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About Ferens Favourites
In summer 2020 we launched Ferens Favourites, inviting visitors to select the works for an exhibition of Hull’s best loved paintings. After months of closure during the (first) Coronavirus lockdown, we were hoping to reunite the people of Hull with the paintings they love in person in the gallery.
We asked you to choose a favourite painting in the collection and tell us why it moves you. The entries submitted bring together a wonderful variety of paintings. Subjects include religious and historic events, genre scenes and portraits, landscapes, wonders of nature and marine works. Among the most popular pictures are Rosa Bonheur’s The Lion at Home (1881), Elizabeth Butler’s Return from Inkerman (1877) and Frans Hals’ Portrait of a Young Woman (c.1660).
The exhibition was planned for late 2020. However, the pandemic continued to restrict work in the gallery during the late summer and autumn. Then on 5 November Ferens doors closed again for the second national lockdown. Like everyone, we had to adapt to the changed circumstances. While the gallery presentation of Ferens Favourites has been postponed, we’re delighted to share the paintings chosen by participants to date in this digital exhibition.
St Sebastian Tended by the Holy Irene, Nicolas Regnier
The comments accompanying the chosen works reveal the multiple ways art can inspire us. They convey the pleasure in looking closely at an artwork, entering its universe and letting the imagination roam. Some participants highlight personal connections to an artwork, others take us on a journey of escape. All of them draw on lived experience to enter into conversation with the artwork. They show us that time spent engaging with a favourite work of art is time well spent. Art sparks our creativity and invites us to look at the world with fresh eyes.
The Lame Duck, Thomas Jacques Somerscales
Thanks to everyone who has taken part. Their responses breathe new life into the Ferens collection. New entries are welcome and will mean the exhibition can continue to grow in 2021. (You’ll find information on how to participate at the very end.)
Lockdown Favourites
Between April and August 2020 visitors chose their favourite painting in the Ferens collection and explained what it means to them. Two international artists with close links to Ferens, Sabine Jeanne Bieli and Ian McKeever, also participated. We hope their chosen artworks and comments will inspire you to take part too!
Greenhouse and Garden (1937), Stanley Spencer
Chosen by international artist Ian McKeever
Just occasionally one sees a painting which for what ever reason sticks in the mind, becomes a part of one’s living consciousness, so to speak. Such a work for me is Stanley Spencer’s modest painting of a bunch of onions hanging on a greenhouse wall, Greenhouse and Garden, which I first saw as a boy at the Ferens in the 1950’s. Of all the things one could paint, the grand themes of life, why paint a bunch of humble onions? This question mystified me.
The Lion at Home (1881), Rosa Bonheur
Chosen by Justine Hunt, Hull
As a young child in the 1950s my mother brought me to the Ferens to see this picture. I was frightened by the size of the lions and the way they were looking at me! In those days we didn’t have a TV and I had not seen film of real lions- so it made a huge impact on me!
Now, as a volunteer at Ferens, I like to talk to visitors about the picture. It is a popular painting for young people still. I have such an emotional connection to it – I was amazed to see it there when I started volunteering. Funny how we remember things which evoke strong feelings!
Chosen by Val Maybury, Hull
This painting holds deep family associations. This reassuring painting captures a child’s eye view of the bond between members of a loving family. The parents are protective, watchful: the young are encircled and relaxed. It is idealised reality but the depiction of their physical beauty is breath-taking. My boys loved hearing too how Rosa had lions in her studio.
I gave the postcard to my son when he was 6 and upset. I sent other copies when he was struggling at university and when my lovely father died. The painting belongs to us and always will.
My mother who is now 86 loves this painting too. She had a jigsaw of it when her father was away in a prisoner of war camp.
Chosen by Gaile Scaife, Hull
I just think it is a stunning painting but more because I love wildlife and the Lion is one of my favourite wild animals. My friend and I were booked on a Safari dream of a lifetime holiday in Kenya at the end of June but sadly we won’t be going. It was to be an early joint 70th birthday present to ourselves. We will just have to enjoy live footage on line, saving lives and staying safe are more important than a once in a life time holiday.
Princes Dock, Hull (1882), John Atkinson Grimshaw
Chosen by Graham Jackson
The painting somehow is both comforting and slightly ominous at the same time. Comforting with the lights, especially from the windows; the woman opening (?) her umbrella; and even the rain itself, possibly still falling, maybe stopped. But then there are the dark silhouettes of the ships, the dock offices and the Wilberforce Monument which give the whole thing an edge. And that overall green hue is brilliant.
For me as well personally it echoes the dock as it was in the 70s and 80s. I like Princes Quay, it looks good in the setting, but the dock as empty, open water (and unfenced, if memory serves!) was always evocative of what it used to be and what it still was when Grimshaw painted the scene.
The Exhibition (1980), Kenneth Fowler
Chosen by Fionn (aged 12), Waterford
I chose this painting because I really liked the almost 3D art style the colours were really vibrant so it stood out from the rest. I also liked the detail put into each individual miniature painting and how each of them had a slightly different art style.
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Sensitive Skin (1986), Graham Crowley
Chosen by Helen E, Hull
I really like the detail within this artwork but like the fact that the face painted really stands out too.
A Game of Patience (1937), Meredith Frampton
Chosen by Cynthia Ward, South Holderness
Initially, it’s appeal to me is in the sense of utter silence, conveyed by the sitter’s still pose and far away gaze and also by the cool, almost monochromatic colour scheme.
But then I’m drawn to the obvious symbolism of the items on the table.
A game of Patience? A card reading?
Apples, wild oats, buds.
I love the mystery.
Chosen because it is an unusual pose, exquisitely painted but also because there’s a mystery to solve. I’m interested in Symbolism.
Chosen by Claire Bell, Hull
Whenever I visit the Ferens Art Gallery I’m always drawn to this painting it seems by some sort of hypnosis. It is mysterious and uber realistic simultaneously. The woman appears so still and poised; I feel calm observing her. My favourite part of the painting are her hands, particularly the fingers. The skin is so very life-like; I’m mesmerised.
I love the way she holds the card, as though pausing to listen or ponder on something other than her card game. I wonder about the symbolism within the painting. It is Autumn/harvest time; why is this significant? The cool marble walls and hard terracotta tiles in the background contrast with the activity in the fields beyond.
This painting entrances me every time.
Beau Site (Margaret Morris, 1891-1980, the Dancer) (1923), John Duncan Fergusson
Chosen by Sue Pizzey, Hull
Painted in 1923 and shows the dancer Margaret Morris who was also the painter’s wife. This was painted at Cape d’Antibes and shows the strong French sunlight, so different from the sunlight in Britain. This is colourful, shows Margaret in a solitary but thoughtful pose.
I do so hope this painting will be chosen because it is so bright and lifts the mood of the viewer.
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Jupiter and Ganymede, Jacob de Wit
Chosen by Olwen Evans-Knibb, Hull
I didn’t look at this painting properly for a long while, and I assumed it was plaster in relief. It gradually crept more clearly into my range of vision and I realised that it is an incredibly skillful and extremely beautiful painting. I have rarely seen such a perfect optical illusion, and I find it almost uncanny. It lurks there high on the wall, quite unassuming, but once you look at it and actually see it, it’s completely mind-blowing. How does a person develop such talent and vision? It always leaves me with a strong sense of peace and beauty.
The Transfiguration (c.1620), Giuseppe Cesari
Chosen by Paul Soulsby, Hull
The subject matter is taken from the New Testament and depicts Christ’s transfiguration on Mount Tabor. The New Testament prophecy foretells Christ’s return to earth in the Second Coming.
Although classed as one of the last exponents of a then old fashioned highly stylised ‘Roman Mannerism’ approach within the epoch of change in Renaissance painting this is countered by the respect his former students, Caravaggio and Andrea Sacchi expressed for their former teacher.
Palmyra, Syria, Clarence Henry Roe
Chosen by Souzana Haggi Hassan, Hull
It’s a very old monument which I’d love to share with you because it’s in my country and I really miss it. There’s an amazing view of the desert and mountains. A lot of tourists visit Palmyra every year. You can ride on camels. There are tourist guides who explain the history to you.
Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon (1869), Fredric Leighton
Chosen by Ailsa Oliver, Skirlaugh
A painting at which I always stop and gaze. There is something about her face, the way she stands, the despair and grief that is so apparent. I can’t help but wonder at the skill with which raw emotion is depicted in such an understated way. I also admire the way the artist has painted the drape of her robe so beautifully – I can almost sense how it would feel to the touch.
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Portrait of a Woman (c.1660), Frans Hals
Chosen by Anne Benson, Hedon
The reason I am choosing this painting is because I love art of the Netherlands during this period.
I felt really inspired by paintings in the Mauritshuis, The Hague and reading Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach. The women always covered their hair with a starch cap and a highly starched collar. The maid servants found the laundry to be really hard work, washing by hand and having to bleach the whites in the Sun, dry them and use a flat iron. A long and laborious process.
Chosen by Dave Rowe, Cottingham
This painting always stops me I my tracks when I’m walking past it usually in its normal place in Gallery two. I love how he has caught the innocence of a young girl and her eyes are amazing.
Girl in Grey (1939), Louis Le Brocquy
Chosen by Una, Waterford
I love the sense of reverie and contemplative essence of the scene, a girl suddenly lost in her own thoughts, book forgotten. The ability of the artist to confidently paint a background in large blocks of contrasting colour, while the subject matter is beautifully executed in a delicate detailed sensitive manner. The balance between light and dark, the use of space, the pared-back palette, the detail of the dress, there are many reasons to love this painting.
Interior with a boiler (1973), John McAllister Gray
Chosen by Molly, Bradford
The simplicity and muted tones of this painting caught my interest – I’d never seen it before. Through the lens of art it compels the viewer to consider the practical application of science – and offers beauty in a boiler! This exercise showed me Gray’s work for the first time – perhaps not the intended result, but a useful one for me.
A Nobelwoman (1590s), William Segar
Chosen by Don Knibb, Hull
I really like the vibrancy and clarity of the colours in her dress, and the artistry and detail in the painting, particularly her ruff. Her expression suggests she’s not someone to cross swords with!
The painting also points up huge contrasts between her society and ours, and always makes me wonder what sort of life she led. How many servants did it take to keep her looking like that? And on a more mundane level, how long did it take her to get dressed and undressed? She presumably considered it time well spent!
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