The plan was to see two paintings on our day trip, well you know what they say about plans.  Getting to the first museum was just a tube ride to the train and a train to Basingstoke.  From the train station it was a short walk to the museum.  There was an exhibition of the work of Paul Nash who painted the painting we wanted to see.  The painting “The Archer” is normally at the Southampton Art Gallery.  The Southampton Gallery told me that this painting was going to be in the exhibition The Artist’s Rifles.  That exhibition was on at the museum, but our painting wasn’t there!  Paul Nash was a British surrealist painter who volunteered for service in WWI.  The Artist’s Rifles exhibition was a display of works by artists who served in the war.  We spotted the problem as soon as we walked into the small museum.  Our painting “The Archer” was not a painting about WWI, and would not have matched any of the works on display.  So I’ve emailed my contact at the Southampton Gallery to find out where our painting might be.  I double checked with the museum curator to confirm that our painting wasn’t in the exhibition.  After that it was off to see our second painting.  This required a little more effort, two bus rides that lasted almost two hours.  But it was all worth it as we got to see our painting at the Sandham Memorial Chapel.  Stanley Spencer, another artist who served in WWI decorated the interior of a family Chapel that was dedicated to a son who died after WWI.  The painting the “Map Reading” is #403 for us.  It is just one of 18 murals in the chapel.  Anyone of the paintings could have been selected for the 1001 list.  Photos were not allowed so I just have a photo of the Chapel.  We thought we would be the only people at the museum, but there were quite a few people there.  This might be because of the Centenary of the start of WWI.  To get home it was another bus ride to a different train station.  We waited for the bus at a pub, how fortunate is that?  The bus driver who picked us up, was the same drive who dropped us off.  The route is a big circle and he drives it about seven times each day.  Tomorrow we are staying in London and going to the Tate Britain to see two paintings, we hope.  I forgot to add that at our first train stop in Basingstoke there was a steam engine pulling a line of old passenger cars.  We actually became aware of it by the distinctive sound of a steam engine, otherwise we probably wouldn't have noticed.

aug 06, 2014 London