The inaugural Classic and Supercar photographic exhibition 'A Drive Down Memory Lane' launched last Sunday 12 October with a VIP audience from the worlds of the music, aviation, sports, jewellery, publishing and fine art industries. The exhibition is currently being held at Chartwell Westerham Kent, the family home of Sir Winston Churchill. Theexhibition showcases my photography of classic and supercars, and is of particular interest to those who haveClassic and/or Supercar collections who would love to have their collection produced in a bespoke hand crafted book.
The majority of the photographs on display at the exhibition were originally taken for a bespoke book which I was commissioned to produce, to mark a special birthday.
The Process
I was approached back in July by Wayne Thornton, event co-ordinator at Chartwell, and was asked to display my Classic and Supercar photography to reflect Sir Winston Churchill's love of the finer things in life. This was an opportunity not to be missed.
In addition to the wide variety of cars I had already ear marked for the exhibition, I also had the honour of photographing a Lanchester 40 hp 1921 and a Rolls Royce 20/25 1935 in front of the house at Chartwell. Some of these photographs also currently feature in the Westerham & Oxted Life magazine.
All the photographs selected for the exhibition have been printed on Museum Quality Fine Art paper and framed in black ash wood with Art Glass to show the true colours of the cars and to minimize reflections by 99%. I can highly recommend this glass to show your photographs or art work at their best. I invested in LED lights to clip on each framed photograph for the finishing touch.
The Launch Afternoon
I had been planning the launch of the exhibition for sometime and was both nervous and excited, there was a lot to do to bring it all together, not to mention my speech - don't forget I'm use to being behind a camera!
I wanted the afternoon to reflect a little bit of nostalgia from the 1940s, with sparkling wine from Squerryes Court served in original champagne saucers (2 cases of the saucers were found in my parents' attic from their restaurant days) and Spirit of Kent beer from the Westerham Brewery served in traditional half pint dimpled beer jugs, with waitresses dressed in white aprons and decorative hats to complete the look.
The sound track for the afternoon was a compilation I put together from Vera Lynn, Glenn Miller, The Pasadena Roof Orchestra, and Charlie Parker as we worked our way through the decades to present day.
A number of visitors had brought their classic cars with them to set the scene, but the star of the show has to be the 'Tucker 48'.
The Tucker 48
The 'Tucker 48' is an iconic car was made in the 1940s by the great inventor Preston Tucker - of which only 50 were ever made. The car in the photographs is the 49th and the ONLY one in Europe. The last time it was seen in public was in 2008 when it won 'Best in Class' at the prestigious Cartier Style et Luxe Concour D'Elegance at Goodwood.
We are honoured to have this very car for the duration of the exhibition positioned at the front of the house for all to admire.
The Car Photography on Display
A car from each decade that Sir Winston Churchill was resident at Chartwell 1922 - 1965 are amongst the photographs on display. The exhibition is a car lovers dream. If classic cars aren’t your favourite there is also photography on display of some modern day high performance cars, such as the Ferrari Enzo, Ford GT and the Ferrari California.
The launch was a huge success - thank you to all who attended.
The Mulberry Room at Chartwell is proving to be the exhibition hotspot in Kent. A huge light and airy space, to showcase art works with well sign posted access from the M25, A25 and A21. The exhibition is held until Sunday 26 October - and please check the Chartwell website for opening times.
Testimonial by Catherine & Randolph Churchill (great grandson of Sir Winston Churchill) after the launch of the exhibition 12th October; “What a wonderful exhibition you organised at Chartwell yesterday evening. Randolph, John and I so enjoyed seeing your magnificent photographs as well as the fabulous cars on display. The rain certainly did not dampen the spirits as we all looked at the array of magnificent cars.”
I'll be back in two weeks with my next newsletter.
Thanks for reading
Bye for now.
Stella