National Museums Liverpool Blog - Friday, May 20, 2011

I often find myself deep in thought, hours can go by where all I’ve done is think. I often consider life’s questions, such as where did we come from, shall I buy that dress from Topshop or shall I have chicken or mince for tea?

As you can guess, I probably wouldn’t make a very good philosophy student. However next week the Walker Art Gallery will be hosting a group of post graduate students from the Philosophy Department at the University of Liverpool, each of whom will be giving a talk.

Each talk is based on a different painting in the gallery but all are focused on the issue of realism in art and how ‘reality’ is a concept shaped by aesthetic, philosophical and cultural factors.

On Wednesday 25 May three paintings will be discussed. Starting at 1pm, Landscape with Hermit by Salvator Rosa will be discussed, then at 1.45 Mary Magdalene by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, finishing at 2.30 with Interior of the New Church at Delft by Hendrick Van Vliet

The following day on Thursday 26 May two paintings will be discussed. At 1pm A horse frightened by a lion by George Stubbs will be looked at, followed by Warmond castle in a winter landscape by Jan Abrahamsz at 1.45.

There is no need to book a place on this free talk, so drop by and hear this series of talks.

'A horse frightened by a lion' by George Stubbs, one of the paintings being discussed

Have you ever been worried about taking your little one to a gallery or museum in case they make noise? Well the Prams and pushchairs talk at the Walker Art Gallery could be for you.

Join our curator on Wednesday 25 May at 11am and explore our new gallery British Art 1880 to 1950 and bring your little one with you, because we know children make noise!

Parents and children can enjoy the Walker Art Gallery together.

Places are limited so book your free place by calling 0151 478 4788.

Ever wondered who spotted the likes of Keegan, Toshack and Hansen and brought them to Liverpool?

Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley are rightly credited for turning Liverpool Football Club into a winning side during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, but few people know about the major role played by Geoff Twentyman, the club’s chief scout from 1967 to 1985.

A former Anfield player, Twentyman was recruited into the boot room team by Shankly and went on to unearth a host of world-famous stars that helped to maintain the Reds’ position as one of Europe’s greatest teams during a glittering era that saw them claim the Football League championship 18 times.

Twentyman worked tirelessly, travelling up and down the country in his trademark Cortina to write reports on young up-and-coming professionals such as Alan Hansen, Terry McDermott, Steve Nicol, Ian Rush and other household names that went on to forge successful careers at other clubs.

His son William has kept his father’s fascinating scouting book, which reveals Twentyman’s early reports as he cast his expert eye over young hopefuls that were to become legends of the game, as well as others that failed to make the grade. 

(c) Trinity Mirror. Geoff Twentyman's scouting book will go on display in the Museum of Liverpool.

Here at the Museum of Liverpool, we are really lucky that William Twentyman has kindly loaned the book to the Museum of Liverpool to display in the Wondrous Place Gallery, where you will be able to see it from 19 July when the Museum opens.

If you want to find out more, a great book has just been published which tells the story of Twentyman’s life and legacy at Liverpool under Shankly, Paisley, and Dalglish and how he changed modern football forever through his dedication to scouting.

Secret Diary of a Liverpool Scout includes interviews with more than 30 players; those Twentyman recommended including Keegan, Neal and Hansen and it also reveals, and interviews, the great names that Liverpool scouted but never signed.

The book is available at www.merseyshop.com.

In the past I’ve been accused of being dizzy. I can’t think why, I’ve only walked into a lamppost once and set fire to my sleeve twice. However even the dizziest person can’t miss the giant banner on Dale Street opposite Municipal Buildings. For those of you that haven’t seen it though, the banner is by artist David Jacques who created the work to celebrate author Robert Tressell, who died in Liverpool in 1911.

Jacques also created a piece of art work specifically for the Walker Art Gallery. Although the banner on Dale Street will be there throughout 2011, the piece in the Walker Art Gallery will come off display next Wednesday 25 May.  So if you haven’t seen The Irlam House Bequest yet perhaps you should head to the Walker soon.

Although the work in the Walker is smaller than the banner, it is no less impressive. The installation is inspired by the history of trade union banners and the entrepreneur George Tutil, whose workshop dominated banner production in the nineteenth century.

It’s a beautiful display of work and well worth seeing. So my advice to you is 1) Steer clear of lampposts, 2) Keep sleeves away from naked flames 3) Visit the Walker to see The Irlam House Bequest before it finishes.

A sneaky snippet of 'The Irlam House Bequest'

Our new Fundraising and Membership Officer Matt Dunn, takes us through the benefits of becoming a National Museums Liverpool member:

My name is Matt and I’m National Museums Liverpool’s new Fundraising and Membership Officer. My job involves looking after all of our current members and trying to spread the word about our venues and the membership scheme far and wide, so that we can get as many people as possible on board.

Why join? Well, membership fees are used to actively support our museums and galleries and in return we offer some great benefits such as discounts in our shops and cafes, invitations to special members-only events and of course we also keep you updated on events and exhibitions throughout the year.

I’ve started this role as we excitedly count down to the opening of the Museum of Liverpool on Tuesday 19 July. It’s the UK’s largest newly-built national museum for over a century and like many other people, I can’t wait to have a look around.

As part of the celebrations we’ve launched an exciting new Museum of Liverpool membership scheme. By joining, you are entitled to all the benefits of our standard scheme plus some special extras, such as an invitation to an exclusive Museum of Liverpool opening event and sponsorship of a façade panel with personal dedication and commemorative certificate. Membership is available to give as a gift too!

Fiona and Murray, two of our Museum of Liverpool members who have followed the progress of the building work said: “we have been fascinated by its giant window reflecting our wonderful River Mersey, capturing the sunlight and projecting across the waterfront.” And that’s just the view from the outside!

The two largest windows in the Museum of Liverpool are 8 metres high by 28 metres wide, and offer striking views of the Pier Head and the River Mersey.

We think it will be a special museum for a unique city. Please visit our membership page for more information including a full list of benefits. If you’d prefer to talk to somebody about joining, why not give me a ring on 0151 478 4157 – I’d love to hear from you.

Westmoreland Street (?), Dublin, 1895 BICC/VII/2/11/5 (crop)

The Queen is making an historic state visit to Ireland this week.  This image of Westmoreland Street (we think) in Dublin dates from 1895 and is from our collection of records relating to BICC (British Insulated Callenders Cables) the company formed by the 1945 merger of the Prescot based British Insulated Wire Company and the Erith based Callenders.  The collection contains a large number of photographs from many different places recording work carried out by the company, Callenders in this case.  I have to say that for me the main interest is not in the cable laying work, although I like the half hearted safety barriers, but all the general city life caught in the photograph.  The horse drawn carriages and the city gents.  We don't know what the cables are being laid for, but Dublin's newly electrified tram service started running on this day in 1896.

We've just got some news that a mysterious visitor will soon be arriving at World Museum! Here's our Curator of Oceanic Collections, Lynne Heidi Stumpe, to tell us about him...

Image courtesy and copyright Trustees of the British Museum

All Rapa Nui statues have individual names: ‘moai’ means ‘statue’ or ‘image’ in the Rapanui language and ‘hava’ best translates as ‘to be lost’. Moai Hava is quite a mysterious character. Most moai were carved from volcanic tuff, a relatively soft rock, have a distinctive style and were made to commemorate ancestral chiefs. Moai Hava, however, is one of the few moai made from basalt, a much harder rock and is in a slightly different style. We don’t know exactly why he was made.

We’re really excited to see him, as there are only two of these Rapa Nui statues in the UK and Moai Hava isn’t usually on display. Luckily he’ll be here for a while (at least a year and probably three) and you can meet him in the World Museum atrium from Tuesday 17 May 2011.

Ian Boland with Paul Trevor's photo of him and his friend in the kids' den

Over 30 years later you are invited to the Walker Art Gallery to see an exhibition featuring photographs of your old childhood friends and haunts taken by that stranger from London – who in the intervening years has become a successful photographer. Your name, your photograph and pictures of your friends are adorning the walls where great works of art, from Old Masters to the contemporary stars of the John Moores competition have previously hung.

It must be quite a lot to take in.

This is what happened to Ian Boland yesterday, when he was one of the first people to see Paul Trevor’s Look11 exhibition at the Walker, Like you’ve never been away. Ian was a key factor in kickstarting the idea for the exhibition, as he got in touch with Paul Trevor a few years ago to ask what had happened to his photographs from his time in Liverpool. Some of the photographs had been published in the book 'Survival Programmes' but most of them had never been seen by the public.

The two exchanged many emails and slowly started identifying the people in Paul’s pictures. This grew into the exhibition and a larger – and still ongoing – re-engagement project. Paul has tracked down many of the people by posting his Liverpool 1975 photos on Flickr, then found more through community events in Everton and Granby in summer 2010.

Ian’s part in the process is acknowledged with quotes in the exhibition. You can see Ian and others having a preview of their pictures in the Like you’ve never been away set on Flickr. Do come and see the exhibition yourself, which is open 6.30-10pm tonight for Light Night and continues until 25 September.

A Collector's Eye exhibition catalogue

Alas, the end is near, but Friday's Light Night evening at the Walker is an ideal opportunity to catch the A Collector's Eye: Cranach to Pissarro exhibition before it finishes this Sunday.

And as if that wasn't news enough, the rather excellent exhibition catalogue, featuring all of the exhibition paintings in full-page, glorious technicolour, will be on special offer. It'll be a snip at £5, which considering it was superb value at £9.99 makes this a steal. 

This special offer will be available in our shop from Friday, and also through our online shop. 

Merseyside Maritime Museum won a major award at the 'Oscars' of the museum world last night.

National Museums Liverpool was shortlisted to win two awards at this year's Museum and Heritage Awards for Excellence. These awards celebrate best practice in the world of museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions. They attract hundreds of entries which battle it out to win one of ten prestigious awards.

The Maritime Museum won in the Classic Award category and Plantastic! was shortlisted in the Temporary or Touring Exhibition category but unfortunately didn't win the top award.

Rachel Mulhearn, director at Merseyside Maritime Museum, said:

"We are thrilled to win this award, which is like an Oscar of the museum sector. The Merseyside Maritime Museum goes from strength to strength and is now welcoming more than one million visits each year. The history of people and the sea is embedded in Liverpool’s heritage and the museum tells the epic narratives in which the city played such a central part."