I wasn’t expecting an invitation to tea with the Queen.
Which was just as well – I didn’t get one. But I did receive an invite to a Bloggers’ Breakfast followed by a preview of ‘Painting Paradise’ – the new exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. Pulling on smart clothes (of a sort) and fishing bits of bramble out of my beard, I flunked off work and scurried up to town.
The Family of Henry VIII, British School, c. 1545 – with a glimpse of Whitehall Palace garden
After coffee, pastries and mingling, we entered the galleries for an expertly guided tour by the curators. Here are just a few of the works I particularly liked (and was able to photograph in low light):
Portrait of Jacopo Cennini, Franciabigio, 1523
the earliest surviving portrait of a professional gardener (looking uncannily like Mark Rylance’s Thomas Cromwell);
A View Of Hampton Court, Leonard Knyff, c. 1703 – with avenues formed by two thousand (!) lime trees
a beautifully detailed panorama of William III’s new gardens at Hampton Court;
The Norman Gateway and Moat Garden, Windsor Castle, Paul Sandby, c. 1770
an early, and rare, depiction of a gardener at work (with dog, if no mug of tea);
July Border, Beatrice Emma Parsons, c. 1910 – 20
and a vibrant watercolour of Jekyll-inspired planting, bringing to my mind the long borders at Nymans.
Detail, The Sunflower Clock, Vincennes porcelain factory (1738-56)
I loved this intimate, absorbing exhibition featuring a rich and varied array of decorative arts: paintings, manuscripts, da Vinci drawings (see header photo), sculpture, porcelain
Fabergé Cornflowers and Oats Study
and jewels; all from the Queen’s private collection and many on public view for the first time.
‘Painting Paradise: The Art of the Garden’ is a short walk from Victoria station. The exhibition opened on 20th March and runs until 11 October 2015. For more information see: The Royal Collection Website
The Anxious Gardener 
What a sensible painter, to realize how well dogs and gardening go together. (“Well” does not mean “effectively”.) (But then, you know that.) And what a wonderful exhibit to be able to see!
LikeLike
Ha! No Stacy, gardening with dogs does add an element of er, challenge – though mine were generally pretty well behaved (apart from Solo sitting on whatever it was I was weeding, so as to get an ear rub. Which actually was very sensible as she nearly always got one).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like an exhibition right up my street. I’m a huge Faberge fan – the cornflowers and oats are exquisite.
LikeLike
Hi Lou, there is a whole cabinet of Fabergé items. It might be worth you visiting just for those. Dave
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a fabulous reason to bunk off work, I enjoyed your choice of paintings, and am very envious that you got to see those da Vinci drawings. I feel rather ignorant, I had no idea Fabergé did anything other than eggs!!
LikeLike
Goodness, Janet. Do you never watch Antiques Roadshow? They almost always finish with some ring or necklace or bracelet, picked up for 40p at a car-boot, and revealed to be a £20k Fabergé. There was so much to see and I photographed more than I’ve shown but I had to dash back up to London (very, very tiring) on the day I posted this. And so time was short. Sussex is very calming after all that excitement. D
LikeLike
Good grief we were both there at the same time! Wasn’t it fabulous? It was the picture of the Faberge Dicentra (Lamprocapnos – but who remembers to call it that?) on the website which persuaded me to go and oh how I do covet it 🙂
LikeLike
Oh what a shame. It would’ve been nice to meet. I didn’t know anyone there but did chat to one person before we were ushered in. Perhaps we ought to have been given name tags!? There was a lot to covet, I thought … just a crying shame that it was too early for me to want to eat any of those pastries! I should’ve filled my pockets for later.
LikeLike
Well, I didn’t bring the rest of my avatar with me, so that didn’t help. I should have been more observant though and recognised you. It would have been good to meet and have a chat at last 🙂
LikeLike
Did you have your beard and glasses disguise on by any chance? If so, we very briefly said hello crossing the road by Buckingham Palace…
LikeLike
Yep, that was me. My cunning beard disguise worked then? Can’t remember whether I remembered to remove the comedy nose attachment from the glasses. Probably not. I made some lame comment about washing one of the Meissen plates to a lady and then said bye to her as I crossed the road later – was that you? Or were you her companion?
LikeLike
It worked perfectly 😉 Not sure about the Meissen comment, though there were 2 of us. We were heading off to Green Park Station (going to the Edible Garden Show) and you were going back towards the gallery. You grinned and said hello in recognition as fellow attendees as we passed each other.
This is turning into a script for Brief Encounter 2!
Will you be wearing the same disguise at Chelsea?
LikeLike
Ah, OK. I’d thought about going for a walk before heading home but changed my mind and was heading back to Victoria. Well, it was very nice to meet you – almost. “You’ve been a long way away” is the only quote from BE I know and is almost appropriate – but not really. And no, the same disguise won’t work now. Besides, I’m a bit bored with my beard experiment. I shall need to think up a whole new disguise for Chelsea. A shrub perhaps. But whatever, hopefully I’ll get to say hello to you properly. D
LikeLike
I agree with you on the Thomas Cromwell lookalike!
What a marvellous opportunity you had 😊.
LikeLike
Hi Helen, beautiful portrait I thought. He worked for the Medici family so I suspect he could tell a tale or two.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the Faberge cornflowers. Sounds like a grand day out.
LikeLike
Funny isn’t it? I really liked them but my partner said he wouldn’t give ’em house room! But then it isn’t an argument we need to have. Dave
LikeLike
Hmmm. I’ll have to see what happened to my invite, I’m pretty sure the other person who reads my blog is the Queen.
Looks like a great visit and exhibit. The history behind the art is astounding, even more so in today’s era of selfies.
LikeLike
Your missing invite must have been an oversight, Frank. I’ll have a word with the Palace. And damn …. didn’t think to take a selfie! D
LikeLike
A special visit, what a treat! Amelia
LikeLike
Hi Amelia, it was a Big Day Out and all rather lovely. The liveried staff were impressive as was the sheer professionalism of everything. D
LikeLike
Does life imitate art or does art imitate life? Which is better: the orderly cornflower and oats, above, or the wondrous chaos of a garden in June?
LikeLike
I don’t think either the Fabergé or the beautiful garden is necessarily better than the other, Robert. Though selling the former could certainly help in attaining the latter … probably with loose change to spare.
LikeLike
Lucky you! I thought exactly the same as you with the portrait that looks so like Mark Rylance, such an uncanny resemblance! It is a long time since I have been around the Queen’s gallery, must go again soon.
LikeLike
Hi Pauline, the Thomas Cromwell connection was especially marked because the portrait hung right next to the family portrait of Henry VIII. I did wonder whether that was coincidence. Dave
LikeLike
Beautiful! Loved that portrait of the gardener with his tools of the trade in the background.
LikeLike
There was a twitter quiz asking what the tool was – and I forgot to enter. Duh. Would’ve won an exhibit catalogue too.
LikeLike
Wonderful I had an invite but couldn’t get to London early enough. It looks wonderful
LikeLike
Shame you weren’t there Helen – I didn’t know anyone! It was very early, I had to go up the night before and stay with a friend. Worth it though (and even losing a day’s pay). Dave
LikeLike
Interesting! Thank you
LikeLike
You’re welcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very lucky you to get an invite. Looks amazing. What a treat!
LikeLike
Hi, yes it was was and yes I was! D
LikeLike
I’d love to visit this exhibition. There is time maybe for a visit, I hope so. Lucky you to get an invite.
LikeLike
Do go if you get a chance, Christina. You won’t be disappointed, especially at a tenner a ticket. Dave
LikeLiked by 1 person