Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has visited an exhibition celebrating the artistic heritage of Sussex.
The 69-year-old royal visited Two Temple Place in Sussex on Tuesday (07.02.17) where she attended the exhibition entitled ‘Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion’, which celebrated the modern artistic heritage surrounding the English county.
Whilst there, Duchess Camilla was spotted admiring the Mae West Lips Sofa – a modern piece of furniture made into the shape of a pair of lips – which was created in 1938 by famous artist Salvador Dali and collector Edward James.
The exhibition – which is free to view – also features the work of artists such as Henry Moore and Vanessa Bell, and aims to examine why so many artists and writers were seemingly drawn to Sussex to create their works in the first half of the 20th century.
Duchess Camilla also met with Nathaniel Hepburn – who is the director of the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft – who outlined the "impact" of the county on the artists of the "surrealist movement".
He said after meeting with Camilla: "It’s great for the people to know the impact that Sussex has had on the surrealist movement – I didn’t know the extent of it, it inspired so many artists.
"It is where many of the radical innovations were happening in British art.
"From the craft community in Ditchling, the post-impressionist influence in Bloomsbury at Charleston, through to surrealism and 1930s socialism – all was happening within a few miles of each other along this coast in Sussex."
During her visit, Duchess Camilla – who is the wife of Prince Charles – tried her hand at the Japanese art of origami along with a group of school children from Ditchling primary school who were on a school trip to the exhibition.
According to the Daily Mail newspaper, Camilla sat down with the children an attempted to make a paper tulip under the guiding instructions of storyteller Josh Gaillemin.
Duchess Camilla visits Sussex art exhibition
