Journeys East

It was the last day of the exhibition at the Wallace Collection, entitled "Journeys East", which consisted of works of art produced by 60 Asian girls and women aged from 3 to 80+ from East Ham, Peckham, West Hampstead and West Ealing.

Funded by the Lottery Heritage Fund, the exhibition, which was in the basement, was quite small, but very interesting.   A video explained the origins of the project, which was set up to celebrate the refurbishment of the Wallace Collection's East Gallery, which features works by Dutch artists, including  Rembrandt's "Self Portrait in a Black Cap", Jan Steen's "Celebrating the Birth" and Caspar Netscher's "The Lace Maker".

The project lasted from january 2011 until October 2012, and involved many people seeing the Wallace Collection for the first time - some participants never even knew it existed, and were enchanted by the paintings when they came to visit and learn more about it.   During this period, they explored the history of Holland's involved with the East, and the legacies which they and the Dutch East India Company left behind.

Working with the themes of "Spice", "Journeys", "Treasures", "Identity" and "Inside/Out", they created some beautiful works of art, especially the pottery, with its very Dutch blue and white designs.

After spending some time at the fascinating "Journey's East" exhibtiion, I wandered upstairs and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Wallace Collection, which I had not visited for quite some time. 

Based in Hertford House, a townhouse in Manchester Square, just north of Exford Street, the Wallace Collection displays the large number of works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess; Sir Richard's widow bequeathed it to the nation in 1897.

Each room has a different colour scheme, which is reflected in the sumptious wallpaper and curtains on the huge windows in the high-ceilinged rooms.    Some were too bright for my liking, but one could not help but admire the thought that had gone into the designs.

It is not really possible to appreciate the beauty of all the paintings in a single afternoon visit; one could easily spend several days there, particularly n the company of an enthusiastic guide with an interest in passing on all their knowledge of the various works.