Talking point: the paintings by Evacustes Phipson, such as this work showing Church Street in 1905, are the subject of an illustrated talk this Friday
This Friday, August 18, at 2.30pm, the Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society is giving a special talk on artist Evacustes Phipson and his Croydon paintings and their legacy.
The talk will take place in the Museum of Croydon’s Activities Room.
Phipson’s work is the subject of a free exhibition currently on in the foyer of the Croydon Clocktower.
Phipson made watercolour sketches of Croydon from 1893 to around 1926, a period of considerable change in the ancient town centre. As well as the exhibition and the talks (a second talk is to be given later in the month), there are walks, free guided tours of the exhibition and a brochure.
The CNHSS says that due to Phipson’s particular interest in ancient architecture, many of his paintings “show buildings not captured in surviving photographs of the period, and while many have been, lost some remain, often hidden in our townscape”.
Phipson view: some things in Croydon town centre have not changed…
The Croydon collection of “this almost unknown, itinerant artist is among the largest, if not the biggest, in the world”, the CNHSS says.
This Friday’s talk is to be delivered by John Hickman and Carole Roberts of CNHSS, accompanied by John Brown of the Streatham Society, co-author of CNHSS’s 2020 Proceedings on Phipson.
The next town walk is on Saturday August 19, meeting at the top of the Clocktower steps at 2.30pm. This walk may divide at Cranmer Road with those interested venturing up Hill Terrace (formerly Dark Hill) and along Duppas Hill Terrace, rejoining the track of those who walk along Old Town at Pump Pail via Duppas Hill Lane.
The second talk is on Saturday August 26 at 2.30pm in Croydon Central Library Level 1. Contact croydoncentrallibrary@croydon.gov.uk to book a place.
For this Friday’s talk, email museum@croydon.gov.uk to book your free place.
The Evacustes Phipson and his Croydon paintings exhibition at Croydon Clocktower will run to September 27.
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The exhibition is well worth a visit if you can’t get along to the talks or walks. The images on view are a wonderful reminder of how Croydon used to look before the vast majority of Croydonians can remember, let alone witnessed first hand.
Whilst the original paintings are not on display, the high quality facsimiles still allow the viewer to marvel at Phipson’s skill with the brush. It’s maybe also a reminder to cherish some of what still remains of Croydon’s varied streetscapes, the ‘good’, the ‘bad’, and what some might consider the ‘ugly’ before it disappears. How things might have been?
A shout out to CNHSS & Museum of Croydon – more of this please!
Go have a look – you won’t be disappointed.
Powerless Perry was at this talk on Saturday, but he left straight after the talk ended, when the lights went on again and they asked for questions…..perhaps he thought he would get questioned about why he is such a useless, backsliding mayor ?!