We are delighted to be saying ‘Hello’ and updating you in our very first Newsletter.
It has been an extraordinary and fascinating journey since the formation last year of the Charity, The Soper Collection.
We all know the old adage that Rome wasn’t built in a day! The Brandeston Hall Farm Barns site opportunity was something we felt we had to go for and though the purchase of the site was not achieved in itself, out of all the worthwhile activity last year another possibility in East Anglia is being investigated. We are working to further this opportunity. All donations, which are on deposit in the Charity Account with Clydesdale Bank, have been kept for constructive use. We are pleased indeed that so much substantial groundwork has been accomplished.
In the meantime, we are very pleased to be able to report that 12 – 14 Water St, Lavenham, Suffolk CO10 9RW has been granted permission for Charity use. The ex-trading rooms of J and J Baker Antiques will be used for selling items for the Soper Collection Charity, for visits by groups and use for trustee meetings and planning. Donations by way of items for sale will be welcome. Some refurbishment of the premises is needed and in hand and a sign with our lovely Logo, which was designed and donated by Robert Gillmor, co-founder of the Society of Wildlife Artists, has been commissioned. We will show you our new sign, now in the making, next time. We would be interested to hear from anyone who would like to volunteer to be associated with our activity at this point.
All donors have, of course, been thanked personally, but we repeat our thanks for your lovely support. We have had donations from all over the UK and some from overseas. Further donations will be greatly appreciated as we move the project forward. We also thank all the many people who have helped in so many ways with printing and design, website advice, publicity, photography, display event managing, architectural estimation and guidance, computer mail shots and in other ways, in particular, the speakers at the various events who so kindly gave their time and expertise.
There is no doubt that The Soper Story is one that must be told to the public, agreed by all involved thus far, and that the artwork should be used educationally for future generations to gain inspiration from.
All the people and organisations involved in the Launch Event on 4th May last year, and in the subsequent events, want this project to happen, as do our growing band of supporters.
Periodically we will continue to post updates on the website. For those who haven’t yet had the opportunity to look, our website address is: www.thesopercollection.org. There are many dropdown pages from the top headings. These reveal the Soper Story, our hopes together with yours, and there is opportunity to donate and/or to offer help. We will be very pleased to hear from anyone. Perhaps you might like to forward this Newsletter to any of your friends and/or colleagues to whom it may be of interest and who as yet may not have heard of our/your project to bring the artwork of the Soper family to public knowledge?
Just recently, The Soper Collection has acquired a complete set of Nature Plates which accompanied Enid Blyton’s Nature Readers used in schools. This set was owned by a teacher who had used them in her teaching career and when she passed away they were kept by her niece, being ‘too beautiful’ to part with. However, all extra space is now needed by the niece for another family member and so by great good fortune this complete set is now part of The Soper Collection. It is lovely to have the memory of the lovely character and interests of the teacher who actually used the Plates passed on to us by her niece.
We have also very recently acquired more Medici Post Cards, showing the artwork of both Eva and Eileen.
As well as a most fortuitous acquisition last year of an oil painting of George by Eileen, we have now had the opportunity to examine the large package given to us by Robert Gillmor. Robert himself, and his wife Sue, both played a huge part in the revelation of the Soper artwork. The contents of the package are varied and fascinating: magazine articles, wildlife articles written by Eileen and published in Country Life, only one of which is a duplicate of one already in The Collection, letters from Eileen to Robert Gillmor, illustrations of the 4 seasons by Eileen, Christmas cards from George Soper’s original artwork, an original pencil sketch preparatory to a woodcut and a tariff for Curnow’s Hotel, Land’s End, where George used to stay and which has sketches on both spare sides of the tariff. Also, Robert has included his own lists of what was found in the Studio, preparatory to the various sales of the artwork of George and Eileen held in 1990 and 1991. Fascinating. We are indeed grateful to Robert for this lovely gift to The Collection.
Our very best wishes to you all and we look forward to sending further news in due course.
Geoff Lindsey-Smith,
Jane Gosling,
Joy Baker
(Trustees/Directors of The Soper Collection.)
