Post by lastbloom on Apr 6, 2011 21:46:28 GMT -5
I just noticed that the Huntington Library in southern CA is featuring two exhibits that look really exciting. The first is a collection of works by the artist and poet William Blake. The second is a more general exhibit featuring works from the Regency in honor of the 200th anniversary of the period.
www.huntington.org/
Born into Endless Night: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints by William Blake
www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary_02.aspx?id=8836
April 23–Aug. 1, 2011
Library, West Hall
Regency England (the period between 1811 and 1820, when George III was deemed unfit and his son ruled as prince regent) generally brings to mind Jane Austen’s world of elegant country house parties and mannered village society, or the extravagant, licentious activities of the Prince Regent and his aristocratic Carlton House set. But beneath this calm upper-class surface lay a far more complex and turbulent world: England’s victory over Napoleonic France at Waterloo left her the most powerful nation on earth, yet at home, growing clamor for political reform met with fierce government repression. Economic depression, famine, and the unemployment caused by industrialization created wrenching poverty for the working classes. Advances in science and technology transformed the everyday nature of English life; aesthetic refinement revolutionized fashion, manners, and the decorative arts; and the years from 1811 to 1820 saw breathtaking new work by Austen, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, and other British literary greats. In “Revisiting the Regency,” selections from The Huntington’s rich collection of rare books, manuscripts, prints, and drawings relating to the period commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Regency decade.
The house is impressive, and the grounds and gardens are justly famous for their beauty and diversity.
A friend and I are planning a visit in May (probably the 9th, which is a Monday, to avoid the Mother's Day madness), appropriately attired for viewing the great works on display and walking in the spectacular gardens. The more the merrier!
www.huntington.org/
Born into Endless Night: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints by William Blake
www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary_02.aspx?id=8836
Revisiting the Regency: England, 1811-1820
April 23–Aug. 1, 2011
Library, West Hall
Regency England (the period between 1811 and 1820, when George III was deemed unfit and his son ruled as prince regent) generally brings to mind Jane Austen’s world of elegant country house parties and mannered village society, or the extravagant, licentious activities of the Prince Regent and his aristocratic Carlton House set. But beneath this calm upper-class surface lay a far more complex and turbulent world: England’s victory over Napoleonic France at Waterloo left her the most powerful nation on earth, yet at home, growing clamor for political reform met with fierce government repression. Economic depression, famine, and the unemployment caused by industrialization created wrenching poverty for the working classes. Advances in science and technology transformed the everyday nature of English life; aesthetic refinement revolutionized fashion, manners, and the decorative arts; and the years from 1811 to 1820 saw breathtaking new work by Austen, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, and other British literary greats. In “Revisiting the Regency,” selections from The Huntington’s rich collection of rare books, manuscripts, prints, and drawings relating to the period commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Regency decade.
The house is impressive, and the grounds and gardens are justly famous for their beauty and diversity.
A friend and I are planning a visit in May (probably the 9th, which is a Monday, to avoid the Mother's Day madness), appropriately attired for viewing the great works on display and walking in the spectacular gardens. The more the merrier!
