The works of art presented on this page were exhibited at the “In Living Memory” exhibition that was an element of the Pride of Place Festival 2023 carried out as a joint venture with Caerbladon. It showed how artists have represented Malmesbury from the 1940s to the present day. It enabled the museum to display some of its art work which is rarely on display.
Please note that the art works shown are subject to copyright.
If you wish to see any of these pictures please contact the museum via email at info@athelstanmuseum.org.uk
Please click on any image to see a larger version of it.
John Piper
Detail of the South Porch of Malmesbury Abbey, by John Piper, 1959. Coloured lithograph, one of 70 signed copies.
Piper, 1903-1992 is an internationally renowned painter and printmaker whose works can be found in many galleries and museums as well as Coventry Cathedral. He was an official war artist and his later work often focused on churches and monuments such as the Abbey.
Louisa Puller
Buildings in Cross Hayes, Malmesbury, Wiltshire by Louisa Puller. 1942 Watercolour (left).
St John’s Hospital, Malmesbury by Louisa Puller. 1942 Watercolour (right)
Puller was a Recording Britain artist during WWII. She made many paintings of Malmesbury most of which are housed in the V&A with the rest of the Recording Britain archive of over 1,500 watercolours and drawings
Kim Simmons
From Daniel’s Well by Kim Simmons. Acrylic
Local artist Kim has lived and worked in Malmesbury since 1985 and studied Fine Art at Exeter University .
Her paintings are often influenced by her travels in India and Africa as well as the rest of Europe.
Chris Juson
St. Johns, or Back, Steps, Malmesbury by Chris Juson, 2001. Watercolour.
Local artist Chris produces works in a variety of media, particularly acrylic and collage. These often feature less commonly pictured aspects of the town. Her works are sometimes reproduced as greetings cards and examples can be purchased in Athelstan Museum.
Robin Tanner
Aldhelmsburgh by Robin Tanner, Etching (left). Hand written lettered caption (right).
Tanner lived from 1904-1988, in Kington Langley from 1932. Many of his etchings are held in the Wiltshire Museum Devizes and the Ashmolean exhibited a retrospective in 1961. There is more information about Robin on our history page.
Alice C. Butler
The Market Cross by Alice C. Butler, c. 1930. Pen drawing.
Alice Caroline Butler – after 1938 Alice Bizley 1909-1995.
Born in Bromley, Kent Alice studied at St. Albans School of Art. Her landscapes and flower pictures were considered
masterpieces of the miniaturist’s art and in 1933 she was living in Malmesbury where she ran a studio shop. Later she moved to Perranporth, Cornwall.
John Bowen
Ratcliffe’s Iron Works by John Bowen, 1992. Watercolour.
John Bowen, who died suddenly in 2009, was a well known figure in Malmesbury, He was a local Councillor, dressmaker and milliner as well as an artist. The Art Gallery in Malmesbury Town Hall is named for him. Ratcliffe’s is a family firm in Malmesbury, founded in 1870. See our Industry page for more information about Ratcliffe’s.
Charles White
The Jolly Abbott by Charles White. Oil.
Charles White lived in Malmesbury in the 1970s-80s in the Old Castle House in the Triangle, He painted many local scenes but was particularly fond of the Market Cross. The Jolly Abbott is now the Whole Hog pub.
Charles Emanuel
“Athelstan House”, the Kings House on Kings Wall from the south west by C. Emanuel, 1943. Crayon pastel
Probably Charles Herbert Lewis Emanuel 1868-1982. He is known to have worked in pastels.
F L Emanuel
The Horsefair, Malmesbury by F. L. Emanuel, 1934 Pencil drawing
Probably Frank Lewis Emanuel 1965-1948, brother of Charles, see above. Painter of landscapes and interiors, draughtsman, etcher, teacher and writer. He is known to have drawn Malmesbury. The Horsefair is in the old Westport parish where Thomas Hobbes was born.
F. W. Baldwin
St John’s Hospital by F. W. Baldwin, 1954. Watercolour
Possibly Frederick William Baldwin 1899 – 1984
Fursman
Apostles on the east side of Malmesbury Abbey porch by Fursman. Oil Pastel
Colin Forward
Illustration for an edition of Carnival Times by Colin Forward, 1995. Ink from pencil drawing.
After moving to Wiltshire in 1950 and briefly teaching Art and Games at Malmesbury Grammar School, Colin worked for EK Cole (EKCO) and other organisations as a technical illustrator. He set up a second-hand book business and later worked as a signmaker in Swindon. A love of cartoons and architecture informs his artistic output. This image. with spoof references to the town in 1995 by David Witt and Peter Clarke, is based on the famous picture map of Malmesbury from the Civil War. Detailed information about the 1646 original can be found in the museum.
Tom La Fontaine
Elmer the Flying Monk by Tom La Fontaine, 2004. Pencil drawing.
Thomas Sherwood La Fontaine 1915-2007 was a portrait and animal painter and draughtsman. He studied at Regent Street Polytechnic School of Art 1934-6. City and Guilds of London Art School 1936-9 then Spenlove School 1939. He showed at the RA and elsewhere and lived in Malmesbury for many years. He was specifically commissioned by the then Friends of Athelstan Museum to undertake this drawing of Elmer.
Charles White
The Market Cross viewed through the Tolsey Gate by Charles White. Pencil drawing.
Others…
From left to right. Abbey House Malmesbury by D. Milner 1987, watercolour. The Flying Monk Pub by Rob Walker 1973, pen and ink drawing. The rear of the Convent in Cross Hayes by Peter Harris, watercolour.