Kate Catleugh, a Trustee of the De Morgan Foundation, delivered to those in attendance a fascinating talk about William and Evelyn De Morgan, and updated members on the future of the De Morgan Centre itself.

The De Morgan Foundation brings together an extensive collection of the works of William and Evelyn De Morgan and the Arts and Crafts movement, which had strong roots in the reformist movements of the 19th century - Evelyn, for example, was prominent in the campaign for women's suffrage.

The De Morgans were associated with the pre-Raphaelite movement that included artists like William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt.

Putney Labour Party donated the proceeds of the evening to the De Morgan Foundation. Pauline Brueseke, Vice Chair of Putney Labour Party, and organiser of the evening commented on its success: “We wanted to show our support for this culturally important facility and to highlight what a loss it would be if the Centre is forced to leave the borough as a result of the Council’s failure to support it. Sadly, this looks to be the case”.

Pauline went on to add “This is one of our borough's less well-known gems; and given the council's ridiculous plans for reorganisation of Wandsworth Museum, which include West Hill Library, the fate of the Centre cannot be certain, so do show your support, visit the Centre, enjoy some of the exquisite paintings and ceramics on display and learn more about this remarkable couple and the movement they were involved in.”

Stuart King, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Putney added “we were all extremely impressed with the exhibition and take our hats off to the sterling effort undertaken by the curator and trustees. I really hope the council will now adopt a more realistic approach to its dealings with the Centre and help keep this fantastic resource within the borough.”

November 8, 2007