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The artist Mark Rothko in Cornwall

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MANY PEOPLE MEDITATE profoundly in front of paintings by the American artist Mark Rothko (1903-1970). I am not one of those people. I can recognise his work and appreciate its originality, but he is not amongst my favourite 20th century artists.

When visiting the branch of the Tate Gallery in Cornwall’s St Ives at the beginning of July 2024, I viewed a small exhibition of painted panels created by Rothko. In 1958, he was commissioned to paint them for the Four Seasons restaurant in the Seagram Building in New York City. In the summer of 1959, he took a break from painting this series of pictures, and visited England. The painter Peter Lanyon invited Rothko to his home in St Ives in Cornwall. During his stay, he met other artists based in the West Country including Alan Davie, Paul Feiler, Patrick Heron, and Terry Frost. Rothko’s visit to St Ives was a factor that helped change his mind about displaying the paintings he was creating for the Four Seasons restaurant. It has been recorded that he said that the restaurant was:

“… a place where the richest bastards of New York will come to feed and show off.” (theartnewspaper.com, 4th of April 2024).

In 1969, Rothko donated nine of the paintings, originally destined for the restaurant, to the Tate Gallery. Seven others can be viewed at the Kawamura Museum of Modern Art in Japan, and another thirteen are housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. The rest are owned by his children.

Usually, the paintings currently being displayed at the Tate in St Ives are to be found in a dedicated room in London’s Tate Modern. Currently, the room where they are usually stored in Tate Modern is being used to host an exhibition by another artist (Joan Mitchell). The Seagram murals will remain in St Ives until January 2025.

We visit St Ives regularly. Its branch of the Tate is one of several artistic attractions we visit in the town. Although it contains some great artworks, I am not fond of its architecture. I am glad we visited again because had we not done so, I would not have known about Rothko’s holiday in St Ives, and the influence it had on his decision not to display his paintings in a fancy restaurant in New York City.

Indian queens in the heart of Cornwall

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DURING NUMEROUS VISITS to Cornwall, we have driven along the A30 road. Often on these journeys, we have driven past signs pointing to a place named ‘Indian Queens’, but we had never visited it. So, on the 29th of June 2024, we left the main road and headed towards Indian Queens without knowing what to expect. To be honest, at first sight, the place does not seem of any interest to the visitor. But, as we were to discover, Indian Queens contains one of the most unusual sights in Cornwall.

By chance, we pulled up opposite a house, which incorporates two granite pillars surmounted by a triangular pediment on which the following words are inscribed:

“THE INDIAN QUEEN. Licensed brewer and retailer of beer, cyder, spirits, wine, and tobacco. Licensed to the post horses.”

The building to which this was attached was not a pub and looked newer than the pillars and the inscribed pediment. These fragments are all that remains of a pub called ‘The Indian Queen’, which stood in another part of the district: between Goss Moor and Fraddon. The former pub, which had been built in the late 18th century, had a Victorian signboard (now in a museum in Truro). It depicted an American Indian Queen on one side and Queen Victoria on the other. Until about 1780, the pub had been called ‘The Queen’s Head’, but by 1787, it had become ‘The Indian Queen’. It is thought by some that a Portuguese princess, who was travelling between Falmouth and London, stayed at the inn, and because she was olive skinned, the locals thought she was an American Indian queen, and that is how the name of the pub and of the village originated. Later, the village name changed from Indian Queen to Indian Queens, as it is known today.

The village has one Indian restaurant, aptly named “Indian Queen”. Run by some friendly Bangladeshi people, it occupies what was formerly The Railway Tavern pub.  We ate dinner there. The following morning, we returned to Indian Queens to look at something we had missed the day before. Pocohontas Crescent leads to a footpath that heads towards the Indian Queens Pit. This proved to be a most interesting place.

In 1850, local Wesleyans approached the mine owner Henry Jenkyn to convert the local, disused quarry into an outdoor ‘preaching pit’, like the one already created (from a disused mining quarry) at Gwennap near Redruth, which was used by John Wesley – the founder of Methodism. The preaching pits were like amphitheatres in which large numbers of people could listen to the preaching of Methodist ministers. By 1860, the pit at Indian Queens was already being used by the congregations of various local Methodist chapels. Between 1880 and 1907, the pit had been adapted to look as it does today. The sloping sides of the pit were remodelled to create tiers just like those in ancient Greek and Roman amphitheatres, but each row was separated by a much greater height than in the ancient versions. The circular tiers encircle a round, flat area below them. By 1907, the semicircular raised preaching platform was in place. The pit was used for preaching, Sunday School anniversaries, and other events until 1970.

Between 1970 and 1976, the pit became overgrown and was unused. However, in 1976, a local man, Lloyd Truscott, worked hard to restore the pit. On the 20th of May 1978, a service was conducted in the restored pit. Today, the pit is owned by a group of trustees representing the local Methodists and other organisations. It is still used for staging events, and we were lucky enough to attend one of them on the 30th of June 2024.  That afternoon, we watched a highly entertaining improvised version of “Tristan and Isolde” – a play, not the opera. Three young actors performed it very engagingly and with great panache.

Until we ventured into Indian Queens, I had never heard of preaching pits. There are three surviving circular preaching pits in Cornwall, and one, which only occupies a quarter of a circle. I hope to write more on this subject at a later date.

From rural Cornwall to the Royal Academy in London

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ONE OF MY FAVOURITE National Trust properties in England is Trerice, which is about 2.3 miles south of the Cornish town of Newquay – not one of my favourite places in Cornwall.  We visit the house and gardens at Trerice every time we spend time in Cornwall, and always discover soothing there that we had not noticed before.

This tine (June 2024), one of the volunteers working in the house pointed out a painting by John Opie (1761-1807). I had not come across his name before. Our informant told us that he had been born in Cornwall, and thought that he had been involved with the establishment of the Royal Academy. He was born at Trevallas between St Agnes and Perranporth, both of which are not far from Trerice. At an early age, his artistic talents became evident, but his father, a carpenter, wanted John to become a carpenter. A physician, Dr Wolcot, met him at the place where he was an apprentice, and reecognising John’s artistic skills, paid for him to be released from his apprenticeship. Wolcot encouraged Opie, and by the start of the 1790s, he was a successful portraitist in Cornwall.

In 1781, Wolcot took Opie to London, where his works were admired by great artists of the time including Sir Joshua Reynolds, who compared John’s work to that of Caravaggio and Velasquez. A year later, Opie began working independently of Wolcot, who had been supporting him up until then. An acquaintance of Dr Wolcot introduced Opie to the court of King George III. This led to Opie being commissioned to paint portraits of people of high rank in English society and royalty. In 1886, he was elected a full member of the Royal Academy, and in 1805 he was appointed a professor in that esteemed institution.

There are three paintings by Opie hanging on the walls of Trerice house. One is a portrait, and another a self-portrait. The third, which depicts three people playing cards, is a copy of the same picture that can be seen at Petworth house. The version at Trerice is believed to have been painted by Opie and others in his studio. Each of the three people in it have smiles. It is thought that in this painting, Opie was experimenting with the depiction of smiling. Although attractive, this picture is not as attractive as his other two paintings in Trerice.

It is always pleasant to re-visit places, and always exciting to discover something one had missed on earlier trips to that same location. As well as the lovely interiors at Trerice, the gardens surrounding it are always a joy to behold.

An Albanian who fought the Portuguese in India during the 16th century

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MY NEW BOOK IS ABOUT THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF AN ALBANIAN HERO WHO FOUGHT THE PORTUGUESE IN INDIA DURING THE 16TH CENTURY

“AN ALBANIAN IN INDIA” is available

as a paperback and a Kindle eBook from Amazon:

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Albanian, known as ‘Khwaja Safar’, was born in southern Italy. Just as the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg fought the invaders of Albania, Khwaja Safar valiantly opposed the invaders of his adopted country – Gujarat.

After serving as a soldier in Italy, he went to sea as a trader, and was successful. While sailing in the Red Sea, he was captured by an Egyptian admiral, and taken to Cairo. He was presented to the Sultan. Khwaja rose rapidly to become the treasurer and trusted advisor ruler of Egypt’s ruler. From Egypt, he travelled to Yemen, and then to Gujarat in western India, where he became a formidable opponent of the Portuguese, who were aggressively attempting to monopolise trade in the Indian Ocean. With his knowledge and experience of the tactics of European armies, he became Portugal’s most formidable opponent in 16th century western India.

My book (also available as a Kindle eBook), “AN ALBANIAN IN INDIA”, is illustrated with pictures and maps. It describes Khwaja Safar’s extraordinarily exciting life and my visits to places where he made his mark in India.

CLICK BELOW TO REACH THE AMAZON PAGE FOR MY NEW BOOK:

Picturesque piles of rock and standing in the landscape of Devon

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WHENEVER WE DRIVE to Cornwall, we make sure that we cross Dartmoor. Even if it means taking a detour along the narrow, challenging lanes of Devon, we always visit Combestone Tor. This geological formation, perched on the side of a hill commanding a panoramic view of well over 180 degrees, consists of several piles of enormous, weathered slabs of granite. Each pile has a few of these gigantic slabs piled one above the next. I have described how these impressive piles were formed in something I wrote a few years ago (https://adam-yamey-writes.com/2020/10/04/sculpted-by-nature/).

I cannot say why we find visiting Combestone Tor so satisfying. Is it the fine views over the moor and the countryside abutting it? Or is it the sculptural qualities of the rock formations? Could it be the peacefulness of the place? Even if there are other visitors at the Tor, one does not feel disturbed by them. Or is it the joy of seeing horses, sheep and cattle grazing near the stones? It is probably a combination of all of these, and other factors which affect one’s emotions, but are difficult to define. We have seen the Tor in appalling wind and rain and bright sunshine, and always feel glad that we have made the effort to reach the place.

Japanese by design in London’s Kensington

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SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, I watched a wonderful film set in Japan and directed by Wim Wenders: “Perfect Days”. Set in Tokyo, the main character is a man who cleans the city’s public toilets. Each of the public conveniences he cleans is of a different design. And each of them, like so many things designed in Japan, is a beautiful work of art. Making things and places look special and visually pleasing seems to be an important feature of the Japanese philosophy of life, and has been since time immemorial. Yet, unlike many other countries, Japan has not yet established a dedicated national design museum.

Until the 8th of September 2024, the Japan House in High Street Kensington is hosting an exhibition called “Design Discoveries”. The website of the Japan House (www.japanhouselondon.uk/whats-on/design-discoveries-towards-a-design-museum-japan/) explained:

“This exhibition brings together seven major designers, from filmmakers to architects, to consider what they would put into a permanent collection of design treasures. Their personal responses capture Japan’s regional diversity and 10,000 years of history.”

The beautifully laid out exhibition is not merely educational but also a feast for the eyes. Examples of Japanese design (and technology) dating from about 4500 years ago to the present century are beautifully displayed and intelligently explained.

Should the Japanese eventually get around to creating a museum of design, I am certain that visiting it would be a very exciting experience. Meanwhile, if you can get to Japan House – a beautifully designed place – you should not miss visiting the exhibition in its basement.

Sculptures on display in the garden of a square in central London

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ON OUR WAY FROM Bury Street (near Piccadilly) to Trafalgar Square, we walked through the garden in the centre of St James Square. In addition to its permanent resident, a bronze equestrian statue of King William III (sculpted in 1807), the garden contained several sculptures by Helaine Blumenfeld, who was born in New York City in 1942.  Her artistic education was in the USA and France. In 1970, she moved to Grantchester in Cambridgeshire where she lives and works. She was awarded an OBE in 2011.

The works on display in the square until the 26th of July 2024 have been presented by the Hignell Gallery. Although the sculptures, which are almost but not completely abstract, are made of folded sheets of metal, they look like large pieces of cloth being blown by the wind. To enjoy them fully, it is a good idea to walk around each of them. As you encircle each sculpture, you keep seeing something different. Some of the pieces reminded me a little of certain sculptures created by Tony Cragg (born 1949). Like Cragg’s sculptures, Blumenfeld’s creations are well-suited for open air display.

It was a pleasure to see these sculptures in St James Square on a hot, sunny day, when the garden was populated by office workers on the lawn, enjoying the sun and their lunches.

He lived and painted in and around London’s Hampstead district

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TWO HALF-BROTHERS from India were both artists, and spent time creating artworks in and around Hampstead. Lancelot Ribeiro (1933 – 2010) was one of them, and the other was his older and more famous brother Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002). Today (23rd of June 2024), we dashed up to Hampstead’s Burgh House to see an exhibition of works by Souza created when he lived in Hampstead and Belsize Park. This small, but superb exhibition closes today.

Born in Portuguese Goa, Souza studied art at the prestigious JJ School of Art in Bombay. A participant in the Quit India Movement, he was expelled from that school in 1945 when he pulled down a Union Jack flag at a school celebration. Souza migrated to the UK in 1949. By 1955, he was already making a success in London’s contemporary art world.

In London, Souza first lived in Paddington, then North Kensington, and by the mid-1950s, he had moved to Hampstead. By 1961, he had made enough money to buy a large house – number 9 Belsize Park. He remained there until he moved to the USA in 1968.

The exhibition handout (produced by London’s Grosvenor Gallery) described Souza as an Expressionist artist who:

“… conveyed the fear and anguish of the generation.”

One of the great fears was that of nuclear weapons. Souza became an anti-nuclear activist, taking part, for example, in the Aldermaston Marches. Three of the paintings at the exhibition, “The Mad Prophet of New York”, “The Apocalypse”, and “Oedipus Rex”, reflected Souza’s reaction to nuclear weaponry, and were painted during his time in the Hampstead area.

At least two of the paintings we viewed reflected Souza’s life in northwest London. One of them depicts a church in Chalk Farm (near Belsize Park), and the other, a parody of Picasso’s 1907 “Demoiselles d’Avignon”, has the title “Young Ladies of Belsize Park”.

The paintings were hung in the well-lit Peggy Jay Gallery in Burgh House, and were accompanied by informative panels. It is a shame that this excellent exhibition was only open for a few days (19th to 23rd of June 2024). I am glad that we made the effort to see it.