Rustington Museum: Items rarely seen go on public display in free exhibition celebrating Rustington art and artists

The free exhibition Artistic Rustington, on display until January 2023, delves into the museum's own art collection and alongside are paintings, books, models, postcards and other related items on loan.

Claire Lucas, museum manager, said: "It is our chance to get as much of our work on display as possible from the museum collection, which doesn't get seen very often. We are concentrating on artists from Rustington as well as views of the village, even if we don't know who painted them."

One of the most exciting pieces on show is a painting by Harold Steward Rathbone, which Claire found during her research for the exhibition. The Garden at Rustington was given to the William Morris Gallery in London by Philippa Garret Fawcett, daughter of Millicent Fawcett, and is on loan for the exhibition.

Claire said: "The painting is of the gardens at The Firs, the cottage that Agnes and Rhoda Garrett lived in at Rustington. Rathbone was friends with the Fawcett family and was also good friends with Agnes Garrett. Through one painting, we have discovered more connections between the people of Rustington and prominent members of Victorian society."

Among the larger paintings is a striking piece by Leslie Wilcox, Launching a Fishing Boat at Rustington, with its turbulent sea. This painting was purchased by Rustington Heritage Association in 2013 and it sits alongside a British Railways poster designed by Wilcox, who was born in Fulham in 1904 and died in Rustington in January 1982. Also on show are examples of puzzles, toffee tins and books where Wilcox's art was used.

Model maker Charles Stadden moved to Rustington in 1958 with his wife and a chance meeting with Wilcox resulted in them collaborating on a painting of the presentation of new colours by Lord Mountbatten of Burma to The 1st Battalion, The Royal Hampshire Regiment on August 1, 1963, at Munster, West Germany.Claire said: "Charles Stadden had a real interest from the army in military uniforms and did a lot of research so everything in his paintings was correct. He was very detailed. He and Wilcox got together and Stadden gave his uniform and military expertise for the painting."

A reproduction of the work has been included in the exhibition, courtesy of the Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum. Also on show are some of Stadden's models, including those he produced for Subbuteo, on loan from his son Andrew Stadden.

Other artists featured include Count Albert de Belleroche and his son William de Belleroche, who lived at the Old Manor House, opposite The Lamb Inn. Albert started as a painter but was well known for his lithographs, while Count Willie, as he became known, had a different artistic style and focused on lino prints and painting.

On one wall of the exhibition is a changing display of works by lesser known artists, showing views of the village. Currently, churches are the focus and next will be mills.

The mills will tie in with an interesting pair of large paintings, showing the same scene a generation apart. Rustington Mill is painted in the English Primitive School style that was popular in the 18th century. On loan from Littlehampton Museum, this work sits alongside Bailey Mill, which may have been painted by a visitor and is on loan from descendants of the family that once loved there.

Claire said: "We don't know who either of the artists were but it is the same Sea Mill. I love the fact we have two scenes the same, one when the Greaves family lived there from 1841-1871 and one from the Baileys, who were the family who came after."

One of the most recent acquisitions is the painting Dream by Su Trembath, which was purchased this year by Rustington Heritage Association. Su was born in Rustington in 1965 and specialises in large works.Claire said: "It is important to collect works by modern artists with village connections, not just historical ones. It is something very different and that is what the museum is about, collecting examples of everything."