Having secured funding from the Government to support it through the pandemic, Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, has visited Farleys House and Gallery in Muddles Green Chiddingly to celebrate its reopening.
Farleys House is the Sussex home of surrealist artists Lee Miller and Roland Penrose, and their son Antony Penrose who currently co-directs the site with his daughter Ami Bouhassane. Farleys House became a meeting place for some of the leading figures of 20th century modern art, including Pablo Picasso whose creations decorate the house throughout, including above the kitchen stove.
Farleys House remains alive and vibrant today, documenting surrealist and modern art in an eclectic collection of artworks displayed around the house. The gallery hosts a programme of exhibitions, currently displaying Lee Miller’s cutting-edge photography of British fashion for Vogue during WWII. Farleys House and Gallery is globally respected and frequently visited by international art lovers, bringing half a million pounds every year to the local economy. It suffered great hardships due to Covid and Nusrat was successful in helping it secure two rounds of funding as part of the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund.
Farleys House is now reopened to visitors on Sundays and Thursdays, but all visits must be booked in advance. For more information and to book your visit, please visit www.farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk.
A major exhibition is opening this weekend at the Dali Museum in Florida, America: ‘The Woman that Broke Boundaries: Photographer Lee Miller’. For more information, click here.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Farleys House & Gallery is an extraordinary place for art lovers, boasting so much culture and history. It is a real cultural jewel, hidden at the heart of Wealden countryside, supporting local jobs and bringing so much into a county which relies on tourism. I appreciate the huge impact that the pandemic has had on the footfall of international visitors. I am pleased to have secured funding as part of the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund and I would greatly encourage local residents to pay Farleys House a visit this summer and discover its fascinating display of artwork and photography. I have long campaigned for more Government funding for Wealden and I am delighted that the grants secured have provided a lifeline to Wealden’s heritage sites.”