Our June walk

Hampstead Heath, Kenwood House and Sargent – our grand June walk

What a contrast... our last walk on the Heath had been on an icy day, Parliament Hill views obscured by mist; June saw us striding out in lush greenery and dappled sunshine. 

Our walks being chatty, we covered all manner of topics as we wound our way through woodland and grassland.

We were heading to Kenwood House for our café stop and for walkers who hadn't seen it, its exhibition Heiress: Sargent's American Portraits. 

In 2022, East End WI member Natasha, a Tate volunteer, had given us a tour of John Singer Sargent's portraits in Tate Britain's Wertheimer bequest, a rare opportunity to hear from someone who's related to the people in the paintings. On our walk, Natasha gave us the back-stories of some of the women in this exhibition, who included the UK's first sitting female MP. 

Those of us heading on to the exhibition (via a look at Kenwood's restored bath house) were fascinated by the freshness and modernity of the drawings and how his loose brushstrokes described cloth and drapery.

Two of us stayed to explore the house; one got interestingly lost – which presented an opportunity for a reprise of the view from Parliament Hill. It's nice when that happens.

Fancy joining us for a walk? Look out for our coming up blogposts or if you're a member, for the monthly e-newsletter.

This month's coffee morning: The Nunnery Café, Bow Road (Bow Arts Trust), Friday 27th June 10.30 - 11.00am

A chance to visit one of our favourite cafes and to continue the art theme with a look at Bow Open: Connections. 

The Nunnery Gallery, 181-183 Bow Road, E3 2SJ, nearest stations: Bow Road tube and Bow Church DLR, plentiful buses nearby.

Pictures by Lydia and Christine