Fascinating finds

Interesting links:  Let us start at the beginning.  Anna Dillon, a landscape abstract artist came through my F/B feed.  I had met her at an Avebury meeting several years ago.  You can see her work here.  Actually though I am not into abstract art, but many of her paintings have a calming effect, the great sweep of the landscape whether in Wiltshire or Oxfordshire welcomes the eye.  A couple of examples taken from the internet.

Uffington Horse

Hackpen Horse - though where the horse is  a bit of a mystery

Tom should recognise this. Lansdown Monument

But I had found this by another unexpected discovery Paul Nash at Avebury, a long article and also a Youtube short film.  The essay, such a better word than article is on 'Inexpensive Progress' blog written by Robjn Cantus.  On his blog you will find short videos of the artists around in the 1930s.  John Piper, Bawden, and I am not sure if he did one on Ravilious (he did).  These artists along with the little colony at Great Bardfield had to work in the commercial world to earn their bread and butter.

Robjn Cantus must be a seller of prints according to his website but at the same time has gathered together smatterings of information which are fascinating.

(2) Paul Nash at Avebury - YouTube

The following two paintings by Paul Nash are of Silbury Hill and though it is still an enigma, certain questions have been answered. But I am not quite sure if that is a little building of some description below Silbury. I have heard mention of a garage there which must have been in the 1930's because when a tunnel was reopened by Professor Richard Atkinson in the 1950s, old tyres were found inside.  Silbury had had a tunnel dug into it by Dean Mereweather in the nineteenth century, there is a link to the BBC site here explaining it.

Not many people will remember or be interested in this, but in May 2000, there was a collapse of earth on the top of Silbury resulting in a 45 feet crater and the tunnel was reopened to 'mend the hole'.  I was a member of a group. who, lets say agitated about how the operation went.  It was about this time that I had met Paul, and the second photo reminds me of one evening when he climbed over the gate to take a closer look at the stones that had come out of the tunnel.