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Saturday 5 November 2011 2pm, Sunday 22 January 2012 2pm
Meet at the Town Hall Steps, Albert Square, 1.55pm (see note below) £6 per person ‘If any citizen desires to realise how really beautiful parts of Manchester may appear under certain lights he should inspect the canvases of Adolphe Valette’. This was the view of an art critic in 1912. Adolphe Valette was Manchester’s own French Impressionist painter. Arriving in Manchester early in the 20th Century, his paintings here would capture a city of activity and movement, of industry and water, and would encourage his students, such as LS Lowry, at Manchester’s School of Art. This tour, inspired by Valette’s work, visits the places he painted, from the glistening cobbles of Albert Square, passing the twinkling lights of warehouses, to a busy Oxford Road and a wintry All Saints. We’ll hear stories, not only of the man himself, but of the buildings, streets and the people who inhabited these areas before, during, and after Valette’s time. We’ll discover hidden features and the lesser-known tales of Manchester’s past. Special thanks to Cecilia Lyon, author of the comprehensive ‘Adolphe Valette’ for our conversations about the painter. Note that a special exhibition of Valette’s work will be taking place from October 2011 to January 2012 at The Lowry, Salford http://www.thelowry.com/event/adolphe-valette-a-pioneer-of-impressionism-in-manchester.
(Note: This tour has also been advertised in one leaflet as starting at the Art Gallery. Anyone waiting at the Art Gallery will not miss out, but it will save your legs if you meet at the Town Hall instead). |