Exhibitions

Lyme Country

Countryside Artworks from the Museum’s collections
6 November – 24 February

Lyme Country is a chance to showcase some of the Museum’s art collection not normally seen by the public, as well as some material from our supporters. The show runs from 7th November to the end of February in the Museum’s Rotunda Gallery.

The show is themed on the countryside around Lyme – to make a change from our usual themes of Lyme and the Sea. So we have artworks from the beautiful countryside of East Devon and West Dorset – in particular Uplyme, Charmouth, Rousdon and inland Lyme Regis – all Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

We’ve watercolours, pastels, pencil drawings and prints ranging from the 1790s to the 1990s.

Two prints of 1825 landscape watercolours by General Edward Fanshawe are shown, done whilst he was the junior army officer in charge of repairing the Cobb after the Great Storm of 1824. These were found and digitally cleaned by Dr Edward Harris, Director of the National Museum of Bermuda – a the link made by the Bermuda-Lyme Regis Twinning Association. Edward Harris is writing a biography of Fanshawe, who supervised the fortification of Bermuda.

We also feature an Anastatic Print of Colway Manor in Lyme. This was a Victorian innovation that enabled printing plates to be made directly from the artist’s drawing, cutting out the expensive engraving or woodcut previously needed – meaning that amateur art could get printed. A society encouraged publication, and one of its 1872 annual volume of prints will be shown.