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When
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16 Jul 2005 - 18 Sep 2005
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Where
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Wirral
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Samuel Birch Exhibition - Birkenhead
Samuel Lamorna Birch was born in Egremont to a family of modest means, though the family moved to Manchester during his childhood. Largely self-taught, he settled in West Cornwalls Lamorna Valley in the late 1890s, adopting its name to distinguish himself from a fellow painter called Birch. He drew around him a colony of artists, many of whom became the leading artsits, and by the 1920s he was a household name throughout the English-speaking world.
In his distinguished career, he exhibited widely - including over 200 works at the Royal Academy - producing more than 20,000 paintings in a working life of 70 years. His work is permeated by his love for nature, particularly the Lamorna Valley, where he lived until his death in 1955. The same year a memorial exhibition was held at the Williamson and this marks the 50th anniversary of that.
The theme of this exhibition is a life remembered through friendships. Works by his circle of friends are hung alongside his own, giving a glorious view of British Impressionism spanning more than 50 years.
On show to accompany this exhibition at the Williamson is a selection of work by Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942), Birkenhead-born pioneer of British Impressionism. Steer is also featured prominently this summer in Beside the Seaside: British Impressionists at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight. For more information, call 652 4177.
Shades of British Impressionism: Lamorna Birch and his circle
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Slatey Road, Birkenhead CH43 4UE
williamsonartgallery@wirral.gov.uk
16 July 18 September 2005
Tuesday Sunday 10am 5pm
Monday closed (except 29 August 10am 5pm)
contact Colin Simpson or Karl Heatlie 0151 652 4177