TrustNews Dec 21
A Winchester Calendar
A new book and calendar celebrate a ‘forgotten genius’
George Shepherd's Winchester book
Writinq in the Hampshire Chronicle recently, Barry Shurlock described "Theforgotten genius who painted Hampshire". The man in question was George ‘Sidney’ Shepherd (1784-1862), a 19th century watercolourist of exquisite skill who sadly became, somewhat unfairly, obscure.
Shepherd's reputation has been revived by Hyde author Bill Hoade, who has published a book containing more than 250 drawings, watercolours and engravings, the genesis of which was 23 drawings by Shepherd in the Winchester College archive, augmented by some pencil sketches for some of the watercolours held by the Winchester City Museum.
In 2020, with the generous support of the college, Bill produced an A3 wall calendar of Shepherd's watercolours in Winchester. For 2022 he has created another one, which, given the rarity of the works, will be the last. It includes many of the most familiar Winchester landmarks, as well as pictures of Andover, Basingstoke and Christchurch from the Sutherland Collection in The Ashmolean Museum, and a wonderful memorial painting of a tombstone in the churchyard at Twyford from a private collection.
Both the calendar and the book are available from the Trust office and online shop {cityofwinchestertrust.co.uk/shop) and the City Museum, and also from shops including P&G Wells and Warren and Sons. They can also be purchased online at hoade-ink.com