall of the Weimar Castle and Town Hall ca. 1919.

He worked as an illustrator for the National Assembly in Weimar and was a member and Professor of the General German Kunstgenossenschaft (Art Society) who put on a Special Exhibition of his work in 1949 to celebrate his 90th Birthday.  Sadly, Schmidt died almost a year later on the 31st of May, 1950 at Weimar.

So, what’s this got to do with wine? Well, this artwork was used by the German wine label Julius Kayser & Co. for their Deidesheimer Hofstueck Riesling with claims that the original artwork was by Prof. Hans W. Schmidt.

I can only add – “Alles Gute“, Prost!

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Who gives a Hoot?

Posted on June 8, 2014 by maryannadair

Tom BassAustralian sculptor, Thomas Dwyer Bass aka Tom Bass,  was born in Lithgow, New South Wales, on 6th June 1916. He studied at the Dattilo Rubbo Art School and the National Art School.  After his graduation, Tom developed a philosophy of working as a sculptor as being the maker of totemic forms and emblems, that is, work expressing ideas of particular significance to communities or to society at large. Examples of his work include:

  • The Trial of Socrates and The Idea of a University at Wilson Hall, Melbourne University;
  • The Falconer on Main Building at UNSW, representing the conflict between beauty and the intellect;
  • The winged figure of Ethos in Civic Square, Canberra, representing the spirit of the community and;
  • The Lintel Sculpture at the National Library, Canberra, representing the idea of Library.

In 1974, Tom established the Tom Bass Sculpture School in Sydney and fourteen years later, was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his services to sculpture in 1988.  A retrospective of his work, spanning 60 years, was exhibited at the Sydney Opera House in November 2006. In 2009, he was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Visual Arts (honoris causa) at the University of Sydney. He departed this life on the 26th February, 2010.

Further items can be found under my category Sculpture.

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Is she fishing for compliments, or just fishing on the Seine?

Posted on June 6, 2014 by maryannadair
Federico Zandomeneghi | Fishing on the Seine
Federico Zandomeneghi | La Modistab

Italian born Impressionist painter, Federico Zandomeneghi was born on June 2, 1841.   Like his father and his grandfather before him, Federico was a Venetian-born sculptor; so it was of no surprise that he enrolled in the Venice Academy in 1856. Four years later, he joined an artistic group in Florence, where they concentrated on  “en plein air“, style, which focused on ‘the great outdoors’.

By 1874, Zandomeneghi had moved and settled in Paris, which remained his home for the rest of his life.  It was here that he engaged with the “Impressionistic artists”, who had just had their first group exhibition. Zandomeneghi’s empathic style related well to theirs, and through this group, he exhibited in four of the following ‘Impressionist’ exhibitions, from 1879-1881, and later on,  in 1886.

  • Both he and his close friend Edgar Degas were figure painters,  although Zandomeneghi’s earlier influence of landscape work ended up producing a more sentimental result than perhaps that of Degas’ characters.  Zandomeneghi,  unfortunately left us in Paris, on the 31st December, 1917.

The Image above is entitled: “Fishing on the Seine,” (1878), oil on panel.  Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Florence.

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Still Life in a Red Room

Posted on June 5, 2014 by maryannadair

robert macbryde - table in a red roomScottish artist Robert MacBryde (1913–1966) was a still-life, figure painter and a theatre set designer. Born in Maybole, MacBryde worked in a factory for 5 years after leaving school until he enrolled at the Glasgow School of Art from 1932-1937.  There, he met Robert Colquhoun with whom he established a lifelong relationship and professional collaboration. The pair were known as “The Two Roberts“. After graduation in 1937 MacBryde spent two years studying in France and Italy and returned to London in 1939. Together with Colquhoun, John Minton and Jankel Adler they shared accommodation and the occasional studio space.

MacBryde held his first one-person exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery (1943).  He had many influences such as the artists, Graham Sutherland and John Piper; the Modernist School of Art, (with brightly coloured Cubist studies); and a darker, Expressionist range of still life and landscape. However, it was during WWII, where in collaboration with Colquhoun, MacBryde created several set designs for:

  • Gielgud’s Macbeth,
  • King Lear at Stratford; and
  • Massine’s Scottish ballet Donald of the Burthens, produced by the Sadler’s Wells Ballet at Covent Garden (1951).

During the 1950s, both MacBryde and Colquhoun became heavy drinkers, and Colquhoun died suddenly in 1962. Shortly after his death, MacBryde moved to Ireland, and for a time shared a house with the author Patrick Kavanagh, with whom he been acquainted with previously in London. Sadly, Robert MacBryde died in 1966 in Dublin as a result of a street accident.

Picture featured above is “In a Red Room” (1950) oil. – Arts Council of Great Britain.

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The Private Life of a Strip-Tease Girl

Posted on June 3, 2014 by maryannadair

cal-anton bookPulp fiction, penny dreadfuls, dime novels and their ilk have entertained many a consumer of the day. They were cheap, they were there to entertain, they were not there to represent literacy or provide historical reference, but they did indicate the ‘norms’ of the times and hastily referenced the difference between ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ behaviors as inferenced within this genre.

The fascination of reading these cheap thrillers provides the reader with a certain nuance (by today’s standings) ;  and projected innocence by those illustrated in these stories. Therefore, a true appreciation of the past, realised today, indicates the maturation of society; and acceptance to its tastes of greater levels of intimacy in literature.

However, from an artistic level, what I truly admire, is the “essence of “sin” as depicted on the covers which not only entice the reader into finding out more, by immediately purchasing the item, but also by being titillated by its content.

The image above is from “The Private Life of a Strip-Tease Girl” (1959) by Cal Anton, with cover illustration by Carl Mueller. The story line for this reads:

  • Kitty promised wild ecstasy and delivered.
  • A fascinating glimpse of strippers backstage and their feverish hunt for thrills to satisfy jaded senses.
  • A novel which takes you behind the scenes with the Burlesque Queen.

If you put each person’s experience into their own life as to why they might fit into the “Strip-Tease Girl World” and fully understand and empathize with it, we might all be able to globally acknowledge everyone’s contribution.

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Milly-Molly-Mandy Rides Again

Posted on June 2, 2014 by maryannadair

joyce lankester brisleyDoes anyone remember the “Milly-Molly-Mandy” book series by British writer/illustrator, Joyce Lancester-Brisley?  Starting out as a young writer, Joyce, at the age of 13, wrote her first fairy story and published it in a children’s paper.  After the family moved to London, Joyce  attended art school for two years. By the age of 20, she and her two sisters,  Nina K. Brisley, and Ethel C. Brisley (who were also illustrators), had paintings hung in The Royal Academy.  All three sisters illustrated postcards for Alfred Vivian Mansell.

Joyce lived in Ham Common, near Richmond and never married. She died in 1978 at the age of 82. Joyce’s legacy is a collection of seven books which were first printed in 1925, and later had a resurgence in the 1950s and 1960s. The latest editions of her books were published ca. 2004. Amongst the collection of Milly-Molly-Mandy stories were:

  •  Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook (1928)
  • Milly-Molly-Mandy Again (1953)
  • Milly-Molly-Mandy and Co. (1955)
  • More of Milly-Molly-Mandy (1957)
  • Further Doings of Milly-Molly-Mandy (1959)
  • Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories (1960)
  • Milly-Molly-Mandy and Billy Blunt (1967)

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Tintoretto’s admiration for Veronica Franco

Posted on June 2, 2014 by maryannadair

tintoretto - veronica francoTintoretto, aka “Il Furioso,” was born in Venice in1518; the eldest of 21 children. He was originally Christened Jacopo Comin. His father, Giovanni, was a dyer, or “tintore”; hence the son got the nickname of ‘Tintoretto‘, (little dyer, or dyer’s boy). Tintoretto, was an important Italian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance School.  His work is characterized by its muscular figures, dramatic gestures and bold use of perspective in the ‘Mannerist‘ style, while maintaining color and light typical of the ‘Venetian School‘. In 1594, he was seized with severe stomach pains, complicated by fever, which prevented him from sleeping and almost from eating for a fortnight. He died on May 31, 1594.

The above portrait by Tintoretto is of Veronica Franco  (1546-1591); a Renaissance Venetian “cortigiana onesta” (intellectual courtesan and poet).  In its day, the Venetian courtesans were among the most educated and liberated of European women.  The daughter of a former “cortigiana onesta“, Veronica was trained to use her natural assets and abilities and even had a brief liaison with Henry III, King of France. Apart from her fabled eroticism, Veronica was celebrated for her artistic and poetic talents.  The following is one of Veronica’s quotes:

“When we too are armed and trained, we can convince men that we have hands, feet, and a heart like yours; and although we may be delicate and soft, some men who are delicate are also strong; and others, coarse and harsh, are cowards. Women have not yet realized this, for if they should decide to do so, they would be able to fight you until death; and to prove that I speak the truth, amongst so many women, I will be the first to act, setting an example for them to follow.” —Veronica Franco

  • This painting is from the Austin S. And Sarah C Garver Fund, at the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts.

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May the Angel of Love Call Upon You

Posted on May 30, 2014 by maryannadair

millicent-sowerbyIn 1878, Amy Millicent Sowerby was born in Northumberland to the designer and children’s book illustrator John G. Sowerby. He was fond of illustrating in a similar style to that of Kate Greenaway; later on he turned to landscape art. Finding encouragement at home, young Millicent took some art classes for several years but the the distance from home, prevented her from attending them for more than two days a week.  In the end, she was known as being mostly self-taught, learning from the work of other illustrators.

Millicent’s sister became a collaborator with her in children’s literature. Githa authored stories and verses while Millicent illustrated them. Although their partnership lasted over 20 years, Millicent also became a prolific illustrator of children’s picture post cards depicting scenes from Shakespeare and the Kate Greenaway type girls. Active even into her 80s, Millicent focused on watercolour paintings, specialising in flowers. Sadly, Millicent died in 1967.

  • The depiction featured above is from the children’s author: L.T. Meade’s story – “Angel of Love,“ which was illustrated by Millicent Sowerby, ca 1915.

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Sobrat’s art is truly Bali-hai

Posted on May 29, 2014 by maryannadair

Anak Agung Gde SobratIdewa Gde Sobrat (aka)  Anak Agung Gde Sobrat (1912–1992) was an Balinese painter;  the son of an aristocratic family from the town of Padangtegal in Ubud. Prior to WWII, he was also known as I. Dewa Sobrat.

As a child, he was exposed to various forms of art such as shadow puppet theatre and sacred dances at the village temple and subsequently, from his grandfather, he learned how to make shadow puppets.  This became the basis for his skillful depiction of the Ramayana and Mahabharata in his early paintings. Sobrat and his neighbor Anak Agung Gde Meregeg were the first two artists in Padangtegal to meet  the German artist, Walter Spies, at the end of 1920s. Spies, together with Rudolf Bonnet was thought to be the agent of change for the modernization of Balinese art.

Sobrat worked and lived with Spies for a year and began to learn the western style of painting from both Spies and Bonnet and later on, it was from Bonnet that he learned portraiture.  For two years between 1957-1959, Sobrat taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Jogjakarta, Indonesia.

In his early career, before 1930, Sobrat produced mainly Wayang (shadow style) paintings. Some of his early works can be found in the Museum Puri Lukisan in Ubud; the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde  in Leiden; and Tropenmuseum (Tropical Museum) of Amsterdam.  The above picture is from the collection of the Tropenmuseum.

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A sacred and safe home for all living creatures

Posted on May 29, 2014 by maryannadair

The Fairies Tree is a red gum carving by Ola Cohn, MBE, ARCA which stands in Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens. Born in Bendigo in 1892, Ola excelled in art an early age. She studied at Melbourne’s Swinburne Technical College before winning a scholarship to study under acclaimed sculptor Henry Moore at London’s Royal College of Art. She returned and established a studio in Collins Street in 1931. She was inspired by Ivor Innes’ Elfin Oak in London’s Kensington Gardens.

Olga Cohn fairy tree

She spent three years carving the Red Gum, which contains imps, dwarfs, fairies, goblins, elves and animals. Completed in 1934, Ola presented it to the general public and in particular, the children of Melbourne.

In November, 1977, the trunk was extracted from the ground for chemical treatment and or removal of rotten wood. Following this it was mounted on a concrete base in an effort to preserve the work. The restoration Was generously supported by Lions Club City of Melbourne (Host) Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and Friends of the Fairies’ Tree.

Ola provided a further dedication as a gift to the children of Melbourne in the foreword from her book “The Fairies’ Tree’ “I have carved a tree in the Fitzroy Gardens for you and the fairies, but mostly for the fairies, and those who believe in them, for they will understand how necessary it is to have a fairy sanctuary – a place that is sacred and safe as a home should be to all living creatures. Therefore I dedicate this book to children and fairies, as it is to them I owe my inspiration”.

  • Ola Cohn died in Melbourne 23rd May 1932.

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Was it Shoeicide or not?

Posted on May 28, 2014 by maryannadair

Abandoned ShoeWhat’s with the preponderance for seeing abandoned shoes or footwear wherever you go? and why is it most often, one lonely piece? Look around and you will quickly see that there are plenty of singular shoes, runners, thongs, sandals, or you-name-it; in the name of footwear, that dot the coastline and the city areas, like there is ‘no tomorrow’.

I ask you, at what point of the day/night do you suddenly realise that you are a little footloose and fancy-free on your left or right side and be a little lop-sided in your gait?

Does this mean that at this point, the forgotten or lonesome piece of footwear, may have willingly or unwillingly been a subject of “shoe-icide?” or are we just merely waiting for that Cinderella and the Prince moment of reconciliation of this wayward recalcitrant item?

Notably, some shoe abandonment is intentional, as in shoe-tossing, in which shoes are tied together by their laces and thrown in great numbers into trees, over power lines, or over fences. as a form of art known as objet trouvé or shoefitti. (What these hang-around numbers means, depends on your own and local definitions)! but the mystery of the singular shoe lingers on.

Was it pushed…did it fall… or was it shoe-icide?

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The storm in a teacup which brewed in Portmeirion

Posted on May 28, 2014 by maryannadair

Portmeirion porcelainPortmeirion as a town, is a tourist village located in the community of Penrhyndeudraeth, on the estuary of the River Dwyryd, south-east of Porthmadog, in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was once the film set for the 1966-67 British cult surreal spy drama TV series “The Prisoner,” which starred Patrick McGoohan.  At the time, to prevent tourists from visiting whilst filming for the series, its location was not revealed until the credits of the final episode. Since then, many a tourist and famous guest has visited or stayed.

However, Portmeirion pottery which is sold in the gift shop has nothing to do with the village. It was founded in 1960 by Susan Williams-Ellis, daughter of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, who took over a small pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire. Previously as a potter, Susan had been commissioning designs to sell at the gift shop in Portmeirion Village. Portmeirion pottery’s  most recognised range is the Botanic Garden range launched in 1972.

  • Unfortunately, like many small companies in any industry, the Portmeirion Potteries was purchased in 2009 by a larger conglomerate, this one being the Royal Worcester and Spode factories.

For similar examples to this, see my Porcelain page.

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Tara’s a gem – no matter how you broach it

Posted on May 26, 2014 by maryannadair

tara broochThe Tara Brooch  is an 8th Century, pseudo-penannular brooch from County Meath in the Republic of Ireland. Made from Silver gilt with gold filigree; amber and polychrome glass ornaments, it stands proud on display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

Numerous romantic stories abound concerning its discovery in 1850. The design and workmanship immediately led observers to associate it with Hill of Tara, or Teamhair na Rí, the legendary seat of the kings of Ireland from neolithic times (c. 5000 BC) to the 6th century or later. However, it was actually found some distance away on the coast north of Drogheda.

  • Incidentally, Tara is supposedly Irish Gaelic for “Queen.”

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