Kettle's Yard

The Louvre of the Pebble

Given that I’m not usually prone to self-absorbed navel gazing, I thought that last week’s introspective musings on my artistic success or otherwise were quite enough, and so this week I have decided I will take you out to one of my favourite art venues in Cambridge, Kettles Yard. Part of the University of Cambridge, Kettles Yard is a modern contemporary art gallery housing several temporary exhibitions and events throughout the year with the bonus of an excellent café and shop, but it is also the site of a beautiful old house with a wonderful permanent collection of twentieth century art, founded by Jim and Helen Ede. It’s the house we are visiting today. *

Kettle’s Yard House, Cambridge

Harold Stanley Ede, known as Jim because that is what he preferred to be called, was born near Cardiff in April 1895. At age 17 he went to study at the Newlyn Art School until the outbreak of World War I when he was commissioned to serve with the South Wales Borderers. After the war he continued his art studies at the Slade School of Art and in 1921 he became an assistant curator of the National Gallery of British Art, which would later become The Tate. This was the same year that he married Helen, whom he had met in Edinburgh in 1913.

Early on in their marriage they kept an open house and would often host Sunday soirees to a diverse range of guests including artists, musicians, and politicians. Helen came from an artistic, musical family and she was a keen pianist, bringing her love of music to these meetings. This was to pave the way for future gatherings at Kettles Yard.

Jim Ede became known for trying to promote the work of several contemporary artists such as Picasso and Mondrian, although his efforts were often frustrated by the conservative attitudes of the establishment at the time. Despite this he formed numerous friendships and connections with up and coming artists of the day, acquiring many original works before they were ever considered valuable, including much of the estate of sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, who had died during the first World War.

Bird Swallowing a Fish, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Kettle’s Yard

The works were often gifts or exchanges or bought for modest sums of money. Eventually having tired of his constant battles at the Tate, he left and in 1936 Jim moved with Helen to Morocco, where ahead of his time he embraced a minimalist lifestyle of interior design with whitewashed walls and minimal furniture, an aesthetic that would remain with him throughout the rest of his life. With the house in Morocco as a base he led an itinerate lifestyle, lecturing and writing throughout Europe and America for the next twenty years

On his return to England in 1956, Jim Ede bought four derelict 19^th century cottages in a quiet corner of Cambridge on Castle Hill opposite St. Peter’s Church, which he renovated and converted to double as both his home and a gallery to display his ever growing collection of original art. His philosophy was that art should be shared in a relaxed environment without the constraints of a formal gallery and he believed in exposing a whole new generation to modern art. To this end, he operated an open house inviting university students for afternoon tea where they could browse his extensive art collection which was hung throughout the house even in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Students were also allowed to borrow paintings to hang in their rooms during term time. In 1966 he bequeathed the house and his entire collection to the university establishing what is now known as Kettle’s Yard, although he continued to live there for another seven years. In 1973 he and Helen moved to Edinburgh, her home city, until his death in 1990.

“A living place where works of art could be enjoyed… where young people could be at home unhampered by the greater austerity of the museum or public art gallery.” - Jim Ede

In 1970 the house was extended, and an exhibition gallery was added. Today Kettle’s Yard house is home to hundreds of paintings and sculptures from artists as diverse as Joan Miró, Winifred and Ben Nicholson, Alfred Wallis, Barbara Hepworth, Christopher Wood and even Henry Moore. I will return to Moore later. The ‘open house’ policy continues today. When you book a visit, at the allocated time you have to ring the doorbell and are admitted by one of the excellent volunteer guides. You are given a brief introduction to the house and are then allowed to wander at leisure to look at displays, sit in the chairs, read the books in the library and generally soak everything in at your leisure, although with guides always on hand to answer your questions.

The house is just as Ede left it, down to the very last detail, for not only is it full of art but also carefully curated found natural objects such as shells, stones and driftwood alongside selected furniture, glass, and ceramics. Nothing has been placed accidently and every single thing has been positioned with purpose and intent like an orchestrated still life.

There are no piles of papers, cups full of pens, sweaters thrown over the backs of chairs or baskets of unplaced items waiting to be tidied up later. A philosophy I wish I could sometimes bring into my own home, but whilst I might dream of minimalism the reality is somewhat different. The house is bathed in light with sky lights and windows allowing sunlight to move across the displays of art, found objects and plants.

When you enter the dining room, the first room on going through the front door, there is a single bright yellow lemon which sits on a grey pewter dish, intended to echo the single yellow dot on the small Joan Miró painting ‘Tic Tic’ which hangs nearby.

‘Tic Tic’ Joan Miro 1927

This simple yet very precise placement is typical of Jim Ede’s approach. There is a story told, that says after the Edes moved to Edinburgh, Jim would check each week with a friend that a fresh lemon was still placed on the dish. Whether this story is true or not, it does rather confirm my fears that he must have been a very difficult man to live with. I cannot imagine living day to day where nothing can be moved out of place and in my house I can pretty much guarantee that any lemon left on its own on a dish like that would be a hard shrivelled up dry thing or possibly be growing its own life forms!

Despite this I do love the careful arrangements of objects, especially the beautiful spiral of perfectly spherical 76 limestone pebbles found on a Norfolk beach, arranged on the side table echoing both the spiral staircase and the twisting spiral of the old cider press which serves as a pedestal. I would love to recreate this in my home but then I imagine what an absolute field day the grandchildren would have with all those little stones and reality kicks in.

Another especially interesting feature of the house is that there are no labels on any of the artworks. This is a deliberate policy as Jim Ede wanted visitors to be able to look at the work without any prejudice or expectation, allowing them to discover new artists or enjoy work they may not have previously considered. But there is one exception. A single Henry Moore sculpture, probably the most valuable item in the collection, tucked away under the staircase on the ground floor just before the exit.

Sculpture by Henry Moore

Moore gifted the sculpture to Jim Ede on the condition that it had a label with his name so that the work could be identified as his. I’m not even going to hazard a guess as to what this says about Moore’s ego, but Ede relented, and the sculpture has a label, the only one in the entire house. However, it is positioned at the rear of the artwork facing a wall, where it can barely be seen. On our visit in February this year it had to be pointed out to us by a volunteer. I wonder what Henry Moore thought about that! The whole question of labels and what they can tell us is fascinating and it is a subject I will return to in a future post, maybe even next week if I get my act together (don’t hold your breath!)

There is no doubt that Kettle’s Yard is a unique and remarkable gallery, offering us a different way of seeing and appreciating art. And maybe in small subtle ways it can encourage us to look at the objects we choose to display in our own homes in different ways.

*If you wish to visit the house in person please note it is closed until mid April. Check the website for further details