|
'SCENE TOO' AN EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS AND NEEDLEWORK BY MERULA SALAMAN 1914 - 2000 2 - 13 December 2000 |
||
|
A love of the Sussex and Hampshire countryside and animals together with memories of travelling on location with her husband (Sir Alec Guinness) give Merula Salaman's paintings, drawings and needlework a unique appeal. The fifth of six children of the Salaman family of artists, Merula was keen to draw from an early age, particularly for family and friends. After leaving school she worked as a riding instructor but was "sacked for reading a book". She turned to acting and in 1935 was in a, now famous, production of "Noah" where she played the tiger. It was here that she met a wolf played by Alec Guinness. After her marriage to Sir Alec in 1938 she stopped serious acting and later abandoned the stage for good, to take up painting. In 1948 she attended painting classes at Chelsea Polytechnic and later Kathleen Brown's studio in Kensington. Even before her formal training was completed, Merula had published her first illustrated book, based on an ABC drawn for her young nephew, Christopher. The appealing naivety of that first book remains in her current work. Following enthusiastic reviews, Merula wrote and illustrated three more books, "William and Cherry" in 1943, "Christopher's Rainy Day Book" in 1945 and "Christopher's New House" in 1946. Merula's increasing interest in graphic work led her to explore needlework techniques and she continued to use this medium with considerable originality. Her most recent book, "The Kingdom of Heaven is Like" was published in 1992 and her illustrations and narrative were the focal point of Alan Bennett's readings, televised in 1997. Merula's work has been exhibited at the Crane Kalman Gallery in Kensington in 1995 and at Gallery 27 in Cork Street, London, in 1997. Footnote: Very sadly, Merula Salaman died on Tuesday, 17 October. It was, however, her express wish and determination that this Exhibition should be held “whatever happens”. Indeed she played a full part in its organisation giving titles to the paintings, writing out address labels and agreeing that the "blurb" above "struck just the right note"! |