A NEW exhibition of work by the artist Fred Appleyard has opened at The Arc in Winchester.
The collection, which runs from June 21 to September 18 in the Gallery, features more than 100 of Appleyard’s paintings – some of which have never been on public display.
Originally born in Middleborough in 1874, Appleyard won several scholarships, with some of his work being displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts. He would later move and make his home in Itchen Abbas, producing many works until the end of his life.
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Melanie Rose, who curated the exhibition for the Hampshire Cultural Trust, said that she did not know a lot about Appleyard when she started working on the exhibition, eventually finding out that she once lived near where he called home.
She said: “He started off painting in a pre-Raphaelite style, and that is where the exhibition started in those formative years. And then towards the end of the First World War his style changed to British impressionism, and it was at the end of the war that he made a move to Itchen Stoke.
“I lived just along the road from him, 30 years after he died in 1963!
“I had never heard of him. When I was asked to curate the exhibition I went ‘Oh, that would be lovely’, but I was wondering if I would like this artist as I had never heard of him. So I did a bit of research and found out more about where he lived.
"The first thing I noticed was that I recognised a lot of the places in these paintings, and they will be familiar to those who live in the Itchen Valley.”
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Dr Alastair Rabagliati, who is Appleyard’s great-nephew, called the exhibition “almost overwhelming”.
A driving force in setting up the exhibition, Dr Rabagliati said: “He was exhibiting big works in the Royal Acadamy, he was known in his time, but then he came to Itchen Stoke and became, as my grandfather said, became a true artist.
“He gave up the fame and just painted, and that was his thing. Over time, he has become forgotten, and now it feels like the last chance with my aunts and my parents still alive that we can still bring everything together and have a greatshow!”
More information about the exhibition can be found on The Arc website.
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