15/10/2026
Two fresh pictures have appeared above the stairs in Bushey Museum. The first one is an oil painting by Beatrice Morton Nance (nee Michell) called Ode to Spring. This painting was intended as an illustration for a child's story. It is rather difficult to photograph, against the light.
In 1892 Beatrice Michell joined the Herkomer School of Art, residing at Carlton Cottages, Bushey. In 1893 she and fellow student Robert Morton Nance formed a romantic attachment leading to marriage, which was against Herkomer's rule of having no married female students. Herkomer, however, did suggest that as a married couple they should travel to Cornwall, where they ran a School of Painting in St. Ives for a few months and then Penarth, S. Wales.
Unfortunately, Beatrice's health led to her untimely death in 1902, after which Robert married a close friend of Beatrice and fellow Herkomer student, Maud Cawker.
The second is by John Sylvester (Jack) Wheelwright, a design from a Grinling Gibbons Wood Carving, in watercolour.
Wheelwright used Grinling Gibbons' wood carving as the basis of several of his designs. As there was some Grinling Gibbons carved panelling from the recently demolished church St Dionis, Backchurch Street, London in the Herkomer Art School, it is interesting to speculate whether in this bold pattern we may actually be looking at part of that carving. It is not known what became of the panelling when the Herkomer Art School was demolished in 1912. We believe there was similar carving at Cassiobury House too before it was demolished.
Jack Wheelwright graduated from the Herkomer Art School in 1904 and then entered an apprenticeship in design at the renowned Silver Studios. From 1907 until 1922 he had a textile studio in Chiltern Avenue, Bushey. He became a very well-known textile designer for Sanderson, Liberty and Warners. His design sources were eclectic. He also invented machinery for improving commercial textile printing.
