Feels like home
Readers of this blog will have spotted that I’m a fan of house museums – especially 18th century ones – but I have yet to write about them specifically. I think that good house museums give objects the life, character and stimulating interrelationships that are sometimes lost in a didactic museum exhibition. Examples include two of my favourite museums: The Wallace Collection, and the Sir John Soane Museum. The latter is particularly stunning on their candlelit late-night openings.
But, my favourite place in the world is a more modern example – Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge – the house of Jim and Helen Ede – left as it was when they led and entertained the local and national (and sometimes international) art scene. Their house mingles world-renowned artworks with antiques, simple furniture, found objects and plants to create a serene yet stimulating space, which never fails to be a complete joy. The fact that visitors can sit in the chairs and read the books, spending all afternoon quietly contemplating the house and its objects if they wish, makes it feel like home. In this space, the art and objects come alive as loved and valued possessions, assembled by a particular creative mind, as well as for their own aesthetic and natural qualities. The concerts regularly held in the house further enhance the space’s vitality and utter charm.
Every time I visit Kettle’s Yard, I am particularly struck by the bold and atmospheric oil paintings of William Congdon that are in the collection. I have never seen his work elsewhere, and there seems to be very little written about him in English. I wish that Kettle’s Yard would stage an exhibition of his work. While the house is a jewel, I find that the exhibitions in the temporary gallery often feel forced and unconnected, both internally and with the house. The latest show ‘Von Ribbentrop in St Ives: Art and War in the Last Resort’ would be a case in point. Last year’s ‘John Cage: Every Day is a Good Day’ show, however, would be a notable exception. It continued the charmed mix of art, music and creative flair that illuminates Kettle’s Yard, and showcased the kind of exhibitions that can add further magic to such house museums. Sadly, the current ‘Von Ribbentrop’ shows the kind of empty assemblage of objects that leaves bad house museums soulless when they try to force objects together to evoke someone who once lived there.