A book, bookmarks and postcards are for sale in different venues in Shrewsbury, or very soon on my online shop.
What was the Marga & Collections project?
by Nathalie Hildegarde Liège
Created by one of the great female stained glass artists of the early twentieth century, Margaret Agnes Rope 1882-1953, the windows in the Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Peter of Alcantara, commonly known as Shrewsbury Cathedral, were a beautiful source of inspiration the first year I lived in Shropshire.
Beyond Shrewsbury, Margaret Rope’s stained glass art can be found in churches and cathedrals on three continents and is now also collected by American museums.
(The book about the project is now for sale at the shop of
The Orchard Café by the Cathedral.)
I feel so privileged and thankful for the invitation I received from Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery (SM&AG) to create a permanent stained-glass piece, adding Margaret Rope’s work as a reference in the themes of my artwork.
This project would not be possible without other parties.
I owe amazing and generous ongoing support to Sandie who gave hours of her time working together in the writing of and the success of the Arts Council England grant application.
The sponsorship of Lamberts Glas has been a very special treat. Their fine mouth blown glass with its large range of colours and textures is ‘innovative by tradition’.
The company Sugru also added their contribution on my request, and I thank them for their generous reply.
Working being filmed by KAE Films (Artist and Filmmaker Katie Eccleston-Bokor) was a memorable experience and a friendship built over many years following. Her film is always a joy to view for its presentation of the story behind the conception of the design.
This book was reviewed by volunteers in the process of editing and found support from donations as a Crowdfunder project. I hope to provide the people who trusted me with an enjoyable read.
Book for sale in the museum shop
Foreword
‘Heavenly Lights: Th e Untold Story of Stained-Glass Artist Margaret Agnes Rope’, was an exhibition at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery from September 2016 to January 2017. It was a collaboration between the Mrs L.D. Rope Charitable Settlement and Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery (which celebrated its 5th Anniversary in April 2019). It was the first time that a large exhibition of Margaret Rope’s works, gathered from across the country, had been staged. To mark this event, it was agreed that a new stained-glass artwork would be created as a permanent reminder of the achievements of Margaret Rope, who was arguably the most important Shrewsbury artist of the 20th century and one of very few female stained-glass artists of that time. For this work we commissioned stained-glass artist and artisan Nathalie Hildegarde Liège, originally from Paris, France but settled in Shrewsbury for many years and who in 2018 celebrated her studio’s 20th Anniversary. Nathalie was asked to include references to Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery’s collections in her design for the window. Her artwork is displayed just outside the Medieval Gallery, close to the site of a medieval Oriel window, which had once formed part of Vaughan’s Mansion. Vaughan’s Mansion is a stone hall built by wool merchant William Vaughan (likely in the 1290s), however it’s east wing, in which the window was located, was demolished in 1838 in order to construct the Music Hall auditorium. Th e surviving hall of Vaughan’s Mansion is now part of the Museum & Art Gallery.
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