Two Temple Place opens With Highlights from the William Morris Gallery Collection

Written by Andrew Davison Friday, 28 October 2011 01:06

London.- A new London gallery will open this October dedicated to showcasing publicly-owned art from UK regional collections. Two Temple Place will launch with the inaugural exhibition “William Morris: Story, Memory, Myth” on October 27th, featuring highlights from The William Morris Gallery collection. Two Temple Place is one of London’s hidden architectural gems, an extraordinary neo-Gothic mansion built for William Waldorf Astor and completed in 1895, on Embankment. Two Temple Place is owned by and houses the charitable trust The Bulldog Trust. The Trust are planning exhibitions of treasures from the UK’s regional museums and collections at Two Temple Place, along with a calendar of cultural and charitable events to complement the exhibitions and the Trust’s more general charitable aims.  “William Morris: Story, Memory, Myth” will remain on view until January 29th 2012.

This inaugural exhibition looks at how William Morris told stories through pattern and poetry. It will examine the tales that were most important to him, such as the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Norse saga, Arthurian legend and Greek myth. Morris returned to the same stories throughout his artistic career, and this exhibition explores his continued fascination by arranging the works according to the tale they tell rather than their medium. For example, five rarely seen panels of the embroidered frieze ‘The Romaunt of the Rose’ will be exhibited together with editions of ‘The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer’, elaborately illustrated by Morris and Edward Burne-Jones and printed by Morris’ private press.


Both the frieze and Chaucer draw inspiration from the French medieval text the ‘Roman de la Rose’ (Romance of the Rose). This will be the first time that these exquisite panels have been seen since their recent conservation by The Royal School of Needlework. Lorna Lee, Director of The William Morris Gallery commented: “We are delighted that some of the highlights from our collection will be housed in Two Temple Place. This exhibition ensures that we will remain visible during the current renovation of The William Morris Gallery, and also enables a deeper understanding of William Morris’ output by exhibiting his works together with others by him from collections across the country in such a magnificent and fitting location.”

The opening of the exhibition will be the first time that this unique - and totally original - example of late Victorian architecture, designed and built irrespective of cost, is fully open to the public. The building will house four main spaces for exhibiting, including The Great Hall, The Library and The Lower Gallery in addition to meeting rooms and education facilities, a cafe and shop. Mary Rose Gunn, Chief Executive of The Bulldog Trust commented: “Two Temple Place will bring the UK’s regional riches to the capital city, emphasising not only the great cultural wealth of London, but that of the UK as a whole. It will also open up one of London’s very special, and almost unknown, places to the public, something I am particularly excited about.” The exhibition, ‘William Morris: Story, Memory, Myth’ is being made in partnership with The William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow.


The theme of the exhibition echoes the distinctive late-Victorian interior of Two Temple Place, which is ornately decorated throughout with scenes and characters from literature. Astor had required a house ‘which would personify literature in addition to being representative of art, craft and architecture’, and it is this absorption in literature that links Morris with Astor. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Esmé Whittaker, one of the UK’s most promising curatorial talents, under the guidance of Martin Caiger-Smith, Head of the MA Programme, ‘Curating the Art Museum’ at The Courtauld Institute of Art. Dr. Whittaker has recently completed a PhD at the Courtauld supervised by the Head of Research, Professor Caroline Arscott, a world expert on William Morris and advisor on the project.  The collaboration between Two Temple Place and The Courtauld is intended as a pilot for a longer-term relationship. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.twotempleplace.org/

---

Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~