Rising Splendour, an exhibition midway through its stay at The Arc, Winchester is full of intrigue. The variety or work on display is unsurprising, as Fred’s time at the Royal Academy schools overlapped with teachings from John William Waterhouse, John Singer Sargent and George Clausen, to name a few. Old master ideals were mixed with new styles, subjects and philosophies. Fred's work embodies the range of diverse painting interests of that time, making the story of his pictorial production both complicated and endlessly engaging.
Within the Fred Appleyard exhibition, beautiful landscapes evoke local scenes while mysteries flourish in the places, styles and, interestingly, the titles. In this article the titles, a mainstay of artistic convention used to convey messages, expand meanings and provide points of reference, will be explored and the etymology of Rising Splendour will be reflected on.
The power of a name
Titling a piece gives it a sense of completion, especially when it corresponds with the artist's subject, technique or intended statement. Stories can be expanded or muddled by a title and act as intermediaries between the viewer and artist. Artists may point to a particular reading or way of interacting with the work. A good example would be the artist James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), whose titles such as Symphony in White and Nocturne Blue and Silver mark his tonalist intent. Titles can irrevocably change the emphasis and act as entry points of interpretation, holding clues to the philosophies and thoughts of the original creator.
With all of this in mind, we approached naming processes for our exhibition with great care.
Inventing names for our exhibition here at Hampshire Cultural Trust
Exhibitions, like artworks, need names and this show is no different. Rising Splendour: Fred Appleyard from the Royal Academy to the Itchen Valley as a name synthesises the key elements of the exhibition into one line, in other words you can expect poetic works from Hampshire produced by a Royal Academy (RA) prodigy. The words themselves evoke the sun, spirituality, romantic poetry and a journey. It was an aesthetic and informative choice driven by observations and readings of writers close to the artist's output, such as Oliver Goldsmith. But the inventiveness of the team behind Rising Splendour did not end with the title alone.
As you enter the exhibition, the title sits boldly opposite a large reproduction of the mural Spring Driving Out Winter, a piece created by Fred at the peak of his Royal Academy school success.
Many artworks in the show, whether sketches or heavily-worked pieces, had no titles. Not wanting to impose our meaning onto the works and potentially alter how they are received, we did not title them. However, to still take advantage of the power of the title, nods are made to subjects, anecdotes and readings of the works in secondary brackets. Sometimes these notes reflect a feeling or the seasons they portray such as in the work Untitled (Springtime Joy) and sometimes they offer clues to a story surrounding the creation of a piece, such as in Untitled (The Wedding Gift).
These examples align with Fred’s historical title choices. When exhibiting at the RA, several titles regularly referenced seasons, times of day, emotions and poetry. Examples of this practice include June Morning, A Child’s Grief and “Sweet was the sound, when oft at evenings close Up yonder hill the village murmur rose”. Our choices parallel Fred’s own. In following this pattern, we channelled some of the spirit that went into Fred’s work to fully emphasise the beauty and poignancy of the artist's practice and to manifest, as best as we could, an artist who is no longer with us.
Changing names
While many works remained nameless, several pieces came to us with interesting and convoluted titles that had changed over time, possibly several times.
One example on display at The Arc is Presences Plain in the Place. Before the exhibition, this work was known solely as A Haunt of Ancient Peace, but investigating the Royal Academy catalogue revealed its original name. This discovery informed the accompanying label:
FRED APPLEYARD
Presences Plain in the Place/A Haunt of Ancient Peace
c1910s
Oil
Private collection
In this work, the ruins of Netley Abbey near Southampton frame a dramatic scene. Fred used Hampshire settings for several imaginative and ambitious works exhibited at the Royal Academy. Lines likely derived from Robert Browning’s (1812-1889) poem, Abt Vogler, provide the title for this painting. The poem is an imagined monologue of operatic composer, Vogler, reflecting on his life. The painting is an example of Fred’s musical interests and literary-related work. The narrative, poetic and psychological overtones echo late Pre-Raphaelite preoccupations.
A work that has had a similar naming trajectory is Spirit of the Summit. In a 1980s Phillips auction house catalogue, the same work was named Reverie, alluding to the contemplative character of the female figure, though also coincidentally a title of a Dante Gabriel Rosetti (1828 - 1882) piece. Somewhere between then and now, the name changed to what we know today. It was recently sold by Sotheby’s as the former. This change may have come as a discovery through research or to capitalise on the return to popularity of Frederic, Lord Leighton at the turn of the twentieth century. Either way, Fred’s piece appears close in subject to the Leighton work and the connection solidified by this decision is a valid move.
Both changes in names can make previously-veiled connections visible. Both previous titles are easily consumable and point to general atmospheres that could align the works with romantic, aesthetic and neo-classical nineteenth-century movements. But the names they are now known by make their relationships with the aforementioned groups more translucent with a little bit of digging. Through these revelations, Fred is more firmly established as an active participant in artistic discourses engaging in intellectual pursuits. This integrity enriches the story that we are telling and sheds more light on this hoard of Hampshire art historical heritage.
Processes of naming and etymological investigation play a crucial role in invoking the artist's spirit and unjumbling his legacy. Careful scrutiny is needed to restore artists who derived their practice from misunderstood historical periods to places from which they can again impact the world, including our very own Fred. Titles which are profound relational devices deserve careful treatment. Our exhibition achieves this and provides a fascinating entry point to the world of Fred Appleyard, as we believe he may have wanted.
Rising Splendour: Fred Appleyard from the Royal Academy to the Itchen Valley runs until the 18th of September and tickets can be purchased here.
A beautiful catalogue accompanies the show and can be purchased online here.
