Exhibition: Family Perspectives, Lansdown Gallery, Stroud

From 14th October to 25th October Lansdown Gallery, Stroud, Gloucestershire will host a unique exhibition. “Family Perspectives” showcases three generations of artwork from a Cotswold family. This artistic journey begins with Robert Ball, a renowned painter and printmaker from Painswick, who became Principal of Stroud Art College, teaching life drawing, anatomy and painting. The works shown include the extraordinary paintings and etchings produced when he was a teenage art student and traces his artistic development through the exquisite woodcuts produced for Frank Mansell’s “Cotswold Ballads” and paintings of family members to whom he passed on his love of art. The journey continues with works by Robert’s daughter, Rosalind Smith, the wife of the late Robert Smith, a respected Stroud solicitor. She and her siblings were trained at their Father’s knee and the exhibition includes a number of etchings and botanical paintings, inspired by Robert Ball’s own work.

Coming right up to date, the exhibition features new work by Rosalind Smith’s son, Benjamin Smith. Ben trained as a solicitor, temporarily taking over the Lansdown office of Robert Smith & Co following his father’s sudden death in 2012. Beginning his own artistic journey as a student at Marling School and inspired by his forebears, Ben has spent several years studying the techniques of classical drawing and oil painting. Tracing his artistic lineage through his grandfather to the great academies of Europe, Ben draws his own artistic inspiration from artists such as Velazquez, Van Dyck, Rubens, and Sargent. Works on display include beautiful renderings in charcoal from classical sculpture and still life paintings in oils.

“Family Perspectives”is a fascinating insight into the artistic vision of one family, stretching back almost a century. It is open to the public at Lansdown Gallery and runs from 14th October to 25th. Admission is free.

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