Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum

Just before Christmas I visited Russell-Cotes to have a look at the Bournemouth Arts Club exhibition: a Century of British Art and was astounded by the brilliance of the house, and the art collection, steeped as it is in opulence, attention to detail and fabulous effects. The first two fabulous features are its position built on the cliffs above the beach at Bournemouth, and secondly its beautiful exterior:

The house, known as East Cliff Hall was built by Merton Russell-Cotes, as a home for his wife Annie. In 1896 Merton employed architect 'John Frederick Fogerty, but Merton and Annie had a great deal of input into the design. It was designed so that Merton and Annie could live in style and comfort and to house their growing collections. The house was to be a showcase, not simply for their own enjoyment, but also for the people of Bournemouth to whom it was given.

On 15 July 1901, Merton presented East Cliff Hall to his wife as a gift on her 66th birthday. This was the same year that Queen Victoria died, making the house one of the last Victorian buildings ever built.' according to the website. The style of the house, combining elements of Scottish Baronial, the French Chateaux and the Italian Renaissance styles works really well. 

Inside the house, the Dining Room has a magnificent gilded coving decoration of peacocks and pomegranates executed by John Thomas and his nephew Oliver is worth more then a swift glance, like so much else in the house. It's impossible to appreciate everything in one visit, what follows is an idea of the most amazing things in the house and collection:

Above a stained glass window in the dining room with a head of a woman in front of it

these lights were rather sumptuous, and we're still in the Dining Room!

We noticed particularly in the Morning Room that there were Christmas cards arranged on tables and shelves. Most of these were very amusing and presumably copies of turn of the twentieth Century cards. I've included a photo of robins indulging in a bit of rum punch. 

There are 1768 artworks including paintings, drawings and sculptures listed on the ArtUK website for Russell-Cotes, an amazing collections of works although if you click on the link and scroll through, you'll find that although all are listed, not all have photographs with them. I can't really say which is the most stunning part of the building, but the Main Hall comes pretty close as the best bit. It is there you find this stunning painting seen above: 'Venus Verticordia' 1864-1868 painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Filled with exotic and sensual imagery, it's Rossetti's only nude in oil. The roses represent love, while the honeysuckle in the foreground represents sexuality. The face is that of Alexa Wilding (1847-1884)

In the centre of one end of the Main Hall is this fabulous ornamental fountain surrounded by four ionic columns topped with bronze candelabra.

Above the stained glass skylight is a replica of the original one which was destroyed by bombing.

This painting 'Phyllis' painted in 1883 by Louise Jopling is stunning and also found in the Main Hall

This statue above is called 'The Lion Hunt' by Aime Millett 1880-1890, it's thought the man being mauled by the lion has fallen off his horse, and his comrade is desperately trying to rescue him. Lyn is reading the information about it in the background!

This painting above is called 'Psyche at the Throne of Venus' by Edward Matthew Hale painted in 1883.

Psyche Before the Throne of Venus depicts the young maiden of Greek mythology, who, following her abandonment by Cupid who she had disobeyed, is found by the hand-maidens of Venus and brought in chains before the throne of the goddess. I didn't get a good photo of 'Aurora Triumphans' by Evelyn de Morgan the triumph of dawn over darkness, worth looking here for that painting.

There are 2 cases of exquisite William de Morgan tiles, they are sadly not featured on the Art UK website or the R-C website that I can find. Can you believe there was an exhibition featuring the de Morgan tiles at Russell-Cotes called 'Sublime Symmetry' before lockdown?

There are more images of the de Morgan tiles here, and you can buy reproductions made to order on ebay for £7.50 each. The tiles were difficult to photograph because of reflections on the glass cases.

And so to my final piece, it's entitled 'Jezebel' by John Byam Liston Shaw painted in 1896 is so well composed, with many aspects seen in sumptuous detail on closer inspection, like the black cat/lynx by her left knee. There are various signifiers like the orange flowers at the front, a bird towards the top of the painting.

So there's a snapshot of Russell-Cotes, a few things to encourage you to visit. I'll include information about the Century of British Art exhibition in the next post.