How many colours in the rainbow?

Dr Susan Kay-Williams FRSA FSDC FCIM

Aristotle thought there were three colours in the rainbow, Newton identified seven colours of light through the prism but look at paintings by Constable and there can be any number of changing colours in the rainbow.

Following Newton, the rainbow became a starting point for people thinking about colour and to theorise about colour. This led to a range of colour theories that have highlighted different numbers of colours from seven to thousands. To start with the colour theories were often linked to practical applications. Given the interest in exploring the insect world in the eighteenth century , it is not surprising that entomologists played a leading role in this development, for example through the work of Moses Harris and later Warner’s Nomenclature, the  book Charles Darwin took to the Galapagos Islands so that he could describe the flora and fauna in colour terms that would be understood back home.

This highly illustrated lecture looks at some of these colour theories from the seventeenth century through to the twentieth and how they were adopted and applied. How Goethe’s writing on colour influenced JMW Turner, how Michel Chevreul’s work was not only applied to textiles but influenced the Impressionist painters especially van Gogh. How colour theory has been applied not only to paintings but to industrial issues such as productivity and recuperation through the work of Faber Birren in the twentieth century. It shows how the Bauhaus movement had a seminal interest in colour and how the work of American Alfred Munsell’s work came to underpin colour teaching in American schools in the first half of the twentieth century but how some of the colour charts he developed are still in use for assessing teeth, soil and beer!

This lecture will appeal to anyone with an interest in colour

Dr Susan Kay-Williams was the Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) for seventeen years from 2007 to 2024 during which time the RSN developed a Degree programme, Tutor programme and many new teaching initiatives including online and international, and a programme for schools called Stitch a Selfie. She is a Fellow of the Society of Dyers and Colourists and was their President for 2024-25. Since retirement she has been editing an online course on the History of Embroidery for the RSN, developing a project for the V&A, lecturing internationally and is undertaking research for a new book. Her publications include The Story of Colour in Textiles (Bloomsbury 2013) and An Unbroken Thread 150 years of the RSN (ACC Art Books, 2022 and 2024).

Spring 2026 Newsletter from Richard Barrett available here.

Sampson and Sidmouth
Although Sidmouth is described as a Regency town it was the architect RW Sampson (1866-1950) who shaped its appearance between the 1890s and 1930s. The sheer range of his building styles is staggering and included Arts & Crafts, Cottage Orné, Queen Anne and Brewers Tudor. Craftsmanship and attention to detail were his hallmarks. In addition, he was an accomplished watercolourist and fine singer. In this talk, Nigel Hyman will show how Sampson’s legacy is still highly visible in Sidmouth today.

Admission £2.50. Non-members £5.00
Includes Tea & Biscuits

A new film documenting a collaborative project for all to enjoy and to support the careful stewardship of our river and its biodiversity, is shared.

A short film telling the story of the Riverside Walkway Revitalised project is available to view to bring attention to this wonderful riverside wellbeing space made accessible through art. 

The film can be viewed on the Sidmouth School of Art project page Riverside Walkway Revitalised | Sidmouth School Of Art or on YouTube https://youtu.be/NhKAxDJaEbo

The new walkway has had new railings, bat friendly lighting, new benches and planters, new wayfinding signage, a brass rubbing trail and provides a new outdoor gallery exploring historic and contemporary themes.  The new gallery features an introductory board and 11 artboards – each telling a story from Triassic to today.  The stories are highlighted through art and printmaking, woven together through graphic design and each has a QR code to find out more detailed information.

The walkway is the result of nearly two years of work and a huge amount of community participation led by Artist Printmaker Emma Molony https://www.emmamolony.com

Readr More here

A revival of a regular newsletter is overdue please see this as an early dawn.

Dr Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe’s lecture ‘Caravaggio is not the only artist’ - the second in our series of lectures held on November 6th - was a masterpiece which I hope you all enjoyed.

The Radway Cinema programme has screenings of

Cinderella (RBO production).         10th December

The Nutcracker (RBO production) 17th December

Continuing Anthea’s carefully chosen lecture series our next : 

‘Great Operatic Rivalries - handbags at dawn.’  4th December

Tim Mirfin, a distinguished Arts Society Lecturer, barrister-turned-opera singer promises to illustrate his talk with song. This is, our last lecture of 2024, is not to be missed! Doors open at 1000 and please be seated by 1030.

Sidmouth’s World of Trees .  6th December.  A talk by Ed Dolphin from the East Devon Branch of  the Devonshire Association. Manor Pavillion 1430 hrs.

Isca Ensemble at Sidmouth Parish Church

7th December A Christmas Concert with Julian Trevelyan (piano) in a programme featuring:

       Shostakovich

       Beethoven 5th Piano Concerto ‘Emperor’

       Delibes Coppelia

       Tchaikovsky ‘Nutcracker Suite’

9th December a Virtuoso Recital with Julian Trevelyan (piano) and Joel Munday (violin) with music by:

       Lilli Boulanger 

       Schubert

       Sibelius

       Cesar Franck  

Thursday 12th December: Sidmouth Arts Society Christmas Lunch

Victoria Hotel 1230 for 1300hrs.

Our Website: sidarts.org.uk.

A sorely needed refresh of our website is slowly taking place, and some of you may have noticed. It’s a valuable resource not only for members but for ‘would be’ members and visitors and we’d like to think it’ll become the point of reference for you to keep you informed and up to date.

We are setting up nominal email addresses, eg chairman@ sidmouthartssociety (illustration purposes only), for the committee so in future you will be able to contact us directly.

Membership:

Arts Society membership is falling nationally. In the South West some local organisations are struggling financially as a consequence. Fortunately Sidmouth has one of the largest memberships and our numbers are slowly recovering post-Covid although we are still short of our capacity of 340. A point made at a recent SW Art Society forum was: you the members are the best recruiting sergeants ambassadors and publicists for your Society. Please spread the word!  Meanwhile your committee will continue to do all it can to ensure a financially buoyant, vibrant future.

Volunteering

Finally. Whilst your committee works tirelessly for you the membership, exploring and promoting the arts in Sidmouth, the more observant will have noticed vacancies on the committee. This means some of our constitutional obligations are unfulfilled. Moreover some committee members, having served faithfully for seven years or more, are looking to stand down now. We will retain a wealth of experience to continue to serve you when they do retire, however, put simply no committee means no society.

We encourage interest from anyone within our membership willing to give up some time to work with us and to expand our remit to expand the arts in local heritage, in the wider community, in schools and colleges. 

Richard Barrett

EMIL NOLDE
GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST GENIUS
or NAZI OPPORTUNIST

Sid Vale Association
presents
An Evening Talk
By Nigel Hyman
Introduction by Barbara Farquharson

Tuesday 22nd October at 6.00 pm

FREE ADMISSION & GLASS OF WINE
At Sid Vale Association Headquarters
12 Church Street, Sidmouth
Donations to Museum
Numbers Limited - Booking Essential
Book at Sidmouth Museum
or online at
info@sidmouthmuseum.co.uk

11:00am – 12:00pm Wednesday 9th October 2024
Sidmouth Parish Church

Tony Lidington
On Illusion and Delusion – Performance Science and Quackery

Full details click here

Banksy at The Arts Society Sidmouth

What if a Banksy stencil appeared on your garden wall in Sidmouth ?

Probably a croquet set: a wooden mallet, some hoops and coloured balls. Not only a serious badge of honour, but you'd be laughing all the way to the bank.

Love him or loathe him, Banksy is an artistic presence to be reckoned with.

This week's Art's Society lecture, given by Pepe Martinez, a Blue Badge Guide and himself an artistic speaker to be reckoned with, was called " Banksy - Fraud or Genius ? "

Pepe took us through Banksy's colourful and edgy career, his art work, exhibitions and publicity stunts. He has had no formal training in art, but produces an extraordinary range of work, including graffiti, more kindly known as urban art, prints and even painted designs on stuffed animals.

Behind these surface images there is always a deeper social or political meaning to be mined and his huge wealth has enabled him to support major social and political causes.

Cutting out complicated stencils is a long, laborious job, whereas by contrast spraying over them to create the images takes no time at all, so is often done by a team of workers.

Banksy is also very much an unorthodox showman. When the bidding for "A Girl with a Balloon" recently came to an end in a Sotheby's auction room, the image was partially shredded automatically in front of the bidders as it dropped from its frame. The small remaining portion of the picture later fetched a small fortune.

Banksy obviously shows a deep disdain for the traditional art world. He continually pokes his nose at it, a bit like Marcel Duchamp who famously said "Anything can be art" and turned a white porcelain urinal into a miniature fountain.

David Smithbanksy