A collection of iconic photographs by renowned local artist-photographer, James Ravilious are on display at The Burton at Bideford. The collection of black and white photographs provides one of the most important visual records of rural life in North Devon between 1972 and 1997, while also representing the best of James Ravilious’ work as a whole.
On public display for the first time since the gallery purchased the collection in 2020, this retrospective of James’ work takes us on a trip down memory lane. Highlights include the image of fondly-remembered Olive Bennett smiling somewhat nervously in the doorway of an outbuilding in the company of her herd of Red Devon cows. Also featured are images of Archie Parkhouse reminiscing in a wood, and of the weathered and life-worn traveller reclining on the grass surrounded by his belongings. As well as familiar and characterful locals, there are also nostalgic depictions of agricultural life, traditional practices and landscapes, as well as intimate domestic scenes.
The son of artists Eric Ravilious and Tirzah Garwood, James Ravilious worked as an art teacher in London before moving to North Devon in 1972. It was here that he took up photography professionally and was commissioned by the region’s Beaford Archive to document and capture for posterity the fast disappearing traditional landscapes and practices of rural life in Devon. During the lifetime of the project, James Ravilious took more than 80,000 black and white photographs. The collection now on display at The Burton brings together approximately 103 of those works.
Working primarily in black and white, James Ravilious had a natural ability to perfectly capture the inner narrative of his subjects. He mostly studied his characters from ground level, and from the vantage point he gives us, we feel part a scene, as if we are shadowing the characters as they go about their daily business. The protagonists of the photographs are people who were clearly known to James - they were his neighbours. Named in the titles and captions that accompany the images, we feel a deeper sense of intimacy with them.
All bar a few of the largest images on display were developed by hand in James’ own darkroom. Even those few that were too large to be printed by hand, were printed commercially under the artist’s close supervision. When taking photographs, James developed a distinctive technique using older, uncoated lenses on his Leica rangefinder camera. A compensatory development process gave his photographs a subtle and ‘silvery’ quality.
Director of The Burton, Ian Danby says,
“It is fantastic to be able to show ‘An English Eye: the photographs of James Ravilious’ as part of our 70th anniversary celebrations, and we are delighted to be custodians of the works for the people of North and Devon and beyond, documenting – as they do – a period of great change in the area.”
In writing about the collection in the Matrix, Olive Cook comments,
"I know of no other presentation of a particular place and people which is a broad and as captivating as James Ravilious's photographs of North Devon. They are the fruit of a quite exceptional acuity and patience of witness and of a quite unusual humility and warmth of spirit. This great body of work establishes its author as a master of the art of photography whilst at the same time it makes an unparalleled pictorial contribution to social history."
The purchase of An English Eye: photographs by James Ravilious was made possible with the generous support of The Bridge Trust and the Friends of The Burton Art Gallery and Museum.
The exhibition was partially installed in July for Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall who visited The Burton as part of the gallery’s on-going 70th birthday celebrations.
On public display for the first time since the gallery purchased the collection in 2020, this retrospective of James’ work takes us on a trip down memory lane. Highlights include the image of fondly-remembered Olive Bennett smiling somewhat nervously in the doorway of an outbuilding in the company of her herd of Red Devon cows. Also featured are images of Archie Parkhouse reminiscing in a wood, and of the weathered and life-worn traveller reclining on the grass surrounded by his belongings. As well as familiar and characterful locals, there are also nostalgic depictions of agricultural life, traditional practices and landscapes, as well as intimate domestic scenes.
The son of artists Eric Ravilious and Tirzah Garwood, James Ravilious worked as an art teacher in London before moving to North Devon in 1972. It was here that he took up photography professionally and was commissioned by the region’s Beaford Archive to document and capture for posterity the fast disappearing traditional landscapes and practices of rural life in Devon. During the lifetime of the project, James Ravilious took more than 80,000 black and white photographs. The collection now on display at The Burton brings together approximately 103 of those works.
Working primarily in black and white, James Ravilious had a natural ability to perfectly capture the inner narrative of his subjects. He mostly studied his characters from ground level, and from the vantage point he gives us, we feel part a scene, as if we are shadowing the characters as they go about their daily business. The protagonists of the photographs are people who were clearly known to James - they were his neighbours. Named in the titles and captions that accompany the images, we feel a deeper sense of intimacy with them.
All bar a few of the largest images on display were developed by hand in James’ own darkroom. Even those few that were too large to be printed by hand, were printed commercially under the artist’s close supervision. When taking photographs, James developed a distinctive technique using older, uncoated lenses on his Leica rangefinder camera. A compensatory development process gave his photographs a subtle and ‘silvery’ quality.
Director of The Burton, Ian Danby says,
“It is fantastic to be able to show ‘An English Eye: the photographs of James Ravilious’ as part of our 70th anniversary celebrations, and we are delighted to be custodians of the works for the people of North and Devon and beyond, documenting – as they do – a period of great change in the area.”
In writing about the collection in the Matrix, Olive Cook comments,
"I know of no other presentation of a particular place and people which is a broad and as captivating as James Ravilious's photographs of North Devon. They are the fruit of a quite exceptional acuity and patience of witness and of a quite unusual humility and warmth of spirit. This great body of work establishes its author as a master of the art of photography whilst at the same time it makes an unparalleled pictorial contribution to social history."
The purchase of An English Eye: photographs by James Ravilious was made possible with the generous support of The Bridge Trust and the Friends of The Burton Art Gallery and Museum.
The exhibition was partially installed in July for Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall who visited The Burton as part of the gallery’s on-going 70th birthday celebrations.
Olive Bennett with her Red Devon cows. near Beaford, Devon, 1979. Photograph by James Ravilious copyright Beaford Arts digitally scanned from a Beaford Archive negative (All Rights Reserved)
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Exhibition: An English Eye: the photographs of James Ravilious runs until 30th December
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The Burton at Bideford Art Gallery and Museum,
Kingsley Road, Bideford, Devon EX39 2QQ
Tel No: 01237 471455
Email: info@theburton.org
