Where
Farley Farm House is in Chiddingly, East Sussex.
What
It is the former residence of surrealist photographer and war correspondent Lee Miller and her artist/writer husband Roland Penrose. It is also the home of the Lee Miller Archives (LMA) and the Penrose Collection, says their grand-daughter Ami Bouhassane, who is the registrar and archivist of the LMA and the curator of the Penrose Collection.
Opened
The farm opened to pre-booked tours in 2000 and to drop-in visitors in 2008. It opens on the first and third Sundays from April to October.
Collection
The Barn Gallery, a former farm storage area, has temporary exhibitions. Inside the farmhouse, there are works by Penrose, Miller and many of their artist friends who visited the house, including Man Ray, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró. Some works have become part of the house itself, such as Penrose’s painted fireplace and, above the Aga in the kitchen, a ceramic tile by Picasso.
There are thousands of photographs and documents in the LMA, which was started by Miller’s son (and Bouhassane’s father) Antony Penrose. The Penrose Collection includes works by Picasso, Bridget Riley and Richard Hamilton.
Highlights
“The mummified rat is very popular,” says Bouhassane. “It was found by Roland under the floorboards in Lee’s bedroom. He put it in his cabinet of curiosities next to a tile by Picasso. The rat has been loaned out twice on exhibition.”
Help at hand
Twelve core staff work at the farm, plus “one brave and true volunteer and several other amazing people” who guide visitors and act as gallery invigilators.
Budget
There are four strands to the venue’s business: income from visitors; reproduction rights sales; sales of Miller’s photographs; and revenue from touring exhibitions.
Sticky moment
“At the end of 2009 we discovered that the house was infested with death-watch beetles,” says Bouhassane. “We had to empty the whole house of all its artworks, treat all the woodwork and get it back into place before opening in 2010. The very large attic hadn’t been touched for 40 years. We found a suitcase of Man Ray’s and some very odd fancy dress costumes.”
Survival tip
“Have a really close-knit team that are passionate and will do almost anything,” says Bouhassane.
Visitors
2,500 in 2010.
Future plans
“To create an online database of all the works in our ethnographic and folk art collection,” says Bouhassane. The farmhouse has planning permission to redevelop its barn gallery.
www.farleyfarmhouse.co.uk
Farley Farm House is in Chiddingly, East Sussex.
What
It is the former residence of surrealist photographer and war correspondent Lee Miller and her artist/writer husband Roland Penrose. It is also the home of the Lee Miller Archives (LMA) and the Penrose Collection, says their grand-daughter Ami Bouhassane, who is the registrar and archivist of the LMA and the curator of the Penrose Collection.
Opened
The farm opened to pre-booked tours in 2000 and to drop-in visitors in 2008. It opens on the first and third Sundays from April to October.
Collection
The Barn Gallery, a former farm storage area, has temporary exhibitions. Inside the farmhouse, there are works by Penrose, Miller and many of their artist friends who visited the house, including Man Ray, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró. Some works have become part of the house itself, such as Penrose’s painted fireplace and, above the Aga in the kitchen, a ceramic tile by Picasso.
There are thousands of photographs and documents in the LMA, which was started by Miller’s son (and Bouhassane’s father) Antony Penrose. The Penrose Collection includes works by Picasso, Bridget Riley and Richard Hamilton.
Highlights
“The mummified rat is very popular,” says Bouhassane. “It was found by Roland under the floorboards in Lee’s bedroom. He put it in his cabinet of curiosities next to a tile by Picasso. The rat has been loaned out twice on exhibition.”
Help at hand
Twelve core staff work at the farm, plus “one brave and true volunteer and several other amazing people” who guide visitors and act as gallery invigilators.
Budget
There are four strands to the venue’s business: income from visitors; reproduction rights sales; sales of Miller’s photographs; and revenue from touring exhibitions.
Sticky moment
“At the end of 2009 we discovered that the house was infested with death-watch beetles,” says Bouhassane. “We had to empty the whole house of all its artworks, treat all the woodwork and get it back into place before opening in 2010. The very large attic hadn’t been touched for 40 years. We found a suitcase of Man Ray’s and some very odd fancy dress costumes.”
Survival tip
“Have a really close-knit team that are passionate and will do almost anything,” says Bouhassane.
Visitors
2,500 in 2010.
Future plans
“To create an online database of all the works in our ethnographic and folk art collection,” says Bouhassane. The farmhouse has planning permission to redevelop its barn gallery.
www.farleyfarmhouse.co.uk