Review: The People’s Choice at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery until Sunday August 31 2008.
The People’s Choice, which is on show at Norwich Museum and Art Gallery, has been put together by local people who chose the 100 paintings on show from an extensive collection normally kept in storage.
The result is a unique and inspirational exhibition that allows visitors to witness some important local portrayals from the reserve collection – ranging from The Return of Lord Nelson (Fred Roe, 1909) to Norwich Cathedral from Cowgate Bridge in the early 1800s (David Hodgonson).
Elsewhere you can pass by peaceful countryside scenes, dark and eerie forests and tumultuous seas and admire works by famous Suffolk born artists Frederick George Cotman and Thomas Smythe as well as paintings by famous artists such as William Hogarth, Marc Chagall and Edouard Vuillard.
A wonderful outcome of the selection process is the way the paintings have stirred people’s imaginations. Museum visitor Mia Nadarajan selected Summer by Penny Somerville. Selector’s comments are displayed next to the paintings and Mia explained: “I think they lived in Victorian times. When I saw the painting I thought it looked like I could step into it”.
Usually the theme of an exhibition refers to a set of similar, binding characteristics; in this case, however, the People’s Choice subverts that idea, the ‘theme’ being variety.
Individuals and community groups of all ages and backgrounds have contributed. Mary Newcomb’s Suffolk Clun Cross Ewe with 2 Lambs was chosen by six year old museum visitor Lydia Bessey because it made her laugh, whilst inmates of HMP Norwich chose David James Seascape, Stormbreakers (1892) describing the painting as intense and emotive.
Visitors to the exhibition can also follow an art gallery trail. Well-known personalities with connections to Norfolk, such as former Grand Prix driver turned commentator Martin Brundle and novelist Rose Tremain have chosen their favourite paintings and sculptures already displayed at the gallery.
Their choices span across works found the Crome, 20th Century East Anglian Landscape, Victorian Picture and the Timothy Gurney galleries.
A particularly impressive exhibit is The Conjuror (1847), an oil on canvas painting by John Everett Millais, one of the founders of the first generation Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Cherub like children with Elizabeth Siddal-inspired mothers look on in awe at the Victorian conjurer’s tricks.
The painting is a tableau of its time and a historical source today, full of tiny details and meaning. The owl and the parrot by the conjurer speak of how mystical and foreign the conjurer's tricks appeared to audience then, whilst the characters' expressions speak volumes.
Following the art gallery trail means visitors get a slice of each type of artwork displayed in the museum whilst also finding out what various paintings mean to the personalities who have chosen them. Norwich MP Ian Gibson preferred local art, favouring John Cromes’ Norwich River: Afternoon, whilst Alice Haver’s Victorian Pre Raphaelite picture 'Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart' is admired by Prunella Scales.
A ticket to the Castle includes exhibition entry, alternatively tickets are available for the exhibition only. For further information please visit museums@norfolk.co.uk or call 01603 493625.
Katie Brinkley is the 24 Hour Museum/Norwich HEART Student Writer in Norwich. Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART) is the groundbreaking initiative to regenerate, manage and promote one of the most remarkable heritage resources in the UK and in Europe.
