The current exhibition at Hereford Museum and Art Gallery features work by Sarah van Niekirk and Harry Brockway, an exhibition that was originally planned several years ago before the discovery of asbestos forced the closure of the gallery.

Sadly, in the intervening time, Sarah passed away, and the exhibition, Master and Student, is presented as a retrospective of her work, and a celebration of both her work and that of her former student Harry Brockway.

For more than 60 years Sarah van Niekerk took inspiration for her prints from the world around her, and the work on display includes images of Ludlow Market and the River Severn, and a series of engravings she did for Leaves from the Walnut Tree, a book of recipes by Ann and Franco Taruschio, founders of the renowned restaurant.

Her former student, Harry Brockway, was introduced to wood engraving by Sarah who was a part-time tutor at The Royal Academy Schools where Harry was studying sculpture, a medium in which he continues to work alongside his wood engraving and working as a tutor at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation.

Sarah showed him how versatile a medium wood engraving can be, and Harry takes much of his inspiration from the world of literature, fulfilling many commissions for the Folio Society, among them Crime and Punishment and Daniel Deronda, The Brothers Karamazov and Frankenstein.

His work will also be familiar to visitors to the museum as he was commissioned to create the wood engravings that can be seen above the museum's exhibits.

Together, Harry and Sarah illustrate the range of this expressive and most English of art forms: "It is marvellous to see the continuity of skill being passed from a master artist like Sarah to a talented pupil like Harry. Their work beautifully exemplifies the ongoing tradition of English wood engraving," said Judy Stevenson, Museum Team Leader for Herefordshire Council’s museum service.

The free exhibition runs until Saturday 24 August 2019 at Hereford Museum and Art Gallery. The gallery is open Tuesday – Friday 10am – 4pm and 10am – 12.30pm on Saturday.

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