August 2011: Major Sven Berlin Retrospective in the galleries
This year's major art exhibition looks at the colourful and sometimes controversial career of Sven Berlin (1911 - 1999). Featuring paintings, drawings, sculpture, manuscripts and ephemera this exhibition is the most comprehensive examination this much-loved artist's life shown to date. The exhibition follows Berlin's development from music hall adagio dancer to art student, his wartime service, the post-war period spent as part of the artists' colony at St Ives and his subsequent exile in the New Forest, finally looking at his later work produced on the Isle of Wight and at Wimborne. The exhibition is unique to St. Barbe Museum & Art Gallery, featuring over 50 paintings and drawings and seven pieces of sculpture, many never before exhibited. Included in the exhibition are a number of Berlin's portraits of New Forest Gypsies made at the Shave Green Compound during the 1950s and 1960s.
May 2011: From Parlourmaid to Peer at a village hall near you
Following on from the success of our previous outreach exhibitions, this year the museum will be touring an exhibition on local country houses and estates. From Parlourmaid to Peer travels to Boldre War Memorial Hall (20th - 22nd May), New Milton Community Centre (31st May - 4th June), Sway Village Hall (10th June - 12th June) and Milford-on-Sea Community Centre (25th - 26th June). The exhibition looks at life on country estates large and small, taking in the lives of the gentry, their servants and how these great houses were at the heart of local life in farming, employment and political influence for generations. If you miss it on tour you can catch an expanded version of the exhibition featuring more original material at the museum from 26th November 2011 - 21st January 2012.
November 2010: Mysticism and Materials Exhibition - special openings and events
After the success of Villages and Visionaries during the summer, an expanded version of the exhibition returns to the museum as Mysticism and Materials. It focuses on the stories of the Hordle Shakers and the building of Sway Tower as well as giving an insight to life in the villages of Hordle, Sway, Everton and Tiptoe. To mark this special exhibition we have organized some evening openings:
1st December - museum open until 7pm (2 for 1 entry)
8th December - museum open until 7pm (2 for 1 entry)
15th December - museum open until 7pm (free admission to coincide with Yuletide in Lymington)
5th January - museum open until 7pm (2 for 1 entry)
For more details see our Events page.
July 2010: Villages and Visionaries Exhibition takes to the road
A new outreach exhibition toured to village halls to the north west of Lymington. Villages and Visionaries looked at the remarkable stories of the Hordle Shakers and the building of Sway Tower in the late 1800s. At each venue the exhibition also focussed on the development of the local village, covering Sway, Tiptoe, Hordle and Everton. The exhibition returns to the museum in November.
February 2010: Museum re-opens after refurbishment
The museum re-opened on 20th February after a short closure. The art galleries have now been refurbished to provide a brighter, smarter look. The shops and toilets have also been refreshed.
December 2009: Call of the Sea is one of the Sunday Telegraph's exhibitions of the year
Sunday Telegraph art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon picked last summer's maritime art exhibition The Call of the Sea as one of his exhibition highlights for 2009. The St. Barbe exhibition which focused on the work of Charles Brooking and Peter Monamy was chosen alongside shows at the Royal Academy, Tate and National Gallery!
August 2009: Director of the National Maritime Museum opens Call of the Sea Exhibition
The St. Barbe Gallery's nationally significant exhibition on 18th century marine painters Call of the Sea was opened by National Maritime Museum Director Dr Kevin Fewster. The exhibition features a number of stunning paintings from the NMM collection as well as items from the Tate and private collections and puts the spotlight back on these remarkable artists who recorded the golden age of British Sea Power.
July 2009: A Seaside Home in the Country exhibition opens in New Milton
A special exhibition created in partnership with New Milton Town Partnership has opened at 110 Station Road, New Milton. It celebrates the history and people of New Milton as it developed from a sleepy farming village and smugglers' haunt to a thriving town with a mainline railway station. The exhibition features photographs from the museum's collection plus lots of new material contributed by the local community.
January 2009: St. Barbe Museum exhibition and outreach project begins
The museum is delighted to welcome Sarah Newman as our new Community Outreach and Exhibitions Officer. Sarah will be working on an outreach exhibition to be held in New Milton in the summer and would be pleased to hear from you if you have information, photographs or artefacts that relate to the history of the town. Further exhibitions will follow.
November 2008: St. Barbe Museum is successful in its bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund
The museum has successfully applied to the HLF for funding for a 5-year Exhibitions and Outreach Project. The funding will provide a new Community Outreach and Exhibitions Officer post and a budget to support a series of exhibitions and events looking at the history of the towns and villages that fall within the museum's collecting area: Lymington, New Milton, Barton, Milford, Sway, Hordle and Boldre. The project will provide a series of exhibitions as outreach in village halls and other community venues as well as follow up showings at the museum. We hope that the project will kick off in January 2009.
November 2008: Land Girls reunion to be held at St. Barbe Museum
Such was the success of our Women's Land Army afternoon on 20th November (to coincide with our unique exhibition The Women's Land Army - A Portrait) that we have organized a second afternoon for those that we could not squeeze in to the first event. The new date is 16th December from 2pm - 4pm. It will be a chance to see the exhibition of paintings, costume and ephemera and to meet up with other ex-Land Girls for a cup of tea and a reminisce. Admission is free for Land Girls and carers. Please contact the museum for more details and to book a place on 01590 676969.
December 2007: New Website Launches
After nearly 9 years of service, our website was starting to look a bit tired so we decided on a revamp, the result of which you see here.
January 2007: Learning and Access News
St. Barbe's education service expands
2006 has seen St. Barbe's education programme spread its wings as schools from further afield have begun to use our services. For example, when Senior Education Officer Mark Tomlinson ran sessions for Hale Primary School (near Fordingbridge), volunteers from Fordingbridge Museum were invited to assist.
Mark has joined the New Forest National Park Educator's Forum as the Park Authority look to scope and support existing education services across the Forest. Initial meetings will take place in the new year.
Improved access to the building
Work will be undertaken in the new year to improve physical access to the Museum and Visitor Information Centre, including an automatic door at the top of the ramp, new handrails and signage.
January 2007: Museum News
Evelyn Dunbar exhibition success
The end of 2006 proved to be a busy and somewhat chaotic time. Our Evelyn Dunbar exhibition was a great success with visitors travelling from across the UK to see this previously neglected artist's work. The importance of the show was also reflected in the level of press interest, with features in the Sunday Telegraph, Country Life and on Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
Much of the credit for this success goes to Gill Clarke whose Dunbar biography has been selling steadily ever since. Gill worked tirelessly and was a regular visitor, giving talks, and attending a Land Girls reunion and various societies' visits.
External improvements on the way
We have recently had the joy of the New Street improvements which have hampered access to the museum. However, once completed, the street will be hugely improved. The museum will be installing new graphics and banners, based on artwork by Chris Wormell, to improve our profile in the street.
|
