Rope Family Artists" by Arthur Rope

A full house at Knodishall Village Hall enjoyed a spellbinding talk by Arthur ROPE.  A native of the parish of Leiston-cum-Sizewell, Arthur’s talk showcased the work of five ROPE family artists, who worked with a range of mediums, including oil and watercolour paints, pencil, stone, metal, plaster and stained glass.  

Of the older generation, George Thomas and Ellen Mary came from Blaxhall, one a graphic artist and naturalist, the other a sculptor.  One niece, Margaret Agnes (a stained glass artist, and known as "Marga"), although born in Shrewsbury, maintained close links with the family's Suffolk base, while two other nieces, Dorothy and a second Margaret (another sculptor and another stained glass artist) were born and raised in the parish of Leiston.  This latter, Margaret Edith, is more widely known as M. E. Aldrich Rope or by her nickname of "Tor". 

Against a ‘palette’ of exquisite high resolution slides, Arthur’s talk was a perfect blend of the ROPE family’s history, the places and events that shaped each of the chosen artists’ lives and a critical appraisal of their most prominent works.  Born into the same family, he is a researcher into the works of these artists, particularly the two Margarets and the sculptor Ellen Mary Rope.  He is the author of one book "Margaret Rope of Shrewsbury", and of the chapter in "Blaxhall's Creative Past" on Ellen Mary.  He also has a website covering these artists at: http://www.arthur.rope.clara.net/ .

The event was given extra colour by courtesy of John Day of the East Anglian Traditional Art Centre, Wickham Market, who generously brought to the meeting a number of original ROPE paintings, portraits in plaster relief and other beautifully executed pieces.  

The large audience also included the welcome presence of a number of ROPE descendants and members of the Blaxhall Archive Group, whose publication ‘Blaxhall’s Creative Past’ (mentioned above) devotes separate chapters to the artwork of the painter George Thomas ROPE and sculptor, Ellen Mary ROPE (written by Arthur).  The combined knowledge of these attendees provided for a particularly lively and informative question-and-answer session.

This being the last meeting of the year, the Committee would like to wish a very happy Christmas and prosperous New Year to all those who have supported the Group’s activities during another successful year.

Chris Broom and Steve Stocks

Arthur Rope				John Day
		George Rope Sr (father of the painter George Thomas Rope) at the age of 82, with 17 of his 22 grandchildren: Dorothy ("Dorry") is kneeling front left holding Margaret Edith ("Tor"), whilst Margaret Agnes ("Marga") is sitting beside her grandfather.

☞  As usual there will be no talk in December,
but from the New Year we revert to Monday afternoons in Leiston for three months —
at a new venue, the Waterloo Centre.