In the Peaceful Dome

Eclectic exhibition at the Bluecoat in Liverpool using work which has been displayed at the Bluecoat to reflect on the history of the building in its 300th year.

There was an interesting section on damage to the building starting with a print of the building under construction and including a picture of the damage to it in the Blitz and photographs of a fire in 2008. Also a section on the Sandon Studios Society which were based in the building in the early 20th century which included a pastiche of “When Did You Last See Your Father?” by Donald Lynch showing the Sandon Committee viewing contemporary art with two paintings shown in the picture shown alongside it.

I loved some still lives by Edward Carter Preston, one of the Sandon artists, who also designed the Dead Man’s Penny, a plaque given to the families of soldiers who died in the First World War.

The show also included Epstein’s “Genesis”, a controversial statue shown at the Bluecoat in 1931 when nearly 50,000 paid sixpence to view it. It was shown alongside photograph from the time.

Closes on 25 March 2018

 

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