Carole and Peter Walker have had a busy time over the past number of months. Peter’s Great Aunt (his grandmother’s sister), Madeline Green, was a wonderfully talented artist, producing numerous portraits and scenes that are admired by many people today.
Carole and Peter have admired Madeline’s work for some time, collecting bits and pieces of her works in auctions and from dealers. It had always been a dream of Peter's to put together an exhibition celebrating Madeline's work so, being aware that many members of his extended family owned oils and drawings done by his Great Aunt, that dream came to fruition in May 2011.
Peter decided to hold the exhibition at the P.M. Gallery in Ealing, London due to the special connection the gallery has with Madeline. The P.M. Gallery is part of the Grade I listed Pitzhanger Manor-House built in 1800 and is where Madeline, being an Ealing resident, had spent the majority of her working life.
Planning the 'Moments in Time' exhibition was a totally new experience for Carole and Peter, a real learning curve putting the exhibition together, sorting out insurance cover, and the logistics of collecting and returning paintings and etchings from the family up and down the country – St. Mawes in Cornwall to Glasgow.
However it was a delight to meet up with family again and to meet other members of the family never met before. The exhibition preview and the meal afterwards was a wonderful occasion, one that everybody enjoyed. The icing on the cake was the realisation that the exhibition was very well received by all those who attended.
Madeline was trained at the Royal Academy and exhibited at the summer exhibition and at various other major exhibitions from 1912 until her death in 1947. Her work is a delight to see, the P.M. Gallery describing her as 'A figurative artist who exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, her style is lively and fluid, bringing her characters to life and infusing her work with a sense of grace and humour.'
You can view some more of Madeline Green's work by typing 'Madeline Green paintings' into Google Images or click here to see BBC Your Paintings website. You can also learn more about exhibition at the P.M. Gallery here.
If you'd like to know more about Madeline Green or her work we're sure Peter and Carole would love to talk to you about her. Please contact us and we'll pass your message on to them.
Madeline has certainly created some fabulous paintings - maybe some inspiration might have come from scenes such as those Andy describes in his narrative about his walk along The Ridgeway.