West Dean College
Encyclopedia
West Dean, West Sussex
West Dean is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton. The parish includes the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove....
near Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
. The Estate was formerly the home of the poet and patron of the arts, Edward James
Edward James
Edward William Frank James was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement.-Early life and marriage:...
. He was an avid admirer of the Surrealist movement, and formed one of the largest collections of their works during his lifetime. He inherited West Dean House
West Dean House
West Dean House is a large flint-faced manor house situated in West Dean, West Sussex, near the historic City of Chichester. This country estate has approximately of land and dates back to 1086, with various royal connections throughout the years...
and the estate after the death of his father.
In 1939 Edward wrote to Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
expressing his fear that after the war, certain arts, and particularly the techniques of the craftsmen would be lost. As a solution James suggested that his Estate be set up as an educational community where the techniques of craftsmanship could be preserved and taught, whilst restoring old work and creating new art works. In 1964 James conveyed this Estate including West Dean House
West Dean House
West Dean House is a large flint-faced manor house situated in West Dean, West Sussex, near the historic City of Chichester. This country estate has approximately of land and dates back to 1086, with various royal connections throughout the years...
to the Edward James Foundation; in 1971 the Foundation established West Dean College as a centre for the study of conservation, arts, crafts, writing, gardening and music, providing both full-time and short courses. The Sussex Barn Gallery, Tapestry Studio and West Dean Gardens are also located on the Estate.
Short Courses
The College offers over 700 short courses a year, at various levels of experience and covering a wide range of subjects.Diplomas and MAs
West Dean offers MA Degree and Diplomas programmes in Conservation Studies, Making, Creative Writing and Visual Arts, validated by the University of SussexUniversity of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
.
The Conservation MA and Diploma can have a specialty in Conservation of Book and Library Materials, Ceramics and Related Materials, Clocks, Furniture and Related Objects and Metalwork.
The Visual Arts MA and Diploma is in Visual Arts, Painting and Drawing, Sculpture or Tapestry and Textile Art. Graduates include artists Pippa Blake and Tim Kent
Tim Kent
Tim Kent is a contemporary representational painter, known for his elaborate paintings of interiors as well as for figurative works that tend toward darker themes. Kent was also the original bass player for the hard rock band The Giraffes from 1997 - 2002...
, who have gone on to exhibit their work in a variety of galleries. The College also offers Diploma courses in Making Stringed Musical Instruments.
Tapestry Studio
The West Dean Tapestry Studio was established in 1974 to provide high level craft-based programmes in woven tapestry, one of only a very small number of such studios worldwide. Their first major commission were The Henry MooreHenry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
Tapestries. Tapestries woven by the studio are in the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
and Chelmsford Cathedral
Chelmsford Cathedral
Chelmsford Cathedral in the county town of Chelmsford, Essex, England is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop of Chelmsford....
. As well as new designs, the Studio is also engaged in recreating the 16th century 'The Hunt of the Unicorn
The Hunt of the Unicorn
The Hunt of the Unicorn, often referred to as the Unicorn Tapestries, is a series of seven tapestries dating from 1495–1505. The tapestries show a group of noblemen and hunters in pursuit of a unicorn. It is believed the tapestries were made in the Southern Netherlands.-Production:The...
' tapestries, part of a twelve year project for Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
, for the refurbishment of Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
. The Studio wove a tapestry for Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
based on her Black Cat painting; it was shown at the Saatchi Gallery
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to exhibit his collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and currently in Chelsea. Saatchi's collection, and...
in May 2011.
Gallery
The Gallery on the West Dean Estate holds exhibitions of work by major outside artists as well as students and Tutors of West Dean College. Previous exhibitions include sculptor Phillip Jackson’s ‘Sacred and Profane’ in 2005, Man RayMan Ray
Man Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
’s ‘light and image’ in 2005 and Brazilian artist Ana Maria Pacheco
Ana Maria Pacheco
Ana Maria Pacheco is a Brazilian artist who works in the United Kingdom. Her work is partly inspired by the troubled period of Brazil's history, culminating in the takeover by the military junta in 1964, to which she was an eyewitness...
’s ‘some exercise of power’ in 2006. There has also been an exhibition on ‘the interior landscape of surrealism: A glimpse into the homes of Edward James, Roland Penrose and Lee Miller’ which included the famous lobster telephone and the Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
Lip Sofa from West Dean House, which were collaborations between Edward James and Salvador Dalí. An exhibition on the extraordinarily complex life of the model/photographer Lee Miller
Lee Miller
Elizabeth 'Lee' Miller, Lady Penrose was an American photographer. Born in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1907, she was a successful fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris where she became an established fashion and fine art photographer...
was also featured in the Gallery togeether with original works by Man Ray
Man Ray
Man Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
, Picasso and Roland Penrose
Roland Penrose
Sir Roland Algernon Penrose CBE was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom.- Biography :...
.
West Dean Gardens
The award winning West Dean Gardens surround the West Dean Estate in the South Downs. Head Gardener Jim Buckland and his wife Sarah Wain restored the Gardens after they suffered severe damage in the 1987 and 1990 storms. The Gardens have been awarded an English Heritage Garden Grade of II*.West Dean features a restored walled kitchen garden with 13 Victorian glasshouses. Robin Lane Fox in the Financial Times said "West Dean has a large walled kitchen garden whose standards are wonderfully high. Greenhouse after greenhouse smiles with top-class plants, fruit and rarities."
A key feature in the Gardens is the 300 ft (91.4 m) Edwardian pergola
Pergola
A pergola, arbor or arbour is a garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained...
, designed by Harold Peto
Harold Peto
Harold Ainsworth Peto was a British landscape architect and garden designer, who worked in Britain and in Provence, France.-Biography:...
. The Arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
has the grave to Edward James
Edward James
Edward William Frank James was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement.-Early life and marriage:...
with the carved memorial stone by John Skelton (sculptor)
John Skelton (sculptor)
John Skelton MBE was the nephew of Eric Gill and was also noted as an important letterer and sculptor after initially being apprenticed to his uncle shortly before Eric Gill's death...
.