Recently a group of pupils in Year 11 and 12 visited Houghton Hall to see the Tony Cragg exhibition.

Read Year 12 pupil Foiy’s summary of the day:

On one of the hottest days of the year so far, the History of Art department set off to visit Houghton Hall’s latest exhibition with work by the sculptor Tony Cragg. The work exhibited by Cragg was an exploration of the purpose of an object; Cragg is intrigued by humanity’s obsession with creation and he wants to explore how objects with no function can still serve to entertain and inspire the viewer.  

The group, consisting of the current Lower 6th pupils and Year 11s who have chosen History of Art A level, was joined by Mrs Robb, Mr Baker and the afternoon was led by Mrs Robinson, Head of History of Art. Upon arrival, Mrs Robinson spoke to us about the architecture of Houghton Hall and how buildings and sculptures can create diverse meaning. The group discussed Cragg’s thought-provoking sculptures and the difficulties of exhibiting in such a grand place before moving on to see Houghton’s permanent collection, in particular James Turell’s Skyspace which explores the sky as a separate entity and its significance to Turell as a former pilot.  

The afternoon was a great success and we were blessed by the weather which reached 29 degrees. The department had a great time being able to go on our first trip since the pandemic, with everyone thoroughly enjoying getting the chance to see some art first hand and to enjoy the sun with ice creams from the café!