Mervyn Peake's Blog, page 3

Gormenghast Board Game

Sophisticated Games have produced a board game based on the Gormenghast books which is in the shops now. There's more to see on this on Facebook.

Original drawings for sale

There may be some original Mervyn Peake drawings coming up for sale. Contact me if you'd like to know more.
alisoneldred@gmail.com

Drawings for sale

We were contacted this week by someone who has arranged for the sale of five Mervyn Peake drawings, by Bonham's, in Oxford on 25th June. Sale number www.bonhams.com/auctions/20698

The drawings had been the property of her aunt, Phyllis Dohoo, "a contemporary of Mervyn Peake, born 1911, so they may have been students together, or, more likely, she may have attended his evening classes as an adult.  The date 1957 suggests the latter. In addition to the ones by Mervyn Peake are a few by Bernard Meninsky, and by Maurice Kesselman, who seems to be the same person as Morris Kestelman.  Bernard Meninsky and Mervyn Peake both taught life drawing at the Westminster School of Art, so it seems likely my aunt was an adult student attending their evening classes.  Morris Kestelman was interested in theatre and costume design and after the war designed a number of productions at The Old Vic, so my aunt must have known him there."

Coincidentally, we also learnt about two classic drawings for sale with Mike Kemp, see below.

An Exhibition at Westminster Reference Library

A rare exhibition of Mervyn Peake’s original work is to go on public display for the first time at Westminster Reference Library by Leicester Square from 3rd to 14th April 2013.Original paintings by Mervyn Peake, will go on display thanks to the generous loan of the work by the Peake family. Westminster City Council, with the support of Arts Council England funding, is hosting the special free display.  The show comprises works by Mervyn Peake as well as pieces by his wife, Maeve Gilmore, and son, Sebastian Peake. The paintings and drawings in this small but exceptional show have never been seen outside the Peake family.Please join us for the launch party/private view at 6.30pm on Wednesday, 3rd April at Westminster Reference Library, 35 St Martin’s Street, London WC2H 7HP, 020 7641 5250.The programme series will continue with a talk and poetry reading on Wednesday, 10th April and two workshops on 4th and 11th April, led by Mervyn Peake’s grandson, Lewis Peake, (now sold out) with a focus on illustration techniques. Westminster Reference Library believes that direct engagement is a great way to create understanding.  Through open access to our book collections and our art shows we try to provide a simple but powerful way to show everybody, regardless of age and background, the enjoyment and inspiration of art. 

Miracle Enough

Many readers of this blog will remember the enjoyable and spirited Mervyn Peake Conference held in 2011 at Chichester University and run in association with the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy to mark the centenary of Mervyn Peake's birth.

As a result of the energy of those involved, in particular of Peter Winnington, the majority of the papers from the conference have now been edited, assembled into book form, and published under the title "Miracle Enough". The book is heavily illustrated and there is a very warm and informative introduction by Professor William Gray, the main organiser of the conference. The book is dedicated to Sebastian Peake who, of course, worked in so many ways to promote the work of his father but who died while the book was in production.

There is more information about the book on the Cambridge Scholars website, and some sample pages available on the site if you open the "Sample pdf" at the bottom of the page.

New events

Events for Spring 2013 are beginning to build up. Do check the "Forthcoming Events" part of the site for more details.

Gormenghast in the City of London

A new production of John Constable's Gormenghast play is now showing at the Bridewell Theatre in London, EC4Y 8EQ. Directed by Andrew Marchant and produced by Sedos, the City of London's premier amateur theatre company, there's much more information to be found on the link as well as booking details. We wish the company well and hope that the production is a successful one.

Contact details

All enquiries relating to rights for the use of any of the work of Mervyn Peake should now be addressed to Caroline Michel at Peters, Fraser and Dunlop: cmichel@pfd.co.uk

Other enquiries can be directed to Alison Eldred at: alisoneldred@gmail.com

Sebastian

It is with great sadness that the Peake family announce the sudden death of Sebastian on September the 6th.

He will be greatly missed by us all.

Gormenghast play in Bury St Edmunds

A new production of Gormenghast was shown in Bury St Edmunds on Friday, 31st August. We look forward to hearing more about this.