Red Riding And The Brothers Grimm

A couple of rooms displayed the work by Yorkshire (Leeds) based artist, Christopher P. Wood. These were interesting surreal paintings based on the tales of The Brothers Grimm. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their first collection of traditional German folk stories in 1812. Wood interpreted nine of the macabre tales in prints, paintings and collages. Halloween was approaching and Wood’s work seemed rather appropriate. The paintings seemed mysterious and sometimes disturbing. They were mostly monochromatic with contrast provided by the varied tones of Prussian Blue. Apparently he has been inspired by the blue artwork on Chinese pottery. I quite like his style, but given their subject area, I’d probably not want to hang them on my walls back home. 

John Grimshaw

John Grimshaw (1836-1893) was born and spent much of his life in Leeds. He made Scarborough his second home and drew inspiration from the fishing ports of the Yorkshire Coast. He was self taught. Around 1861 he gave up the job security of a railway clerk and became a full-time artist. He became renowned as a painter of nocturnes (moonlight scenes). He couldn't have been commercially successful since debts forced him to leave Scarborough in 1870. He returned to Leeds where he painted a picture a week in the early 1880s to ease his financial pressures. He broadened his range and style to include city streets, riverscapes and docksides. I rather liked his paintings. The ones on display were mostly nocturnes. I find it curious how artists can paint a night scene and yet still make it colourful and interesting. Rather than being gloomy, the pictures seemed vibrant and atmospheric. 

Upstairs

I climbed the stairs and toured the rooms of the top floor. There were plenty of paintings to peruse up there too. One of the items that drew my interest was a sketch of Captain Matthew Webb, the first person to swim the English Channel. He put on a 74 hour swimming display in the largest tank at the Scarborough Aquarium in 1880. The contemporary sketch on display showed a similar feat performed at Westminster Aquarium in the same year. It’s a curious thing what people will pay to watch…and then I thought of ‘Celebrity Dancing.’ Another item that attracted my attention was a photograph of one of the funicular trams that ascend the cliffs at Scarborough. The picture showed an incident in 1925 when the tram slipped backwards and cashed 30 feet through the glass ceiling of the Scarborough Aquarium. The conductor and two passengers jumped clear, but the driver George Smith thought that he’d be able to stop it and stayed with it. Given the devastation of the tram in the photo I expected the worst, but it appears he survived with only minor injuries.    

Scarborough Art Gallery wasn’t a huge venue, but it had enough on display to absorb me for an hour. The Christopher P. Wood and John Grimshaw collections were very good and there were other paintings and curiosities on display that kept me interested.