Remember when Christmas wasn’t the only time of year you received hand-written communications? In this age of emails and texts, Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance, is holding a celebration of the seemingly lost art of letter-writing in an exhibition entitled Picture Post. The show comprises a selection of illustrated letters, envelopes and cards by 19th and early 20th century artists working in West Cornwall, including – of course – hand made Christmas cards.
At the core of the exhibition is a delightful collection of painted envelopes created by Louis Wilhelm Ferdinand Behrens (1847 – 1910), which capture, with great good humour, life for this well-known local family at the turn of the last century.
Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, ‘Leu’ Behrens moved to England in 1871 and became a naturalised British subject in 1878. He and his wife, Emily (née Tunstall) frequently holidayed in West Cornwall before buying the land at Betsy’s Cove in the 1890s. They made their home at Prussia Cove, becoming well-known patrons of the arts, a tradition their family continue there to this day.
Also included are illustrated letters and cards by Newlyn School and Lamorna group artists such as Frank Gascoigne Heath, Laura Knight, Stanhope Forbes and Lamorna Birch. Because of the personal nature of such correspondence, the character of each artist is revealed with greater clarity than is shown by their
more prominent works of art. Humour is a key feature of many and these images are as funny now as they would have been for the recipient around a century ago.
Alongside Picture Post, the Social History gallery features a mini-exhibition of antique Christmas cards and other festive items, drawn from Penlee House’s collection, and the ground floor galleries present a large selection of the Gallery’s own Newlyn School and Lamorna group paintings (including many not seen for some time). Also on show is Penlee’s annual selling exhibition of work by Cornwall Crafts Association, on show in Gallery 1 – the perfect place to find that extra-special, unique gift – making Penlee House the ideal place to visit during the holidays! Picture Post and Crafts for Christmas both run from 27 November 2010 to 15 January 2011.
