Art exhibition looks at trees

A NEW exhibition featuring artists’ impressions of trees will be on display at the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden from Saturday.

Looking at Trees features paintings, etchings and prints from the gallery’s permanent collection and will run until September 5.

Exhibition organiser Iris Weaver said: “We try to put out as much work as we can from our North West Essex Collection which has not been on display for a while.

“This exhibition is based on the subject of trees and features work by artists of great national importance such as Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious.

“Many of the pieces show recognisable images from this area including Audley End House and Bridge End Gardens. As well as paintings we’ve got ceramic plates which were designed by Ravilious for Wedgewood, an early book by Bawden and also a piece of advertising he created for London Buses.”

The artists in the North West Essex Collection settled in Great Bardfield from the early 1930s to the 1980s. In 1970 Bawden moved to Saffron Walden where he lived until his death in 1989.

Other featured artists include Paul Beck, Sheila Robinson, John Aldrich and Olive Cook, who lived on Windmill Hill.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is Ravilious’ Two Women in the Garden, a water colour painted in 1933. The work is on loan to the gallery and is the only piece in the exhibition which is not from the collection.

For more information visit fryartgallery.org.