Townhouse Spitalfields

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Eleanor Crow: Harry Thomas Baking Queen Cakes at Town House Oil on linen 71 x 56cm framed £1350

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Eleanor Crow exhibition Falling Light Town House Spitalfields

My painting of Harry Thomas baking at Town House Spitalfields was completed from smaller studies painted across several sessions at Town House on Mondays, when it is closed to the public and Harry bakes Queen Cakes for the tea shop. Harry wore a beautiful shirt with a slightly gleaming detail, which reminded me of the clothing of Renaissance sitters. Obviously, it got flour on it during the process. Harry was baking and moving, but kept returning to the same spot so that I could paint him. I chose to paint him grating orange peel, as he was best able to hold the pose at this point. The kitchen smelt of spices, citrus and baking as we both worked. The light levels were fairly consistent, with light filtering down through a basement window and the glow of lamps and copper providing visual warmth.

Harry Thomas Baking Queen Cakes at Town House

2024 Oil on linen

61 x 46 cm unframed (24 x 18″)

71 x 56 cm framed (27.5 x 21.5″)

£1,350

Wishful Thinking…..

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The Lockdown Paintings of Nicholas Borden

The video of this exhibition has now been posted on Youtube:

Exhibition at Town House 19th June – 4th July, booking not required to visit the gallery

Nicholas Borden: Arnold Circus, the Boundary Estate

Town House welcomes Nicholas Borden back to the gallery here for an exhibition of his lockdown paintings. He always works from life, taking his easel out with him in rain or shine and he continued to work this way during lockdown, with added views from his windows. So of necessity, many of his subjects in Wishful Thinking were painted locally in East London where he lives – although he did occasionally venture further afield.

This way of working always lends a vibrancy and immediacy to Nicholas’ work that combine to convey a sense of ‘being there’ to the viewer. The works in this exhibition have a particular intensity however, perhaps the result of the circumstances and isolation imposed by lockdown, but also perhaps a response to a more urgent need he felt to record what he saw around him during the pandemic.

What Nicholas recorded in paint was what we all experienced in lockdown: going for a walk, visiting parks and looking at gardens whether from outside or in, the Wishful Thinking of the title for those who had no access to their own outdoor space.

Nicholas Borden’s exhibition ‘Wishful Thinking’ will be on sale at Town House in Fournier Street and on the home page of the website from Saturday 19th June – Sunday 4th July. Please note we will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays while restrictions remain in force. No booking necessary