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Post by John Parry on Jan 4, 2006 8:00:18 GMT -5
Here are my Mum and Dad  The occasion - Mum and Dad got married the same month as the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, and were invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace in celebration. Here they are in London, ready to begin the celebrations. |
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Jan 4, 2006 10:00:03 GMT -5
A proud day indeed, John, and a lovely family memento. Pictures like this bring back a day better than thousands of words.
Peter
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Post by kamera on Jan 4, 2006 12:29:37 GMT -5
John,
Yes...yes...and make sure you protect the negs and/or print very well for the future.
Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI
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Post by John Parry on Jan 4, 2006 18:34:09 GMT -5
In the hall of my parent's house there is a large walnut framed photograph of my father at the age of (maybe) 5 or 6. My father is sat on a stool with long curly hair, dressed in a sailor suit. My father is adamant that he never had a sailor suit in his life (he went on to join the Royal Air Force), and I should say at this point that the photograph was placed on the wall at the insistence of my mother. The photograph is obviously a studio special - I would imagine that the sailor suit was part of the deal, and, although I wouldn't swear to it I'm pretty sure there was an aspidistra in there somewhere. The unusual thing about the photograph (for its time), is that it was coloured. Nothing garish, but my father's face has a pretty realistic skin hue, his hair is suitably copper coloured, the sailor suit is blue and so forth. It was quite common for studio photographers in those days to employ artists to colour in the photographs. (I think colour photography would have been possible at the time - around 1930, but it would have been prohibitively expensive). When my mother examined it more closely, she discovered a plate on the rear of the frame. On it, in prominent place was the name of the photographer. Below that was the name of the artist. It was L S Lowry.  Pretty sure L S Lowry is long out of copyright, but if this proves to be a problem to anybody, please let me know and I will remove this image .Many of you will never have heard of him, but it may jog your memories if I mention the phrase "Matchstalk men and matchstalk cats and dogs" Regards - John |
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Jan 4, 2006 19:53:51 GMT -5
No problem so far as I'm concerned, John, he's one of my two favourite artists. The other is Terrence Cuneo. But Lawrence Stephen Lowry died in 1976, when he was 87 or 88, so technically his paintings are in copyright till the end of 2046.
Some people who ought to know better dismiss Lowry as a 'primitive', but he was far from that. Look at his sense of composition and the perspective in 'Street Scene' or 'Industrial Landscape'. And his Matchstalk Men, and matchstalk women and children were so well portrayed with just a few brush strokes that we feel we know them; anyone who had been to Salford and the surrounding area 30 or so years ago has seen them. The pity is that like many artists his work wasn't properly appreciated till near the end of his life. I once saw a reproduction of one of his 'serious' portraits of a 1930s mill worker ... superb!
Unlike some artists I don't think he was particularly short of money. He worked as a clerk, I believe, until he was 65, and studied art and painted in his spare time.
Interesting that he also hand coloured photographs. Do you know where the original is now?
Peter
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Post by John Parry on Jan 4, 2006 20:29:51 GMT -5
Better pass the word on to Randy to expect trouble from the Lowry Centre then Peter! I thought copyright was only good for 25 years as with music???
Do you mean the 'original' I posted, or my Dad's picture? Just pulled a random example off Google images for the former, and the latter is still in my father's hall - will take some photos of it when I get the chance.
I do remember there was a long corridor that threaded it's way through the primary school I attended, and every couple of yards there was a Lowry print. Our headmaster must have been very up to date because this would be 1955 - 1961.
My Mum did make some enquiries at the Lowry Museum, and they said there were a few years when they weren't sure what he was doing, and 'that photograph would explain a lot'
Regards - John
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Post by Randy on Jan 4, 2006 21:45:08 GMT -5
I don't care as long as you don't put any Walter Sickert paintings up.  |
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Jan 5, 2006 19:14:34 GMT -5
What don't you like about Walter Sickert. Randy?
his paintings or the somewhat
fanciful obsession by crime
novelist Patricia Cornwell that
he was Jack the Ripper?
Peter
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Post by Randy on Jan 5, 2006 23:26:36 GMT -5
What don't you like about Walter Sickert. Randy? his paintings or the somewhat fanciful obsession by crime novelist Patricia Cornwell that he was Jack the Ripper? Peter I knew you would catch that Peter. I must confess my Wife has all of Patricia's Books and in my boredom I read them all. Although I never cared for his art, I feel that Patricia Cornwell failed to prove her case. Walter's art was very dark, and I belive he was disturbed, but I think he may have been a fan of the Ripper. I just read Cornwell's book and I've been most curious what my friends across the Pond thought of her ramblings. When I read her first 4 books I found her interesting, but after a while her style of writing changed and she started to write in the sense of the third person and started to self destruct. Her last two novels Trace and Predator were drivel and I was sure she would write more about La Loupe Garu. I think she may have taken to drink and it shows in her writing. Thanks Peter, I hope you took no offense. Randy |
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Jan 6, 2006 10:07:07 GMT -5
No offence at all, Randy. I was just curious. I don't care much for Sickert's art either, though I think some of his commissioned portraits were better than a lot of his work which I agree was very dark and brooding. I tried a couple of Cornwell's novels but didn't finish the second. I found I was losing interest in what happened to the characters. The publisher's blurb for Predator was enough to put me off. Not a genre I'm keen on.
Peter
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Post by John Parry on Jan 6, 2006 10:23:45 GMT -5
Agree with you Randy.
Enjoyed a few of them - I quite like forensic detection. The last one I read (so memorable I can't think of the name) seemed to be an attempt at a comedy, while in the background there's a total maniac torturing people to death on a boat. It seemed to be written from the planet Zog. I concluded what you did.
Regards - John
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Post by John Parry on Jan 6, 2006 10:37:47 GMT -5
One more thought on the nostalgia front...
I could never remember my mother's birthday (I know... - its a bloke thing) - until 2001. After that I could never forget it. It was the 11th of September. Mum died last year, on the 7th July - the day of the London Underground bombings. Total coincidence, but they seemed to have it in for her.
John
ps 911 doesn't work for us - its 119 !
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