Ransomes RHA Plough
This horse drawn plough, manufactured by Ransomes of Ipswich, the biggest agricultural equipment manufacturer in Britain, is on show in the exhibition in the main gallery ‘Bardfield and Beyond: A Working Landscape’. Ploughs and other farm machinery were familiar sights to the artists living and working around North West Essex in the latter half of the 20th century. Their deep immersion in the local landscape is vividly illustrated in the works on show in the exhibition. The majority of the pieces come from the Fry’s own collection, with many pictures by the Great Bardfield artists, including a colourful and inventive set of works by Michael Rothenstein, and a wonderful cluster of Eric Ravilious watercolours. Other Essex artists are shown in the exhibition responding in their own distinctive way to the landscape around them including Keith Vaughan, Paul Beck and Tom Hennell. The exhibition is on from Sunday April 7th to Sunday October 27th. Admission free.
Plough kindly lent by the Food Museum, Stowmarket