Costume Gallery

John Vivian of Pencalenick, John Opie (1761-1807)

Oil on canvas, English School, around 1780. A portrait of a young John Vivian of Pencalenick (1772-1817). Vivian later became a Barrister and was High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1812. John Opie was born in Harmony Cottage, Trevellas, between St Agnes and Perranporth in Cornwall. He was the youngest of the five children of Edward Opie, a master carpenter, and his wife Mary (nee Tonkin). He showed a precocious talent for drawing and mathematics, and by the age of twelve he had mastered the teachings of Greek mathematician Euclid and opened an evening school for poor children where he taught reading, writing and arithmetic. His father, however, did not encourage his abilities, and apprenticed him to his own trade of carpentry. Opie's artistic abilities eventually came to the attention of local physician and satirist, Dr John Wolcot (who used the pen name Peter Pindar), who visited him at the sawmill where he was working in 1775. Recognising a great talent, Wolcot became Opie's mentor, buying him out of his apprenticeship and insisting that he come to live at his home in Truro. Wolcot provided invaluable encouragement, advice, tuition and practical help in the advancement of his early career, including obtaining many commissions for work. In 1781, having gained considerable experience as a portraitist travelling around Cornwall, Opie moved to London with Wolcot. There they lived together, having entered into a formal profit-sharing agreement. Although Opie had received a considerable artistic education from Wolcot, the doctor chose to present him as a self-taught prodigy; a portrait of a boy shown at the Society of Artists the previous year, had been described in the catalogue as "an instance of Genius, not having ever seen a picture." Wolcot introduced the "Cornish wonder" to leading artists, including Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was to compare him to Caravaggio and Velazquez

© RIC

Mayors Ball, Lostwithiel, Cornwall. December 1989

The official last event of Lostwithiel 800, the anniversary year of the Town's Charter, was the Mayor's Ball attended by many local dignitaries. Back row from left to right: Cyril Bunn, journalist; Glenys Foote; Burness Bunn, journalist; Rod Keast; Linda Austen; Martin Austen, Rotary President; Paul Brewer, Lostwithiel 800 Chairman; Mrs Burden, Bodmin Mayoress; Ned Moffatt, Liskeard Escort; Iris Down, Restormel Mayoress; Jill Blanchard and John Blanchard; Fran Dennison, Lostwithiel Town Clerk. Front row from left to right: Jim Burden, Bodmin Mayor; Robert Hicks, MP South East Cornwall; Dawn Hutchings and Dennis Hutchings, Lostwithiel Mayor; George Down, Restormel Mayor; Joan Moffatt, Liskeard Mayor. Photographer: Jonathan Barker

© RIC, photographer Jonathan Barker

A woman in a bikini embraces a man dressed in a captains hat

A woman with short, red hair and dressed in a white, lacy bikini gazes adoringly up at a man wearing a captain's peaked cap and a red, shiny wet weather jacket, which is open to expose his chest and torso. In the background is white sailcloth. This image was shot while filming Will the Great Barrier Reef cure Claude Clough? 1967: This bizarre little film takes the form of a psychiatric session, using the metaphor as a way to explore the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef. When people on the street seem to be walking backwards or upside down, Claude Clough (Charles Little) seeks therapy. His psychoanalyst (June Thody) advises him to take a holiday and get back to basics. From the psychoanalyst's couch, Claude's journey begins, with the psychoanalyst playing the roles of flight attendant, beautiful local girl and mermaid. The result is a tourist film with a difference - including stunning footage of the Great Barrier Reef. A lighthearted parody of psychoanalysis with a decidedly 60s feel

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