Grantham Museum collection shows faces of war

A man researching his family tree has been displaying his findings at Grantham Museum.

Dr Doug Jenkinson exhibited his collection of prints from the original Eugéne Burnand collection as part of a three-month exhibition called ‘Faces of World War 1’ exhibition at the museum.

He said: “My maternal grandmother was always telling her grandchildren that she was related to some of the famous Bernards, including Sir Francis Bernard, who was the editor of Punch from 1880 to 1906 and famous artist Eugene Burnard. But it was only when I retired and had more time on my hands that I started delving into the family history more.”

Doug’s research took him to Switzerland to visit a museum which still displays some of Mr Bernard’s work and it was there that Doug came across a big book of portraits.

Between 1917 and the end of the First World War, Swiss artist Eugène Burnand drew over a hundred pastel portraits of allied WW1 participants of all nationalities. He got to know them, gained their confidence, and captured their characters. Out of the 49 allied nations involved in the war, Burnand portrayed over 40 of them.

Doug added: “Although they were very successful, they had got forgotten over time. The original collection is currently housed in Musée de la Légion d’honneur in Paris who display a few portraits at a time.”

For more information, visit: www.eugene-burnand.com

The museum’s latest exhibit: ‘Grantham Goes Shopping’ opened to the public yesterday (Thursday) complete with a 1950’s shop.

Sponsored by Downtown, it highlights the changes along Grantham High Street. The museum has been asking the public to share their shopping memories on their Facebook page and taking before and after photographs.