Exhibitions at Ightham, contemporary craft in Canterbury and jewellery and photography in Ramsgate

Antique of the month

By Tony Pratt of The Canterbury Auction Galleries

A previously unrecorded work by Harold Harvey, which has been in the same Kent family ownership for more than 100 years, is our undisputed antique of the month for April.

The Village Farrier, showing a blacksmith shoeing a working horse outside his cottage smithy set on the banks of a river, is expected to sell for £12,000-15,000 when we offer it in our two-day sale on 12-13 April. The oil on canvas, 16ins x 12ins, is signed in full and dated ‘06, four years before it was purchased by the great aunt of the present owner.

Born in Penzance, the son of a bank clerk, Harold Harvey (1874-1941) was the only Cornishman to play a significant role in both the Newlyn School and the Lamorna group of artists. He and his wife, fellow artist Gertrude Bodinnar, whom he met when she posed for him, were close friends with many of the artists there, notably Laura and Harold Knight.

The location of the painting is thought to be on the Coombe River, which rises above Newlyn and flows through a wooded area to the sea between the fishing port and Penzance.

It was shown for the first time last year at Penlee House gallery and museum in Penzance, in an exhibition titled Sons & Daughters of the Soil.

We are always excited to see works of this quality at our free Friday valuation mornings.

The service runs from 10am-1pm, and it’s free and entirely without obligation. For more information, call 01227 763337.Nature and Art

Ightham Mote, the picturesque medieval moated manor house restored by the National Trust over 20 years, has been owned and rented by various notable families in the past 700 years – and, in the 19th century, by two gentleman artists.

The lives and work of renowned naturalist Prideaux John Selby – who produced Illustrations of British Ornithology (above) - and Charles La Trobe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Victoria in Australia, are explored in a joint exhibition Nature & Art: Reflections on Two Gentleman Artists in relation to Ightham Mote and its gardens.

The exhibition, which continues until 30 October 2016, includes workshops for visitors run by watercolour artist, John Wiltshire, whose own work focuses on 19th-century watercolour techniques and whose art has been chosen and exhibited at the RA Summer exhibition and won first prize from the Royal Watercolour Society.

Further details at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ighthammote

Kent in oils

Landscape artist Andy Hamblin is exhibiting his new collection of oil on canvas paintings depicting the Kent countryside from Knole to the North Kent marshes in Ightham next month.

Captured in life-like detail, the 15 paintings, which also include scenes from Sussex, will be on show from 6-8 May at The Old Forge Room in The George & Dragon on The Street, from 11.30am.

Further details on 01424 892101.

Craft in Focus

A selection of contemporary craft and art can be seen in Canterbury from 8-10 April at Kent College. This popular annual event returns with some new exhibitors and a number of regular exhibitors all selected for the quality and individuality of their work.

The event provides an opportunity to buy unique products for yourself, your home or garden, every piece ‘Made In The UK’ by professional contemporary artists and craftsmen. The wide selection of work includes sculpture, handbags, artwork, glass, silverware, jewellery, ceramics, clothing, furniture and interior accessories.

Local makers include CAR Designs from Maidstone showing their silverware and jewellery, Daniels Handcrafted from Rochester showing their kiln-formed glass work, jeweller, Elizabeth Everett from Woodchurch, silversmith Gabriella Lane from Newington, Juju Art from Ashford, mosaic artist Kate Baker from Deal, stained glass artist, Brenda Norrish from Ashford and leather worker Rosanna Clare from Cobham.

Craft in Focus is open from 8-10 April, 12pm-5pm Fri; 10 am-5 pm Sat and Sun. Admission is £4, accompanied under-14s free. Further information on 01622 747 325 or visit: www.craftinfocus.com

Venue address: Kent College, Whitstable Road, Canterbury CT2 9DT

Light and Shade

For the month of April, an exhibition of jewellery by Polly Gasston and photographs by Mike Morrison will occupy The Updown Gallery in Ramsgate, under the title Black and White and Gold.

Polly Gasston is a goldsmith and works only in 22ct gold and semi-precious stones, citing her strongest influences as the jewels of the Ancient Near East, from deep antiquity to the end of the Roman Empire.

Mike has been photographing for more than 40 years and early exhibitions focused on classic black and white darkroom printed images in a high contrast style, set alongside colour work that explored patterns and shapes.

Recently he has created pieces that can be backlit like stained glass as well as exploiting the impact of infra-red and polarised filtering. Each distinct area of the gallery will feature a different style of Mike’s work.