A Celebration of artist Sir Alfred Munnings and his connections with the Waveney Valley in Mendham and Bungay will take place from 11th – 20th September.

Alfred Munnings was born in 1878 in Mendham, Suffolk, where his father was the local miller. From an early age he exhibited a keen interest in art, and some of his earliest drawings were of the horses he saw daily in the mill yard, four Suffolk Punches to each wagon, transporting loads of grain or flour.

His mother, keen to encourage his skills, arranged for him to have drawing lessons with an artist in the village. Later he was sent as a boarder to Framlingham College, where he hated the discipline and had little interest in his studies. So he left aged sixteen, and his parents agreed that he could train as an artist for Pages, a lithography firm in Norwich. While there he began creating eye-catching advertisements for the Caley’s Chocolate Factory. The Managing Director took a keen interest in his career, and bought several of his early paintings. Munnings was so dedicated, that after a nine hour day at Pages, he continued with evening-classes at Norwich Art School to further enhance his skills.

At the end of his apprenticeship he returned to Mendham and established a studio in a disused carpenter’s shop. He loved his native region and spent much of his time drawing and painting the local scenery, and local characters. He was particularly attracted to gypsies, visiting them in various caravan sites in the Waveney Valley, making sketches and portraits. He also welcomed any opportunity to paint horses, regularly attending two annual events in Bungay, the Steeplechases on Outney Common, and the May Fair for the auction of horses on Fairstead Meadow in St. John’s Road.

When he was twenty, he suffered a terrible accident which permanently blinded him in one eye. For this reason when War was declared in 1914, he was rejected for active service, but it proved to be a blessing in disguise, for he was appointed as an official war artist commissioned by the Canadian Government to paint their cavalry brigades in action in France. After the War in 1919, forty five of his paintings of the officers and their horses were exhibited at Burlington House and created an immediate sensation, attracting the interest of royalty, the aristocracy and art-dealers. A number of commissions resulted, and Munnings was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy.

From that time, he mingled in high society, becoming wealthy from numerous portrait commissions, often including the clients’ horses. He purchased a handsome property, Castle House, in Dedham, ‘Constable’s Country’, which he occupied with his wife Violet for the remainder of his life, and which today remains open to the public displaying a superb collection of his work.

In 1944 he was elected President of the Royal Academy, and in the same year was knighted. He proved to be a rough diamond in his prestigious role as ambassador for the arts, for he detested modern foreign painters such as Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, and took every opportunity to publicly ridicule them. He was an odd mixture of impudence, humour, and obstinacy, preferring the company of horse-breeders, farm-hands and gypsy boys to high society. He was described by his friend James Wentworth Day as a man “who could be as roisterous as he could be cantankerous, as gentle as he could be rasping, as poetic as he could be earthy’.

He continued to love the region of his birth, and regularly returned to Mendham, Harleston, and Bungay, enjoying walks in the countryside, followed by boozing and mardling in the local pubs, often in the company of one of our region’s finest writers, Adrian Bell.

Following his death in 1959, his ashes were interred in St. Paul’s Cathedral, an appropriate honour. But in the Waveney Valley we aim to perpetuate his memory in the places he loved best, and where he produced some of his freshest and most inimitable paintings.

Events 11th – 20th September 2015

Friday 11th September, 7pm.

Preview of the Exhibition with an illustrated talk on Munnings’ early life, featuring music of the period, by Dr. Bill Teatheredge Honorary Curatorial Associate at the Munnings Art Museum.

This will be followed by a buffet and an opportunity to view the exhibition, which will include Sir Alfred’s personal items and for that evening only an original Munnings’ painting “Nelly Gray”- a portrait of a gypsy woman in a bright red dress & hat.

Tickets £10 from Chris Reeve on 01986 893155 or Keith Parker on 01986 893133 (booking advised or available on the door)

Saturday 12th September to Sunday 20th September, 10am – 4pm

Exhibition at St. Mary’s Church, Bungay. Free Admission (donations welcome)

Saturday 12th September

Malcolm Cudmore Workshop: How to Draw Horses. Children’s Workshops at St Mary’s Church Centre, Bungay
Morning Workshop – 10.30 am to 12.30 pm (6-10 years) | Afternoon Workshop – 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm (11+ years)

In these workshops, Malcolm will look at the simplest shapes that can be combined to create the basis of an accurate horse drawing. Working from these shapes, we will look at the basic anatomy of the horse and how light works on the main features. Just like Munnings’ own sketches, we will use regular graphite pencils to capture the character and spirit of different types of horses. Materials and refreshments supplied (including “horse” shaped gingerbread biscuits!).

Cost: £10 each (10 years and under must be accompanied by an adult).  To book please call 01986 893291

Sunday 13th September, 10.00 am to 4.00 pm

Malcolm Cudmore Workshop (for all): Drawing in the Spirit of Sir Alfred Munnings

This is a special one-day practical drawing/painting workshop that will explore Munnings’ direct and expressive drawing techniques and will focus on working from “live” subjects. In the morning, we will spend time at a local farm (Mettingham) where we will be able to draw Suffolk Punch horses from close quarters. After lunch at The Earsham Street Cafe, we will spend the afternoon at St Mary’s Church Centre with a model in period costume as one of Munnings’ travellers. Some drawing materials supplied, but you are encouraged to bring your own preferred materials and a sketch book.

Cost: £60 per person (tea/coffee and lunch included). To book call 01986 893291

Malcolm Cudmore, a Bungay-based professional representational artist. He teaches traditional drawing and painting techniques and is the author of a double DVD set “Yes You Can Draw” aimed at beginners and improvers. He teaches regular coloured pencil, drawing and painting workshops in Bungay and gives demonstrations and workshops to groups throughout the UK. Malcolm has made several appearances on The Painting and Drawing channel.

Saturday 19th September, 10am to 4pm

Mendham Mill Open Day. By kind permission of the owners, an exclusive opportunity to explore the mill and grounds where Sir Alfred Munnings grew up, and view original works on loan from the Munnings’ Art Museum on display for the first time in over 100 year. A rare chance to see the paintings, alongside the places that inspired the artist.

Visitors can also view the waterwheel and sluicegates, and enjoy the seven acres of varied and attractive gardens. Parking and refreshments available

Cost: £4 on the day, Proceeds will support the Munnings’Art Museum in Dedham

Further information from Chris Reeve on 01986 893155 or Keith Parker on 01986 893133

Top image: Sir Alfred Munnings (1878 – 1959) | bottom image: Munnings’ studio at The Munnings Art Museum, Dedham © David Burton