A new exhibition pays tribute to Laurence Sterne in this 250th anniversary year. A Sentimental Journey was first published 27 February 1768 and, three weeks later on 18 March, Sterne died. His final work of fiction was published incomplete and although a message to the subscribers promised a further two volumes at a later date, this was not to be.
This exhibition contains a selection of original pen and ink drawings by two outstanding illustrators of A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy.
T.H. Robinson (1869–1954) came from a family of artists which included his more famous brother W. Heath Robinson. The drawings were published in book form in 1897 and the original edition contained over a hundred delicate and sensitive interpretations of the adventures of Mr. Yorick in France.
Martin Rowson is one of our finest cartoonists, with work appearing regularly in the Guardian. He has published graphic novel versions of The Waste Land, Tristram Shandy and the Communist Manifesto. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Laurence Sterne Trust commissioned the artist to illustrate a new edition of Sterne’s account of his travels. Rowson shows Mr Yorick (aka Sterne) in delicate situations where opposing sides of his nature struggle to dominate. Every encounter that takes place, whether with the ‘fair fille de chambre’ or a bird in a cage, demonstrates the dilemma of the Sentimental Traveller.
New work by the internationally acclaimed ‘miner of books’ Brian Dettmer can be seen, as well as work by visual artist Carolyn Thompson, and an historic work entitled The Starling (1937) by Adeline Newman (a mysterious artist about whom little is known).
Supported by Heritage Lottery Fund. The exhibition runs 20 May 2018 – 30 September 2018. Open 11am – 4.30pm every day except Saturday.
