2010/164

Birchensale Farm Memories in Pictures,

Norman (RWS RBSA SAS) Neasom (Author)

'Birchensale Farm Memories in Pictures' is a book written by the artist Norman Neasom. Neasom drew much of his artistic inspiration for the farming landscape of his native Worcestershire, and after training at Birmingham College of Art, he returned to live and work at Birchensale Farm in Redditch, where he was born. The book has a short introduction to the farm, and then each page has a captioned illustration by the author of a facet of family life at Birchensale. This object was deaccessioned and reaccessioned into the University of Reading Library. Please note that this object no longer forms part of the Museum of English Rural Life collection and cannot be accessed at our institution.

Book: deaccessioned

MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'Soft-covered book 'Birchensale Farm Memories in Pictures' by Norman Neasom (1915-2010). // Published 2004. Signed by the author on inside page. // A short introduction to the farm, and then each page has a captioned illustration by the author of a facet of family life at Birchensale. // ... Purchased as part of the Collecting 20thc Rural Culture project // Mrs Brown is the artist's daughter.', Collecting 20thc Rural Culture blog [Thursday, 19 August 2010] – 'Norman Neasom watercolour, 1954 // A Fordson Major and seed drill chug their way across the red West Midlands soil in the shadow of Bredon Hill. The date is April 1954, the title is Woollas Hall, seen in the centre of the picture, and the artist was Norman Neasom (1915-2010). // Neasom drew much of his artistic inspiration from the farming landscape of his native Worcestershire. Into adulthood, and in spite of a formal training at Birmingham College of Art, he continued to live and work on Birchensale Farm just outside Redditch where he had been born. His working life after World War II was spent as an art college teacher, first in Birmigham and then Redditch. Hence the innate authenticity in Neasom's farming pictures. // Much of Birchensale Farm has since been swallowed up by outward expansion of the Redditch suburbs. The farmhouse now serves as a community centre. In his latter years, Neasom produced a number of works recalling the farm of his boyhood years.'

Birchensale Farm [Redditch]

2004 - 2004