Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance, is the venue for the launch of a special new exhibition and book celebrating the life and work of a couple who, though relatively unheard of, helped to define the Lamorna art colony in its heyday, ‘Art Nouveau’ jeweller Ella, and her husband, the painter Charles Naper.
Ella Naper, née Champion, had learned handicrafts at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts under Frederick Partridge, and later joined his jewellery workshop at Branscombe in south Devon. There she developed and reformed her feel for Art Nouveau.
Ella met and married a young architect and painter, Charles Naper. They moved to Lamorna in 1912, where Charles built a house, Trewoofe, at the head of the valley. They soon became part of the artistic circle, making lifelong friendships with, in particular, Laura and Harold Knight, ‘Lamorna’ Birch and Harold and Gertrude Harvey.
The Napers appeared in several notable paintings. Laura Knight’s celebrated Spring, on loan to Penlee House from Tate Britain for this exhibition, depicts the couple set in the Cornish landscape, beneath a spectacular rainbow. Ella also modelled as the nude in Laura Knight’s Self and Nude (National Portrait Gallery, London), and was featured in Harold Harvey’s painting, The Critics (Birmingham City Art Gallery).
In the early 1920s, Ella set up the Lamorna Pottery with Kate Westrup, mainly producing commercial ware, but also beautifully modelled ceramic figures of herself and Laura Knight. But her enduring artistic legacy is her Art Nouveau jewellery, today highly regarded by connoisseurs and collectors.
Charles Naper, less gregarious than his wife, was an accomplished landscape painter who latterly concentrated on the geometry of cliffs and the patterns and shapes of rock formations. Easily discouraged, though, he rarely exhibited, sold little and in his eccentric last years put the majority of his paintings onto a bonfire. Anyone seeing the remaining paintings in this exhibition, which are breathtaking, must feel inclined to mourn for what we all lost in this terrible act of self-vandalism.
Penlee House is a beautiful art gallery and museum, set within sub-tropical gardens, with a great café.
Discover MoreOur vibrant exhibition programme celebrates the nationally important art and history of West Cornwall.
Discover MoreFrom school visits to family activities, talks and walks, there are plenty of learning opportunities at Penlee House.
Discover MoreEnjoy a delicious lunch or coffee at the Orangery Café, with its sunny terrace overlooking the park.
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