As October moves towards autumn, thoughts turn to activities people enjoy indoors. Art is a source of pleasure for many, bringing joy to both the artist and those who view the work.
Friday 25th October is National Artist Day. The Walks of Life Museum will host an exhibition from 10th October featuring art from its collection, running until 7th November. The display includes items collected by the founder, Dorothy Harrison, from her travels and various auctions. Among the highlights are some wonderful examples of needlework.
If visitors would like to draw or paint some of the items in the collection or display their own work, they are encouraged to contact the museum. Art groups have visited before, but individuals with a passion for art are also welcome.
A key request is to ensure your name and the date are included on your work. The museum has a few mysteries it would love to solve, including two paintings Dorothy bought at an auction. The paintings, believed to depict a man and possibly his wife, were wrapped in brown paper labelled simply as ‘Cobbs from Auction’. (These were shown to a local Tuxford family, but they did not recognise the subjects).
On Thursday 24th October at 2.00pm, the museum will host a talk about owls, with Annette bringing along her feathered friend. Admission is free, and refreshments will be available. On Saturday 9th November at 10.00am, the museum will hold a sale of Christmas decorations and gifts, accompanied by a raffle, coffee, and cake. For more information contact Diane on 01777 872776 (leave a message) or email dianehunt08@btinternet.com.
The Museum of the Horse will feature paintings as part of the ‘Coaching Tuxford and Roads’ exhibition, including original works by Cecil Aldin from a century ago and Charles Cooper Henderson, renowned for his paintings of horses and coaches. These works will be accompanied by road shoes from the recently acquired Doug Bradbury Farriery collection.
The talk accompanying the first week of the exhibition was so successful that a second session was organised to accommodate everyone. If there is further interest, an additional talk may be scheduled before Christmas. In the meantime, visitors can enjoy a display of images of Tuxford, part of the vast collection bequeathed by local historian Eric Coddington.
The museum is open from 9.00am to 4.00pm Monday to Friday, and from 10.00am to 2.00pm on Saturdays. For more information, contact 01777 838234 or curator@museumofthehorse.co.uk.