Friends of Newport Museum and Art Gallery

Objects in Focus for June 2020 Self-portrait (1987) by Harry Holland Harry Holland’s reputation stretches well beyond his home city of Cardiff, where he has lived since 1973. A figurative artist with extraordinary technical ability, Harry has exhibited widely and has work in international collections including the: Tate, Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Portrait Museum of Canada. Throughout his career, Harry has focused on the often unfashionable formal and technical aspects of painting, drawing inspiration from classical themes, which he applies to the modern world. This highly accomplished self-portrait was acquired by Newport Museum and Art Gallery in the early 1990s. It shows Harry in a reflective and confident moment in his career. Self-portrait (1987) by Sara Rossberg Sara Rossberg is recognised for her striking figurative paintings and drawings. Her work features both groups and individuals, with a strong emphasis on the head and face. Thi

The Crumlin Branch of t he Monmouthshire Canal Many people have been using the canal system to carry out lockdown walks and the Crumlin branch of the canal is a favourite for people in and around Newport. Anne Dunton has sent some photographs of her daily walk during lockdown. She usually walks up to the top of Ridgeway in Newport and then takes the path down through the woods of Allt-yr-yn Nature Reserve to the canal . The reserve  occupies the 32 acre site of the former Allt-yr-yn House and lido, and an old stone quarry. The lido has been turned into one of the ponds and only a few stones of the house remain .   Thus Anne is   walking through the grounds of  Allt-yr -yn house .    lt was situated to the west of Newport and was surrounded by woodland and fields.  She remembers swimming in Allt-yr-yn  lido  and this link is to a page from Newport Past. The lido was  opened by the Deputy-Mayor in 1934 and closed in the mid 1960s.   Now the remains are overgrown and obscured fr

Octavius Morgan, an  Antiquarian with a passion for Collection and Curation.   By Mary Evans In early February before lockdown would radically affect our way of life I joined a group of National Trust volunteers from Tredegar House on a visit to the British Museum.    The morning was given over to a guided tour of the Horological Collection with one of its curators Oliver Cooke. We were accorded this privilege because of the connection between Tredegar House and one of the Collection’s most significant benefactors, Charles Octavius Swinnerton Morgan. Charles Octavius Swinnerton Morgan (1803-1888)   David H Williams, ‘Octavius Morgan, Antiquarian and  Politician’.  The Monmouthshire Antiquary,  Vol XIII (1997) pp. 13-17. Known as Octavius Morgan he was the fourth son of Sir Charles Morgan 2 nd  Baronet (1760-1846) and Mary (née Stoney). This rare picture of him is featured in a profile by David H.Williams.    Until 1839 he lived at Tredegar House, for over 500 yea