Henfield Museum is lucky to have a sizeable and varied collection of art, with some pieces considered of national importance. Both by locally based and visiting artists, we feature a selection below.
Try your hand at a jigsaw painting!
Try your hand at a jigsaw painting!
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Highlight: 'Plough Inn, Henfield, Sussex' by Montague Penley, c. 1860
The Artist
This pencil and crayon drawing initialled 'MP' is by Montague Penley (1799-1881), showing this village pub in the winter. It is undated, but would have been taken around the 1860s.
Penley originally worked as a theatrical scene painter, and was accomplished, having exhibited paintings at the Paris Salon in 1844, 1846 and 1848. A 30th September 1826 announcement in the Windsor and Eton Express stated: 'Under the Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta. Drawing and Perspective, Taught by, Montague Penley, Particularly the fashionable and superior art of Crayon Drawing. His proficiency in which was acquired under the celebrated Monsieur Cheni, professor of the Academie Royale, Paris.
Princess Augusta was presumably the 2nd daughter of King George III. She spent much of her life focused on music and the arts. An original 'To be returned when copied' note affixed to the back states that at the time of this sketch, Mr. Penley had his studio in Brighton at Gothic House, Western Terrace, Western Road, a striking neo-Gothic building designed by well-known Brighton architects Amon Henry Wilds and Charles Busby in the 1820s (their only building in this style). Today, the building survives, albeit divided between a Taco Bell and section of a grocery shop.
The Setting
The landlord named on the sign was John Hyder, who started life in the family trade as a blacksmith and farrier next door before moving to the pub trade with his wife Ann - and a servant/barmaid. Perhaps it is John sweeping up the snow here, watched by his small black dog. From trade directories we know he took on the license in 1858-9 and was still there as of 1867, but had gone by 1874.
One of the pub's original two elm trees at front then still remained, here in its winter guise making a convenient post for the pub's sign. This was to be finally cut down in the 1950s, with today's very solid wooden pub signpost offering a ghostly reflection. Although there may have been some artistic license used, the drawing shows well the fairly venerable age of the pub, nowadays well hidden under subsequent Victorian alterations, but still a popular local watering hole.
This pencil and crayon drawing initialled 'MP' is by Montague Penley (1799-1881), showing this village pub in the winter. It is undated, but would have been taken around the 1860s.
Penley originally worked as a theatrical scene painter, and was accomplished, having exhibited paintings at the Paris Salon in 1844, 1846 and 1848. A 30th September 1826 announcement in the Windsor and Eton Express stated: 'Under the Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta. Drawing and Perspective, Taught by, Montague Penley, Particularly the fashionable and superior art of Crayon Drawing. His proficiency in which was acquired under the celebrated Monsieur Cheni, professor of the Academie Royale, Paris.
Princess Augusta was presumably the 2nd daughter of King George III. She spent much of her life focused on music and the arts. An original 'To be returned when copied' note affixed to the back states that at the time of this sketch, Mr. Penley had his studio in Brighton at Gothic House, Western Terrace, Western Road, a striking neo-Gothic building designed by well-known Brighton architects Amon Henry Wilds and Charles Busby in the 1820s (their only building in this style). Today, the building survives, albeit divided between a Taco Bell and section of a grocery shop.
The Setting
The landlord named on the sign was John Hyder, who started life in the family trade as a blacksmith and farrier next door before moving to the pub trade with his wife Ann - and a servant/barmaid. Perhaps it is John sweeping up the snow here, watched by his small black dog. From trade directories we know he took on the license in 1858-9 and was still there as of 1867, but had gone by 1874.
One of the pub's original two elm trees at front then still remained, here in its winter guise making a convenient post for the pub's sign. This was to be finally cut down in the 1950s, with today's very solid wooden pub signpost offering a ghostly reflection. Although there may have been some artistic license used, the drawing shows well the fairly venerable age of the pub, nowadays well hidden under subsequent Victorian alterations, but still a popular local watering hole.
Featured Artists: The Glasby Family
Talents - Painting with Glass
The Glasby family were amongst the most celebrated of workers in stained glass in the first half of the 20th century, their windows gracing buildings across the world. Patriarch William Glasby's last project were the windows for the Peachtree Christian Church in Atlanta, Georgia - a painstaking project begun in the 1920s alongside his daughter Barbara. After his death in 1941, the work was finished by Barbara and her sister Dulcima in 1953, they having moved to Henfield after the Second World War. An impressive collection of drawings - including over 100 full scale cartoons for the windows in Atlanta - were left to Henfield Museum founder Lucie Bishop on Dulcima's death in 1975. These were donated to the Atlanta Historical Society the next year, but we retain in the collection many of the smaller scale original sketches, colour work and final designs.
We feature here the initial design process for one of the windows for the Peachtree Christian Church - Talents - progressing through initial sketching, colouring and final design. This completed design would then be drawn out at full scale in black and white, to be used as the base for a transparent linen sheet, upon which the glasswork and lead connecting lines of the final product would be traced and numbered. Glass with the right reflective properties would then be carefully chosen, before being sent off to the cutter. On its return to the studio, dark and then light pigments for details of clothing would be fused into the glass via two separate kiln firings.
We feature here the initial design process for one of the windows for the Peachtree Christian Church - Talents - progressing through initial sketching, colouring and final design. This completed design would then be drawn out at full scale in black and white, to be used as the base for a transparent linen sheet, upon which the glasswork and lead connecting lines of the final product would be traced and numbered. Glass with the right reflective properties would then be carefully chosen, before being sent off to the cutter. On its return to the studio, dark and then light pigments for details of clothing would be fused into the glass via two separate kiln firings.
Selected Paintings from Our Collection
Featured Artist: Malcolm Midwood Milne
Paintings for the Festival of Britain, 1951
Born in Cheshire and trained as an architect, Malcolm Midwood Milne (1887 - 1954) arrived in Henfield in 1926 with his sister Hilda, a fellow painter. They moved into 'Dykes' to the east of Henfield Common, Malcolm subsequently building 'Dykes Studio' (now 'Camellias'), while Hilda's was in the small cottage of 'Dogham Place' at the bottom of the garden, the ruins of which can be seen today when walking along the top of the Common.
The following set of four paintings showing the progression of Henfield over the centuries were produced for the exhibition held in Henfield to mark the Festival of Britain in 1951.
1. Primeval Henfield, West Sussex. The artist has used an impressionistic style to show the river and heavily-wooded area which existed in this part of Sussex at that time full of beasts, birds and skin-clad humans.
2. Henfield, West Sussex, AD 1000. An impressionistic view of the countryside looking north towards the village, which is shown in the centre of the painting. In the foreground the east-west Roman road crosses tracks to Henfield and a tributary of the River Adur. In the painting are animals, watermills and men at work.
3. Henfield, 1500 AD. An impressionistic style has been used to show the village and surrounding area at this time. In the foreground is the Bishop of Chichester, the owner of the manor, in his deer park. The village is in the middle distance with the road leading to it on the left. Top right is the river Adur leading down to the South Coast through a valley in the South Downs.
4. Henfield High Street, West Sussex, AD 1850. This gives a realistic though impressionistic view of the High Street at this time, and was based on a contemporary photograph. The George Hotel and other buildings on the left still exist today.
1. Primeval Henfield, West Sussex. The artist has used an impressionistic style to show the river and heavily-wooded area which existed in this part of Sussex at that time full of beasts, birds and skin-clad humans.
2. Henfield, West Sussex, AD 1000. An impressionistic view of the countryside looking north towards the village, which is shown in the centre of the painting. In the foreground the east-west Roman road crosses tracks to Henfield and a tributary of the River Adur. In the painting are animals, watermills and men at work.
3. Henfield, 1500 AD. An impressionistic style has been used to show the village and surrounding area at this time. In the foreground is the Bishop of Chichester, the owner of the manor, in his deer park. The village is in the middle distance with the road leading to it on the left. Top right is the river Adur leading down to the South Coast through a valley in the South Downs.
4. Henfield High Street, West Sussex, AD 1850. This gives a realistic though impressionistic view of the High Street at this time, and was based on a contemporary photograph. The George Hotel and other buildings on the left still exist today.
Highlight: 'Threshing' by Veronica Burleigh, c. 1930
Born in 1909, Veronica was the daughter of Brighton artists Averill & Charles Burleigh. Studying at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1927-30 under artist (and surgeon) Henry Tonks, she moved to Blackstone near Henfield in 1970. Frequently travelling to South Africa, she made annual exhibitions in Rhodesia, holding 23 one man shows there. Veronica died in 1999 and is buried at St. Peter's, Woodmancote, her stone stating ‘Sussex Artist’.
This oil on canvas scene was likely painted in Sussex, during her earlier life when steam threshing was still common. Exhibitions of Burleigh’s work were held at the New English Art Club; Royal Academy; Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour; Royal Institute of Oil Painters; Society of Women Artists, Sussex Women’s Art Club and via the Sussex Painters.
Some information courtesy of the Hatfield Hines Gallery and the Toovey's blog.
This oil on canvas scene was likely painted in Sussex, during her earlier life when steam threshing was still common. Exhibitions of Burleigh’s work were held at the New English Art Club; Royal Academy; Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour; Royal Institute of Oil Painters; Society of Women Artists, Sussex Women’s Art Club and via the Sussex Painters.
Some information courtesy of the Hatfield Hines Gallery and the Toovey's blog.
'Threshing' by Veronica Burleigh
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Images on this page are licensed for educational and non commercial use under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) . Please credit 'Henfield Museum' and contact us if you would like to use an image for commercial purposes or at a higher quality.