Hidden Talent: Fred Appleyard
Rising Splendour: Fred Appleyard — From the Royal Academy to the Itchen Valley @ The Arc, Winchester, Hampshire
Who knew that Hampshire had it’s own Impressionist artist? The Arc in Winchester introduces us to the immensely talented Fred Appleyard. Producing blowsy floral abundant gardens, photographic rippling water scenes and delightfully truthful portraits of children, the exhibition showed his range and breadth.
Sadly most of them are in store for most of the time or in private collections. Never has ‘let it’ go been more pertinent a p hrase— get them back on the walls again, in view!
Though rural landscape focused, he also produced some charmingly detailed and poppingly coloured flowers in vases — such as peonies. Then there is the portrait of a woman reading — we have women in their inter-war fashions, which looks so startingly different to the frou-frou and styling of the Edwardian era. These simpler styles could be contrasted with a more Pre-Raphaelite style work of a very Gibson-era woman in green and lace striking a pose.
Then there was the Impressionistically layered garden terrace, which you could peek all the way through, or the blowsy cottage garden. Or his gasp-worthy river scenes in all kinds of light, glossy and full of movement. Or the sun a glowing orb descending into the water, mesmerising us onlookers.
Not to mention a little something for the Royal Academy of Arts!
@ Images are the property of the Fred Appleyard estate and used purely to illustrate the Arc Winchester’s exhibition, Rising Splendour: Fred Appleyard — From the Royal Academy to the Itchen Valley, November 2024.
For more of Appleyard’s lovely works: https://fannycornforth.blogspot.com/2024/06/review-rising-splendour-fred-appleyard.html
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