Tuesday - OPEN 10:00 - 16:30

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The Valley: An illustrated talk

May 24, 2025   -   May 24, 2025

Saturday 24 May 2025
2-3.30pm | Admission FREE
Booking required – follow link below

A talk by Peter Stiles, local artist and curator of The Valley: Art on the border – a cultural history of Marsland, an exhibition which explores the fascinating story of Marsland – situated on the coastal border between Devon and North Cornwall.

From the visits by members of the Bloomsbury Group including Dora Carrington to Benjamin Britten, Ronald Duncan, James Ravilious and Gillian Ayres, the Valley has inspired wonderful art and literature, including recently unearthed letters from the First World War, written by a local woman to her fiancé serving in Palestine. The letters, which capture the essence of a time and place through the experience of a single local woman, are available as a short publication to accompany the exhibition and talk. An exhibition catalogue is also available, featuring paintings that include Dora Carrington’s Mrs Box, and captivating stories relating to the artists and writers who visited the area.

Peter Stiles is an artist and curator with extensive experience across the arts. He moved to Welcombe after leaving the Slade in 1980. For more information, visit his website www.peterstiles.co.uk.

Painted portrait of a middle aged woman in a pink bonnet, orange shirt, blue skirt and a white and blue shirt. She is sat in a chair with a high back.

Image: Dora Carrington, Mrs Box, 1919. Courtesy of the Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery (The Higgins Bedford).

Photograph of artist Peter stiles. Headshot of white male wearing orange jumper in front of a Devon stone wall and with blue sky.

Image: Peter Stiles, 2025

Image: Gillian Ayres, Marshland, 2011. Oil on canvas. 152.4 x 243.8 cms.

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