A Cornish idyll and costume from scandalous ballet are art highlights

An oil painting of the volcanic rocks which form a natural reef near St Ives in Cornwall forms an unlikely juxtaposition at the Harrogate Antiques and Arts Fair, which runs through the weekend.
Chloe Holt with her painting  'This Place was a Shelter'Chloe Holt with her painting  'This Place was a Shelter'
Chloe Holt with her painting 'This Place was a Shelter'

Chloë Holt, a young Chester artist now based in Harrogate, is exhibiting the work as part of a collection that has been on year-round exhibition at Chris Holmes Antiques in the town.

This Place Was a Shelter, a mix of oil and ‘gesso’ acrylic paint, is priced at £3,950.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ms Holt, 36, is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and one of the youngest-ever members of the Royal Cambrian Academy.

Ruth Cope with a costume  designed by Leon Bakst for the 1910 production 'Scheherazade' by the Ballets RussesRuth Cope with a costume  designed by Leon Bakst for the 1910 production 'Scheherazade' by the Ballets Russes
Ruth Cope with a costume designed by Leon Bakst for the 1910 production 'Scheherazade' by the Ballets Russes

The fair, at Pavilions of Harrogate on the Great Yorkshire Showground, also features a rare ballet costume that was used in Sergei Diaghilev’s production of Scheherazade, performed by the itinerant Ballets Russes in Paris in 1910.

Designed by Leon Baskt, the costume belongs to exhibitor Ruth Cope, from Cambridge, and has been in her personal collection for years.

The piece was verified by Sotheby’s in 1999, and is on sale for £18,500.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Diaghilev, considered one of the fathers of modern ballet, was a Russian art critic who founded the Ballets Russes and who commissioned music from Stravinsky, Debussy and Prokofiev, art from Picasso and Matisse, and costumes from Coco Chanel.

Ruth Cope with a costume  designed by Leon Bakst for the 1910 production 'Scheherazade' by the Ballets RussesRuth Cope with a costume  designed by Leon Bakst for the 1910 production 'Scheherazade' by the Ballets Russes
Ruth Cope with a costume designed by Leon Bakst for the 1910 production 'Scheherazade' by the Ballets Russes

His balletic adaptation of Scheherazade was hugely controversial for its exotic depiction of a masculine Golden Slave, danced by Vaslav Nijinsky, who was Diaghilev’s lover. The production drew horror from the widow of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composer of the original symphonic suite.

The Harrogate fair brings together exhibitors from across the country, and includes modern pop art from local painters as well as antique art and furniture.

Related topics: