Call us now on: 0800 731 5905 - Viva Lewes

MYLEWES JuLia RuShbuRY
Julia R<strong>us</strong>hbury is a mural painter who has lived in
Lewes for over fifty years. Her father was Sir Henry
R<strong>us</strong>hbury, an artist who gained international re<strong>now</strong>n
as one of the leaders of the British etching revival in
the 1920s. An ack<strong>now</strong>ledged master of topographical
drawing, he also served as an official war artist in both
world wars. In the latter part of his life he was a distinguished
Keeper of the Royal Academy, improving
the RA schools beyond recognition. For many years his
work was neglected except by a small body of collectors.
The 1989 exhibition at Birmingham City M<strong>us</strong>eum and
Art Gallery, marking the centenary of his birth, and a
small show this summer in the Tennant Gallery at the
Royal Academy, running until 12th Sept, have brought
a new generation to look at his work afresh. To coincide
with the exhibition, a Catalogue Raisonné of his prints
has been published.
What was your father’s connection with Lewes? In
his early days he had rented cottages in West S<strong>us</strong>sex at
Bosham and Amberley, but he always liked the country
around Lewes and my parents moved here in 1957.
What was Lewes like in those days? A small market
town, still stifled by the rigid social hierarchy that
comes across so clearly in Mrs Dudeney’s Diary. I’m
afraid my father found it all rather dull, missing the
congenial company of fellow artists at the RA and the
Chelsea Arts Club. He didn’t go out much, and was given
to indicating that the visits of neighbours had gone
on too long by going round the room plumping up the
c<strong>us</strong>hions. But he relished the company of his numero<strong>us</strong>
grandchildren, and greatly enjoyed the visits of former
pupils and old artist friends like Ethelbert White and
Photo by Emma Chaplin
Percy Horton.
What did your parents like about Lewes? They
loved their ho<strong>us</strong>e, 6 St Martin’s Lane, with its balcony
overlooking the valley and the Downs. When they
bought it, the ho<strong>us</strong>e was done up by Wicks, a local
building firm. At the time, Dennis Wicks, a re<strong>now</strong>ned
opera singer who had begun his career as a bass in the
Glyndebourne Chor<strong>us</strong>, sometimes helped the family
firm out if they were eager to finish a job on time.
My mother, unaware of the m<strong>us</strong>ical connection, once
exclaimed to me, “What a wonderful town Lewes is!
Even the carpenters are able to sing Mozart arias while
they work”.
Tell <strong>us</strong> about a cherished Lewes landmark. The
cycle rack in Grange Gardens, erected by the Friends
of Lewes to commemorate Elisabeth Howard. She was
an indefatigable conservation campaigner, often to be
seen riding around Lewes on her heavily encumbered
bicycle. I was at Langford Grove School with her, in
Barcombe Mills. In 1946, I and five other girls, all going
onto Art School, were put up at Westgate Ho<strong>us</strong>e
whilst learning how to <strong>us</strong>e the lithographic press
owned by the Ladies of Miller’s.
What do you dislike about Lewes? The ever-increasing
volume of traffic on Southover High Street. Useless
traffic-calming measures. The smug hypocrisy of
those who bang on about the environment while fitting
in as many short haul holiday flights to Naples or Bratislava
as they can.
Recommend a film. Fellini’s La Strada, a poignant
and beautiful work that I never tire of.
David Jarman
1 5