(Updated 15/03/01)

The Countryside comes to town!

A Countryside View - Coward, Cawston & Trickett

Exhibition at the Frank T Sabin Gallery, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly., London. March 23rd 2001

Story & Photos by Paul Keevil

ALBEMARLE STREET, just off Bond Street in London’s Piccadilly district, is just a short walk from the Kennel Club, but until March 23rd it will have a ‘kennel’ all of it’s own when the Frank T Sabin gallery host an exhibition titled “A Countryside View”.

With paintings on show by three of this countries leading dog and animal painters, Malcolm Coward, Mick Cawston and John Trickett, the gallery has assembled one of the finest collection of contemporary animal art to be seen on display in the capital for some years.

Photo courtesy of Sally Mitchell Fine Arts
Sincerity by John Trickett, an oil on canvas which was part of a new exhibition of work by John Trickett, Mick Cawston, Malcolm Coward and others at the Frank T Sabin Gallery, Albermarle Street, London W1. The exhibition runs until Friday March 23 and our correspondent Paul Keevil went to the preview.

The exhibition is being held in conjunction with Sally Mitchell, of Sally Mitchell Fine Arts Ltd., who is the publisher and (for want of a better expression) “manager” of the three artists on display.

Sally has been a pioneer in producing affordable and collectable Limited Editions, particularly of dogs, but also other domestic animals and wildlife over the last 15 years.

There can’t be many breed collectors who are unaware of output of Sally Mitchell Fine Arts and in particular of her three “star” artists. It was therefore with some delight that I accepted an invitation to the opening night of the first London show for these three artists for at least ten years.

Artist Malcolm Coward proudly displays his painting of a goose at the Frank T Sabin Gallery opening of the exhibition, ‘A Countryside View’ in London last week.

It had been hoped that Mick Cawston would be there on the opening night to greet the guests personally, but he is another who has been caught up in the foot and mouth crisis. He lives on a farm on the edge of Exmoor, which is at present within an exclusion zone and therefore quite understandably, he felt it would be unwise to travel up to London.

Gallery owner Mark Sabin with Sally Mitchell, director of Sally Mitchell Fine Arts Limited, Publisher of the three artists on exhibition at the Sabin Gallery.

Malcolm Coward, one of this countries leading equestrian artists did make the journey and his paintings were being much admired by the many guests who attended the official opening.

The third artist on show was John Trickett, an artist best known for his Gundogs, his work is always popular and indeed several of his paintings were sold on the opening night.

Also on display at the Gallery at the same time, are bronze animal sculptures by Rosemary Cook, many of which were produced life size, including the magnificent reclining Great Dane. Rosemary works either in Bronze (following the traditional “lost wax” process) or in Bronze Resin, (using the cold casting process) which involves no molten metal.
The Sabin gallery can be regarded as a very dog friendly place, having recently held successful exhibitions featuring the animal and dog sculptures of Sally Arnup and the engravings of Herbert Dicksee. It would always be worth just dropping by on the off chance, just to see what they have on show, when you are next up that way or visiting The Kennel Club.

This magnificent life size bronze by Rosemary Cook of a reclining Great Dane, titled ‘Persephone’ is one of a limited edition of 12.

The Frank T Sabin Gallery has been established in London for over 150 years, but is bang up to date with all the modern trappings of this electronic age.

Many of the paintings on display can be viewed on the Gallery website at www.ftsabin.com. They can also be contacted by e-mail on ft.sabin@btinternet.com or for the more traditional methods of contact they can be reached by telephone on 020-7493-3288 or fax on 010-7499-3593.

The Gallery can be found at 46 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4JN. The exhibition runs from March 7th until March 23rd and had been timed to coincide with Crufts, but if you want to see a “dog show” of the artistic kind, this is the place to be. Exhibition catalogues are available on request.