Culture and calories

Whilst waiting for my assessment results today, I went with two course mates to a local museum for lunch and a post mortem of the morning’s floral gymastics. But I was good, I didn’t succumb to the monster size chocolate muffins, and opted for a carrot and cottage cheese pie; (will someone please polish that halo).

We took time to walk around a temporary exhibition the curator had put together of a local artist from a small town close to us. William George Barker was a painting from the late 1800s until he died in 1927.

I am not a great fan of landscapes, but these were truly stunning. If he had lived closer to Europe, I am sure he would have been invited to be part of the Royal Academy. The touching part for me though, was not so much that he was “only” well known here, but that the way of life and people he depicted has almost vanished. There were three portraits of Maori leaders which were so beautiful, I could almost hear the people speak. Then there were the depictions of rural Marae set in the awe inspiring scenery of the islands. I suppose we should be thankful that in the early days of the European settlement of these islands, an artist of this calibre was able to capture those days on canvas.

Back to the books this evening.