The Grange Gallery, managed by Rottingdean Heritage CIO, has a long association with British Art – as it was the home of the Nicholson family in the early 20th Century; William and Mabel Nicholson creating many works there, and where their more famous son, the abstract modernist painter, Ben Nicholson lived along with them.
Rottingdean too has a long history of being an inviting village in which many artists and writers have chosen to live when fleeing the more hectic London lifestyle. It is the particular association with Edward Burne-Jones, who bought a house in Rottingdean with his wife Georgiana in 1880, that we wish to celebrate with the proposed exhibition of his work The Flower Book – on loan from Brighton Museum & Gallery.
2025 will also be the 120 year anniversary of the book’s publication in 1905 by his widow Georgiana.
The original watercolour paintings (now in the British Museum collection) from which the 38 plates of the Flower Book were created, were mostly, if not all, painted during Burne-Jones’ time in Rottingdean as a very personal work for his wife Georgiana. It was she who supervised the printing and publishing of the ‘book’ in a limited facsimile edition of 300, done in collaboration with the Fine Art Society (London). Some versions were bound, and others were unbound, contained within a clamshell presentation box.
Within the 38 collotype prints, three main themes can be seen recurring. As was Burne Jones’ want, he often revisited time and time again certain scenes ranging from Arthurian legend to historical romance, to biblical religious scenes – all of which are ably represented in The Flower Book.
“It’s a real pleasure to see these works return to the village where they were created. Burne-Jones produced many of the Flower Book sketches in Rottingdean, drawing inspiration from the gardens around his summer home, so bringing the prints back to The Grange Gallery feels both fitting and poignant. We believe this to be the first time they’ll be shown so close to where they were imagined, and we’re proud to support a local gallery in celebrating such a deeply rooted piece of artistic heritage.”
Following on from the success last summer (2024) of Rottingdean Heritage’s exhibition at The Grange Gallery – ‘Prydie: The Life and Art of Mabel Pryde Nicholson’, where we attracted much praise and attention from both local and national press, we would like to continue with our series of free exhibitions to the public where we focus on artists who have a deep connection with Rottingdean and its locale.
We also hope to supplement the exhibition by a possible themed talk and by promoting the visiting of the Burne-Jones stained glass windows in the neighbouring St Margaret of Antioch church. There is also a permanent display in our dedicated Burne-Jones room in The Grange building.
As already stated, this will be a free exhibition, allowing the widest possible access to the public. We have disabled access doors on the ground floor and a chair-lift to the first floor for those who need that facility.
Trustees and Executive Committee: Chris Davidson (Chair), Jeremy Thomas (Treasurer), Susan Swinnerton (Gallery Finance), Colin Dellar (Windmill), Fiona Kirkcaldy (Grange), Michael Bennett (Planning and CAG rep.), Kim Turnbull James (Secretary), Gavin Turnbull (Membership Secretary).
Associate Committee Members: Dimitrios Evangelou (Gallery Director), Louise Arnold (Gallery Manager), Michael Laslett (Museum Curator and Archivist); Karen North (Assistant Archivist), Rowena Bennett (Legal Adviser), Gail Souppouris (Steward Manager).
