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Ethiopian exhibition opens in Cambridge

24 October 2007

An exhibition depicting Ethiopia in the 19th century has opened in Cambridge.
 
Ethiopian Encounters: A British Expedition to Ethiopia in the 1840s offers visitors to the Fitzwilliam Museum a chance to view ‘rare and beautiful’ watercolours painted by the explorer and draughtsman Sir William Cornwallis Harris.
 
Sir William was born in 1807 and was inspired to paint the works during a two-year visit to Ethiopia between 1841 and 1843.
 
The day out for art lovers features a rate portrait of the King of Ethiopia in that period, Sahela Selassie, and representations of the highly diverse ethnic peoples in the country at that time, images that the museum describes as of ‘extraordinary historic importance’.
 
A programme of talks, workshops and events will complement the exhibition, which is supported by the Millennium Committee of the Ethiopian Embassy.
 
The collection is on loan from the estate of the late Quentin Keynes and will be on display until 20 January 2008, with no admission charge.
 
Also currently showing at the gallery is The Gentle Art: Friends and Strangers in Whistler's Prints. A programme of family days out entitled StoryQuest 2007: Camille in the Country will run over the coming weeks and feature a series of readings that follow a young girl around Paris for the first time.

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