Fine Art displayed at Knaresborough Castle
The north of England was long regarded as forbidding - ''mostly rocks' according to one early traveller.
But changing attitudes to nature and wilderness made it more fashionable during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Knaresborough, with its picturesque ruined castle and stunning river gorge, was a natural subject for landscape artists.
Eleven works from the Harrogate Borough Council Fine Art Collection have gone on display in the Courthouse Museum at Knaresborough Castle.
Views range from early nineteenth century depictions of physical curiosities, such as the dripping rock, to Walter Bernard Evans' more romantic sweeping riverside viewpoint. Two views by Thomas Holroyd not only capture the familiar picturesque aspects of Knaresborough, but also the functional side of the town - the train puffing across the viaduct and the cluster of dye-works buildings by the river.
Knaresborough Castle and its dramatic surroundings have continued to inspire artists into the 21st century. From 2004 to 2007, the Arts Council, England, funded a series of artists in residence at Knaresborough Castle - works by Adam King, Edward Webster, Andrew Cheetham and Jo Millett are on show.
This display has been organised to coincide with FEVA Knaresborough's Festival of Entertainment and Visual Arts, 2009. The Knaresborough Civic Society is organising a lecture by Wendy Sanderson in the Frazer Theatre, Knaresborough 2.30 pm Tues 18 August, tickets £3, see
www.feva.info (opens in a new window)