Muriel Elliott Retrospective

Carre Gallery is proud to present a retrospective of Muriel Elliott’s paintings in an exhibition curated by Mary Newman with John Elliott.  Having spent over forty years in Africa, Muriel’s work features African imagery as well as paintings of vibrant flowers and British landscapes.

Hanging the show was a family affair with John, daughter Peta and son Jonathan being very involved in creating the exhibition you see.

Exhibition curator Mary Newman with John Elliott and daughter Peta at the private view.

John Elliott says, “Muriel created a large amount of work, making it hard to choose which to include in the exhibition. Mary Newman was indispensable in helping to create this celebration of her work and we are very pleased with the result.”  The private view on Monday 13 Feb was well attended by family, friends and fellow artists who were very impressed; many paintings sold on the first day of the exhibition.

As well as the Muriel’s paintings, there is also a selection of blank canvases and hand-made watercolour paper for sale from Muriel’s stock of materials.

Come and take a look. You will not be disappointed.

Exhibition open 10 am – 4 pm from 13 Feb until 25 Feb 2017.

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Muriel:

Muriel arrived in Kenya in 1954 at the invitation of a friend of her mother on the understanding that, if she liked it, she could work in the office of his meat processing company, which she did.

John was an Inspector in the Kenya Police when he met Muriel: They were married in Nairobi in 1956 and, at the end of his contract with the police, they travelled by sea around the Cape of Good Hope to England to meet the families. After some three months they decided to return to Kenya.

Muriel returned to her job and John joined the Kenya Prisons Service on a short-term contract. They moved into a bungalow at Kisumu Prison but later moved on to Nairobi where they had a bungalow with his new job in government security. After two years they moved down to Mombasa to start a security company employing African security guards.

Working extremely hard John successfully expanded the new company to employ some seven hundred personnel. Life was good; living on the beach with their two children was a paradise. However, when a British company offered to buy the company it was sold and the family moved down to Johannesburg.

Once settled, Muriel decided to attempt to paint, having never tried before. She had two brothers who were both excellent artists, one of which turned professional.Muriel never took lessons as such but joined a local artists group and, as she improved, started to exhibit on a Sunday with ‘Artists in the Sun’ where she was sold a number of paintings to visitors. The group also exhibited in the local shopping mall by taking advantage of empty premises on a short-term basis; this also proved successful with quite a few sales made. Unfortunately a bulk sale turned sour when the ‘bank-guaranteed cheque’ bounced.

Muriel became a competent artist in all mediums, staging a number of exhibitions and making sales. Muriel and John returned to England in 2002 after forty seven years in Africa, settling in Sleaford. Muriel soon joined a local art group and became a regular member of Leadenham Art Group enjoying her Mondays in the company of a friendly crowd of artists. She was also a regular volunteer and exhibitor at Carre Gallery. Never without a smile, her sparkling personality brightened up the gallery on the dullest of Lincolnshire days and intensified the warmth of the sunniest.

On 21 April 2016 Muriel and John received a letter and photo from Her Majesty the Queen in recognition of their sixtieth wedding anniversary. Sadly Muriel passed away in July 2016.

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Images from top:  Azalea (watercolour) : Mary Newman, John Elliott, Peta Elliott at the exhibition : Flower-themed room at the gallery : Rondavels in Africa : African Farm : Little House in the Trees.  Artwork photographed at the gallery.  All photography by Martin Cameron.  Click on any image to see a larger version (opens in new window/tab).