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Last Summer Exhibition Before Refurbishment

Saturday 1 April 2006

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Saturday the 1st of April was the final opening of the Summer Exhibition before the Gallery goes through a major refurbishment thanks in the main to the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Gallery was packed for the Private View.

The Hon. Lavinia Wallop opened the Exhibition and she was introduced by Stuart Conlin, chairman of the Gallery. This was supposed to have been done by Dick Hurley Chairman of the Gallery Trustees, but unfortunately Dick broke his leg in a fall at the cinema last Thursday. Luckily however it was after he had seen the film. The Summer Exhibition focuses on the Barbara Karmel Bequest which was willed to the Gallery on the death of Barbara Karmel in 1996. Barbara Karmel was the mother of the Hon. Lavinia. The 'Barbara Karmel Bequest' consists of 4 oil paintings and 8 drawings by Sir Stanley Spencer. 

Theresa May MP also came to visit the exhibition and was presented with a basket of flowers. The conversation however seemed to be about David Cameron's kitchen rather than Spencer.

                         
Another event took place which was the signing of the lease to the gallery building. The Gallery is actually owned by the Kings Hall charity and the trustees have been negotiating with their solicitors and the Gallery solicitors to get a lease that was not only acceptable to the trustees and the Charity Commission but also the Heritage Lottery Fund. Father Michael Smith and Liz Kwantes two of the King's Hall trustees, actually put pen to paper just in time to allow the refurbishment work to commence. There will be about six months of planning before the physical work commences. The whole of the Gallery's paintings will then be transferred to the Majeski Gallery in Reading where they will be displayed.

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