WYLLIE DVD's & PUBLICATIONS.

W.L. Wyllie (1851-1931) was one of the most respected & prolific Marine Artists of his period.  He was a major player among the bodies responsible for bringing H.M.S. Victory into dry-dock.  To help with her restoration fund he painted in his 79th year, the 42'x12' Panorama of the Battle of Trafalgar', on display at the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth.  This DVD, produced in association with the Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth, chronicles Wyllie's life, his arrival in Portsmouth in 1906, the docking of H.M.S. Victory & the painting of the Panorama, by showing many of Wyllie's oils, watercolours & etchings, alongside documentary material from the period.  It explains in detail the technical aspects & issues involved during the 1999 restoration & conservation programme that the Panorama underwent, with the leading experts involved describing & graphically illustrating the part that they played in that unusual event.

Originally produced in 1988 and released on the VHS format, this programme has been unavailable for many years, but has now been re-issued on the DVD format.  Novelist John Wyllie, grandson of the famous British Marine Artist W.L. Wyllie R.A. (1851-1931), talks about the artist's life & work & presents over 125 of his grandfather's oils, engravings, watercolours and etchings.  John lived with 'W.L.' for 10 years at Tower House, the artist's home and studio for twenty-five years, which stands next to the Round Tower at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.  John was co-author (with Roger Quarm, Curator, Department of Pictures, the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich) of  W.L. Wyllie R.A., Marine Artist (1851-1931) a biography about the man who was the most versatile, prolific and widely recognised British Marine Artist of his time.  W.L.'s early years as a young prodigy, living and painting on the north coast of France, his love of London's River Thames, his frequent sailing and painting trips to the rivers and canals of Holland and his move to Portsmouth in 1906, are all well documented on this DVD.  In the penultimate year of his life, he began and completed the famous 42' x 12' Panorama of the Battle of Trafalgar, which is part of the Victory collection at the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth.  This monumental work was painted in oils when he was 79 years old, and unveiled to the public by King George V in 1930.

A review of the original video:  "W.L. Wyllie was one of those special marine artists who could sail a boat as well as he could wield a brush. Thus all his paintings were true as well as beautiful....as also is this perceptive video record of his remarkable life and work."
The late Sir Hugh Casson, PPRA

Jan Wyllie, the great-grandson of W.L. Wyllie R.A. introduces this talk by his late father, John Wyllie.  In 1989 John was invited to talk about his grandfather's life & work at the annual 'Nelson Birthday Lecture' series in Portsmouth.  John was in ill health but felt that he wanted to give the talk, so an audio recording was made of him reading from his script.  On the day of the lecture,  John introduced himself & stood at the front of the audience and changed the slides in-sync with his voice.  At the end of his talk he received an ovation.  During the audio recording sessions, John had also recorded a 'to camera' video introduction & conclusion to his talk which has recently been re-discovered in a collection of archived video tapes & can be seen on this DVD for the first time.  By using the original recording & images John used on that day, the lecture has been re-created on this programme with over 125 images of W.L. Wyllie's oils, watercolours and etchings being shown.  John lived with 'W.L' for 10 years so this is an opportunity to purchase an interesting piece of audio & visual history from one of the last remaining family members who knew W.L. Wyllie intimately & personally. 

The 25 minute audio interview on this CD was originally recorded in 1978 by Diana Villar in the course of her work with the Portsmouth Area Talking News.  During their conversation, the late Aileen Wyllie, daughter of the famous Marine Artist, talked about her father's early years as a young prodigy spent between London & France, his life & work & the painting of the famous 42' x 12' 'Panorama of the Battle of Trafalgar,' now on display in Portsmouth Dockyard.

Chris Beetles Ltd
8 &10 Ryder St
St James's
London SW1Y 6QB

Telephone: 020 7839 7551
Facsimile: 020 7839 1603

e-mail: gallery@chrisbeetles.com

Opening Hours 10am - 5pm Monday - Saturday

Chris Beetles Ltd
8 &10 Ryder St
St James's
London SW1Y 6QB

Telephone: 020 7839 7551
Facsimile: 020 7839 1603

e-mail: gallery@chrisbeetles.com

Opening Hours 10am - 5pm Monday - Saturday