05 July 2010
Exhibition recreates Alice´s Wonderland in Sheffield
A selection of Mervyn Peake´s original illustrations from Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland will be on display in a new exhibition to be staged at the University of Sheffield´s Western Bank Library.
The collection was recently acquired by the British Library and will be exhibited in Sheffield from 30th June 2010, to coincide with playwright Laura Wade´s new adaptation of Alice at the Crucible Theatre.
The exhibition, which has been curated by Professor Vanessa Toulmin and Karen Middlemast from the University of Sheffield´s Library, will exclusively showcase original drawings and unpublished sketches which will be displayed for the first time since the British Library acquired the collection.
It will include 22 pen and ink drawings and 5 preliminary sketches by Mervyn Peake, best known as the author of Gormenghast for which he won the Heinemann Prize for Literature in 1951.
The collection forms part of a wider archive of Mervyn Peake which was acquired by the British Library in 2010, with support from the Art Fund, Friends of the British Library, Friends of the National Libraries and individual donors.
Dating from 1940 through to his death in 1968, the archive represents the
majority of Peake's literary output and contains a significant amount of unpublished material.
Whilst retaining the whimsical spirit of the books, Mervyn Peake´s interpretations of the characters in the Alice books are seen as generally darker than illustrations by previous artists as they commonly depict their subjects as isolated and vulnerable.
Mervyn Peake visited Germany during the year he composed the illustrations. During the visit he entered the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp shortly after its liberation by the Allied forces and he witnessed at first hand the destruction caused by the bombing of major cities. This experience is said to have heavily influenced the illustrations which provided a fresh perspective on the characters for the edition of Alice which was published in Stockholm, by the Continental Book Company in 1946.
The exhibition will present selected original illustrations by Mervyn Peake including drawings of the well-known characters of Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and the Cheshire Cat.
The exhibition was formally opened by Mervyn Peake´s son, Sebastian on 29 June 2010, in the newly refurbished space at the Weston Bank Library. Refurbishment work was carried out earlier this year to restore the parquet floor and return the area to its original form. It will continue until 29th September 2010.
Professor Vanessa Toulmin, curator of the exhibition, said: "The historically-celebrated work of Mervyn Peake, one of Britain´s greatest post-war writers and artists, is a treasured part of our national heritage and we are delighted that it will be on display for the first time in Sheffield. Alice in Wonderland has become an iconic tale for adults and children alike, and this free exhibition will give members of the public a chance to view the illustrations that brought these much-loved characters to life."
Sebastian Peake said: "I'm sure that had my father been alive he would have been delighted to see his illustrations to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, displayed in such glorious surroundings. With ample space for each drawing to be seen as a separate work within the collection, each of the characters depicted can come to life, reminding the viewer that the basis of any interpretation is vision."
Notes for Editors: `The University of Sheffield presents Mervyn Peake´s Alice in Wonderland in Association with the British Library´ exhibition will run from 30 June- 29 September 2010 and Open 9am to 7pm Monday – Thursday, 10am to 7pm on Fridays, and 12pm to 6pm on Saturdays.
Writer, artist, poet and playwright, Mervyn Lawrence Peake (1911-1968), is best known for his gothic masterpiece, the Gormenghast trilogy, featuring an array of compelling characters, most notably its anti-hero, the arch-villain, Steerpike. However, during his extensive and prestigious career as an illustrator, he produced a stunning set of original illustrations for many classic stories including, Household Tales (1946), Treasure Island (1949), Swiss Family Robinson (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1946) and Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (1954).
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages.
For further information please contact: Lauren Anderson, Media Relations Officer, on 0114 2221046 or email l.h.anderson@sheffield.ac.uk
« Return to news releases
|
