Website news

Welcome to this new section to our website dedicated to all the current news for MAFA and its members. This section can be accessed from the 'News' link on the home page.

 

Headline News

Headline News

William John Hewitt wins the Dr Barbara Oldham OBE Memorial Award 2013 at MAFA's Summer Exhibition at Bury Art Museum with his drawing ' Highland Bull at Hollygrove with Dobcross Loom Works behind,2013' For more information about the exhibition please scroll down the News Page or visit the Exhibition Page on this website.

 

Danny Clahane Winner of the Dr Barbara Oldham Bursary talks at The Portico Library and Gallery in Manchester. For more information about the exhibition please scroll down the News Page or visit the Exhibition Page on this website.

 

John McCombs has won the Davison Award for oil painting at the Royal Society of British Artists' exhibition. The show features sculpture, printmaking and paintings in all media by nationally recognised artists including several Royal Academicians. To read more news from John McCombs please scroll down the news page.

 

Latest News

 

William John Hewitt winner of DR Barbara Oldham OBE Award 2013

William John Hewitt

My picture-making begins with dog walking around the smallholdings of Saddleworth. My pencil drawings conform to a niche tradition of animal portraiture but their production is partially dependent on photographic and digital technologies. When a subject is encountered I make as extensive a photographic record as conditions allow. I am interested in the moment when an animal glances up to gaze at the visitor to its space. A finished drawing, though dependent on technological means of referencing, has to embody my personal memory of this first encounter with the subject, and I revisit the animal many times. I also try to make a thorough record of each animal's location. The background of the Highland Bull at Hollygrove includes the now derelict Dobcross Loom Works – a magnificent industrial complex on the approach road to Diggle. In this case I worked from about one hundred photographic prints. The enlarging and highlighting of aspects of the subject matter on the computer screen becomes a process of digital anatomising, and gives access to detail that would have been almost impossible in the pre-digital age.

Having amassed an appropriate quantity of visual information I draw on paper through a magnifying glass with a variety of pencils. These include mechanical pencils with 0.35mm leads, sharpened to a needle-like point on sandpaper. The lead grades range from B to 8H, creating a silvery effect on the paper. I spent many years producing etchings and I suspect that my drawing techniques are still rooted in that method of making marks on metal with a steel point. Although I draw every day each picture becomes a lengthy enterprise. The ten-inch square highland bull took twenty weeks to complete. In the past I have produced published drawings that were made in just a few seconds or minutes, and sometimes I see my current work as way of redressing a balance. In an era when so many things are expected to be done in an instant I enjoy the contrariness of savouring time by engaging in an activity that will not be rushed.

John Hewitt's etchings and drawings have been widely exhibited in Britain and abroad. His illustrations have appeared in the Guardian, the Sunday Times, the Radio Times, Time Out, the New Statesman and the NME, and he was on-tour sketch artist with the Pogues during the late 1980s. His work is housed in several collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Whitworth Art Gallery, the Museum of London, the British Council and the Government Art Collection. He a Senior Lecturer at Manchester School of Art, where he completed a doctorate on the subject of reportage drawing in 2008. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art and was elected to the Manchester Academy of Fine Art in 2011.

 

 

 

Danny Clahane at The Portico Library and Gallery

Danny Clahane

On Wednesday 17th April Danny Clahane gave his Dr Barbara Oldham's MAFA Bursary Award Talk and Demonstration at The Portico Library and Gallery as part of MAFA's 2013 exhibition programme. Danny spoke about the particular sculptural qualities of Carrara marble in comparison to other stones used for sculpture including the granites and sandstones more familiar to us in this country. He spoke about how the marbles relative translucency and fine cristaline structure allows for incredibly delicate and detailed works to be produced that seem to radiate an inner life. Danny also spoke about the story of marble quarrying in the Carrara Region from the it's dangerous and labour intensive beginnings during the time of Michalangelo right through to the highly mechanised process currently used. We would like to thank Danny for his time and wish him the very best for his plans to return to the Carrara Region.If you would like to know more about Danny please visit his website.

 

 

 

 

Archive News from Sheila Dewsbury

Harry Rutherford

The exhibition 'From the Shadows: the Prints of Sydney Lee' is showing at the Royal Academy until 26th May. Born the son of a mill owner in Manchester in 1866, he was educated at Manchester School of Art and was elected an Honorary member of MAFA in 1922. He became a Royal Academician and is regarded as one of the most important printmakers of his time.

 

'Centre Stage - The Art of Harry Rutherford' is running at Tameside Art Gallery, Ashton-under- Lyne until 8th June. Harry was President of MAFA from 1961 to 1969, and some of the 100 or so paintings he exhibited with the Academy from 1934 to 1980 are on show. Also included is work from his time in the early days of television at Alexandra Palace, and several paintings of theatre interiors and performers showing the influence of his tutor, Walter Sickert. There is an informative catalogue to accompany the exhibition by curator, Stephen Whittle.

 

 

 

News from Colin Jellicoe

Colin Jellicoe

The Colin Jellicoe Gallery on Portland Street in the city centre is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. MAFA member Colin, famous for his iconic paintings based on western films, has been running his gallery since 1963 and counts among his regular visitors many people from the world of TV and the theatre such as Sir Ian McKellen who usually pops in when 'up north'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lowry News from Sheila Dewsbury

L S Lowry

The forthcoming exhibition Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life runs at Tate Britain from 26th June to 29th October. Lowry first exhibited a MAFA in 1919 when he was a student in Academy classes. He was later elected a member in 1935, and between then and when he died in 1976 exhibited over 50 paintings in the annual shows. He took a keen interest in the work of fellow artists, and the painter Alan Lowndes recalled his wry sense of humour while gallery owner Andreas Kalman observed that although Lowry liked to appear untidy and shabby 'I do not think he had ever did a shabby thing in his life'.

 

 

 

 

 

News From Ian Norris

Ian Norris

Ian's second solo show 'Ian Norris in the open' at the Castlegate House Gallery in Cockermouth starts on the 16th May and will run until 15th June.The exhibition largely documents my journey around West Cumbria from Allonby, to Maryport and down to St Bees Ian has been filmed painting on St Bees beach and drawing in Maryport and the video gives us some insight into his working methods as he prepares for his new exhibition at Castlegate House Gallery.The video can be viewed at http://www.castlegatehouse.co.uk/video-detail.php?VID=67
All works are available to view at www.castlegatehouse.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

News From Simon Manby

Simon Manby

"Soon Lee and I will be taking sculpture and prints to the South of France where I am having a solo exhibition of sculpture and prints. Please see the invitation for details. If your own travels happen to bring you to the vicinity of Agde, remember we would be delighted to see you there."

 

If you'd like to know more about simon please visit his artist profile on this website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News from Gerry Halpin MBE and Jane Burgess

Gerry Halpin MBE

MAFA Member Gerry Halpin MBE is currently exhibiting at 'The Gallery' St Georges House in Bolton. His one man show is attracting a great deal of attention and further cements Gerry's reputation as one of the North West's leading landscape artists. If you'd like to know more about Gerry and his work you can visit his artist profile on this website or visit his Artist Interviews on YouTube.

 

MAFA Member Jane Burgess is currently exhibiting her latest work at the two venues. Jane is part of the 'Spring Exhibition' at the Millyard Gallery in Sadddleworth. The exhibition runs until the 19th May. Jane is also exhibiting as part of 'The Leeds Fine Artists' at the North Light Gallery in Armitage Bridge in Huddersfield. If you'd like to know more about Jane and her work please visit her artist profile on this website.

 

 

 

Notice to all full M.A.F.A Members

Moravian College Droylsdon

The AGM venue this year is, for the first time, to be held out of Manchester City Centre and will include a lunchtime tour as well as the Election of New members. For full details M.A.F.A. members should “log in” on this website using their User Name and Password. In the Members section M.A.F.A members should visit the “DOCUMENTS” page and then download the relevant PDF in the “ARTICLES” section. If you can't remember your user name & password please contact Cliff Moorhouse at secretary@mafa.org.uk by following the Mail link on the Contacts Page. To 'Log in' or to contact Cliff follow this link to the 'Contacts Page'.

 

 

 

 

 

Archive News from Sheila Dewsbury

Archive News

The Academy receives enquiries from all over the world, mostly via the web, about Academicians past and present and their work. These come from different sources including curators, gallery owners, authors, collectors, family history researchers, etc. The information requested can usually be found in our archives which contain records of exhibitions from 1859 to present plus photographs, newspaper cuttings, etc.The most recent enquiry came from a researcher in America about the painter Frank Moratz, who came to Manchester as a refugee from Germany in 1939, and although he wasn't a member, studied at Academy classes in the early 1940s before going to America in 1946 to join his young son who had also managed to get out of Germany. There he continued to paint portraits of leading figures, and in his capacity as a paper conservationist became Consultant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The research is being carried out on behalf of his son who must now be about eighty. Sheila Dewsbury, Academy archivist, is looking through the academy archives for titles and prices of work he may have exhibited as a student at the Academy annual shows.

 

 

News Archive

View a selection of recent News Articles about MAFA and its Members and learn more about our artists, exhibition programme and events.

 

Out and about in Manchester

Out and about in Manchester

If you are out and about in Manchester you might like to spot public architecture, sculpture and murals by members of Manchester Academy. All the interior works are in buildings open to the public. Manchester Town Hall, The Manchester Museum building at MMU and Strangeways Prison are all designed by Alfred Waterhouse. He also carried out alterations and restoration at Chetham's School, and remodelled the interior of St Ann's Church in St. Ann's Square. The three stained glass windows above the altar are designed by Frederick Shields.The Murals in the Town Hall are by Ford Madox Brown. Some of the bronze reliefs including the one of Alcock and Brown are by John Cassidy.Other sculptures by John Cassidy include the statues of John and Henriquetta Rylands in the Rylands Library, the statue of King Edward V11 outside the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester's first non portrait outdoor sculpture, Adrift, in St Peter's Square and the bronze dolphin on top of the fountain in Albert Square.Sir Hubert Worthington restored part of Manchester Cathedral damaged by a bomb in WW2.The four ton concrete sculpture, Three Sheep, in Castlefield is the work of Ted Roocroft, Doves of Peace in Bridge Street is by Michael LyonsThe Stations of the Cross in St Mary's Catholic Church (the Hidden Gem) in Mulberry Street are by Norman Adams.St. Mary's Hospital was designed by John Ely.The Palace Theatre was designed by Alfred Derbyshire. (The exterior was altered in the 1950s but the magnificent interior remains.)Away from the city centre -The First Church of Christ, Scientist at Fallowfield was designed by Edgar Wood. The Sephardic Synagogue in Cheetham Hill, now the Jewish Museum, was designed by Edward Salomons.

 

Danny Clahane Article

Carrara Italy

In 2012 Danny Clahane won the £2000.00 Dr Barbara Oldham M.A.F.A Bursary. He has this to say about the award: "The bursary enabled me to travel to Carrara in Italy this Summer to immerse myself in the culture of the marble carving.My aims were to find out as much as I could about the material and techniques for working it. Carrara is a busy port with many stone yards and all sorts of stone from all over the world being cut and processed for all sorts of purposes even occasionally Sculpture.The main thing that strikes me apart from the abundance of material is that there are so many people working stone so I felt immediately at home. I had arranged accommodation and a place to work before departure so I started carving as soon as I could picking up as many tips about tools and marble selection as I could. Having spent a month there I feel I was only touching the surface and I can't wait to get back. " To find out more about Danny visit his artist website.

 

News from MAFA President John McCombs

MAFA President John McCombs

MAFA President. John McCombs will be showing six landscape paintings in the Royal Society of British Artists' exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. Since being elected a member in 1998 he has exhibited annually with the society which represents the best in contemporary painting, prints and sculpture. Fellow MAFA Member Malcolm Taylor is also represented in the exhibition, he will be showing two of his recnt paintings. Following a private view on 5th March the exhibition runs until 17th March. Details of opening times and events plus several images of John's work can be found on the website: www.royalsocietyofbritishartists.org.uk

 

 

 

Resale Rights - Beneficiaries Sought by Glenys Latham

Charles Oppenheimer

Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) are currently seeking help to identify and locate the beneficiaries of some 28 deceased artists among those listed is Charles Oppenheimer elected to MAFA membership in 1911 and President of the Academy 1948 - 1951. If you can provide information that may help to locate his beneficiaries please contact Janet Tod at DACS janet@dacs.org.uk or telephone number 020 7553 9055. This confirms the significance of registering with DACS and bequeathing our royalties and resale rights to those we leave behind or to a worthy cause like MAFA. Further on this cheerful note if you had artist within the family who has died within the last 70 years there could be royalties waiting to be claimed.

 

 

Guernica exhibited in Manchester

Pablo Picasso

Council member Dave Edwards noticed an article in the Friends of the Tate magazine referring to Guernica being exhibited in Manchester in 1939. It seems the iconic work by Picasso was on view in January of that year in a car showroom on Victoria Street which runs in front of the Cathedral. A search in our archives may find evidence of any connection with the Academy or contemporary newspaper report Art experts are trying to discover more about this 'forgotten exhibition' and curators from the Tate are appealing for information in connection with a show at Tate Britain 'Picasso and Modern British Art' which runs from 15th February to 15th July. Anyone who has memories of the Manchester exhibition should contact curator Helen Little on 020 7887 4918.

 

Olympic News

Olympic News

You might not immediately assoiciate MAFA with the Olympics. However in the earliest days of the modern olympic movement host nations were allowed to include disciplines they felt they had a good chance of being successful in. In the 1948 Olympic Games held in London, there was an arts section.The gold medal for engraving was won by Manchester born printmaker, John Copley. He holds the record for being the oldest person to receive a gold medal at the Olympics and he was a member of MAFA! He was elected a member of MAFA in 1932. He was also a Past President of the Royal Society of British Artists and was married to fellow MAFA member Ethel Gabain. You can find out more about John Copley and Ethel Gabian in Sheila Dewsbury's excellent book on the history of MAFA 'The Story So Far'. For more details about this book please visit the Publications page.

 

Artist Resale Rights by Glenys Latham

Sculpture by Glenys Latham

Artist’s Resale Rights have been in place since 2006 paying royalties arising from the resale of visual artists work through auction houses, galleries and dealers. As from January 2012 our Resale Rights continue for up to 70 years from our death.
We are advised to include a bequest of our Resale Royalties and Copyright Royalties in our Last Will and Testament to ensure that they are not lost to our estate. We all know that our work is more valuable when we are dead rather than when we are alive so ensure that these royalties are not lost to your estate by registering for them and bequeathing them into your Will.
Not wishing to be morbid but being practical it can also be helpful to your executers and families to put in place a plan for the disposal of our creative output. I am sure none of us want to leave our loved ones with the problem of disposing of a studio full of “stuff”.To register and find out more about Resale Rights and Copyright Royalties contact DACS at www.dacs.org.uk

 

 

150th Anniversary Celebrations

Exhibition and Thanksgiving Service at Manchester Cathedral

This pinnacle 150th anniversary event was a combined Thanksgiving Service and Exhibition in Manchester Cathedral on Saturday 14th November. The Service was led by Canon Andrew Shanks and the readings, prayers and hymns were chosen and read by Members of the Academy. The Preview of the exhibition, which immediately followed the Service, was well attended by members of the congregation which included Michael Oglesby, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, who formally opened the exhibition. Also the Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Alison Firth; the Mayor of Salford Councillor Roger Lightup and his Mayoress, Mrs Valarie Fleet; the Mayor of Oldham Councillor Jim McArdle and the Oldham Youth Mayor Mohammad Adil and Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council. The exhibition ran until 28th November 2009.

Publications

History Book Presented in Celebration of 150 Years

Copies of The Story So Far The Manchester Academy of Fine Arts from 1859 to 2003 written by MAFA archivist Shiela Dewsbury have been presented to libraries and individuals as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations. Each book has a commemorative book plate designed and printed by MAFA member Philip Withersby.

In excess of forty copies of The Story So Far have been presented to both Local Studies and Central libraries in each of the ten Greater Manchester Authorities and are now available for public reference. The book makes full use of the treasure trove of information held in the Academy archives and provides a comprehensive survey of art and artists in the north of England from the Victorian era to the twenty-first century.

Features and Articles

To coincide with the 150th anniversary of Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, articles and images of members' work have been published in the following magazines and newspapers:

• Artists and Illustrators
• The Jackdaw (March/April)
• Lancashire Magazine (April)
• The Portico Library Quarterly (April/June)
• City Life/Manchester Evening News
• Leisure Painter (August)
• Art of England (July)
• The Jackdaw (September/October)

The Big Screen Manchester Anniversary Events

Exchange Square on the Triangle

Screening times:
28th March to 10th April 2009
30th May to 12th June
13th June to 26th June