Clarence Bicknell

08/10/2026

Come annunciato a febbraio, le opere di Clarence Bicknell sono esposte nella mostra di acquerelli "Le Venezie" dal 17 ottobre al 1° novembre presso lo storico Palazzo dei Trecento di Treviso, vicino a Venezia. La mostra presenta circa 50 opere di Clarence Bicknell, tra cui una dozzina di acquerelli paesaggistici originali mai esposti prima al pubblico; quaderni di schizzi e diari originali che documentano i suoi viaggi; stampe di acquerelli di fiori alpini tratti dal celebre Libro dei Visitatori di Casa Fontanalba; immagini simmetriche e pagine di fantasia vittoriana provenienti dagli album del Fitzwilliam Museum dell'Università di Cambridge; e altri oggetti personali di Bicknell. L'elenco completo delle opere di Clarence Bicknell, in italiano, è disponibile all'indirizzohttps://clarencebicknell.com/wp-content/uploads/Works_by_Clarence_Bicknell_Treviso_2026.pdf

Scopri di più sulla mostra all'indirizzo https://clarencebicknell.com/clarence-bicknell-featured-in-le-venezie-watercolor-exhibition-17-oct-1-nov/

As announced in February, Clarence Bicknell’s work is featured in Le Venezie Watercolor Exhibition between 17 October and 1 November in the historical medieval City Palace Palazzo dei Trecento in Treviso near Venice, Italy. The exhibition features some 50 art works by Clarence Bicknell such as a dozen original landscape watercolours never before seen in public; original sketchbooks and diaries recording his travels; prints of water-colours of Alpine flowers from the celebrated Casa Fontanalba Visitors’ Book; symmetrical images and pages of Victorian whimsy from the albums in the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge; and other artifacts from Bicknell’s life. The list of Clarence Bicknell items, in Italian, can be seen at https://clarencebicknell.com/wp-content/uploads/Works_by_Clarence_Bicknell_Treviso_2026.pdf.

Read more about the exhibition at https://clarencebicknell.com/clarence-bicknell-featured-in-le-venezie-watercolor-exhibition-17-oct-1-nov/

29/07/2026

We got to know and respect Elizabeth Scott, Director of the Guildhall Art Gallery in 2023/4 when working on the proposed exhibition of Clarence Bicknell’s botanical art. She was very positive about him and the project and we only failed by our inability to raise the sponsorship necessary to put it on. Elizabeth has recently been interviewed for the Chinese art organization Sheng Xinyu Art https://www.shengxinyuart.com.

Read Elizabeth at https://clarencebicknell.com/elizabeth-scott-guildhall-art-gallery/

They have also interviewed Marcus Bicknell as an introduction to the exhibition of Clarence Bicknell’s botanical art which they are putting on in Treviso Italy in October. read more at https://clarencebicknell.com/clarence-bicknell-botanical-art-at-le-venezie-watercolor-festival-2026/

21/07/2026

Omaggio a Clarence Bicknell, Bordighera
July 21, 2026

Il Museo Bicknell di Bordighera si prepara a celebrare la figura del suo fondatore con un nuovo e prestigioso appuntamento culturale. Mercoledì 22 luglio 2026, alle ore 16:00, con la mostra di ritratti realizzata dall’artista e rinomato critico d’arte Marco Farotto. L’esposizione popolerà il Museo Bicknell con i ritratti dei grandi personaggi che hanno gravitato attorno al primo Museo della Liguria Occidentale. L’esposizione, intitolata ““, sarà regolarmente visitabile dal 22 luglio fino al 6 agosto 2026, nel rispetto dei consueti orari di apertura del Museo.

Marco Farotto, architetto e pittore bordigotto, sviluppa la sua ricerca figurativa documentando volti e figure della memoria cittadina, utilizzando prevalentemente la tecnica dell’olio su tela con marcati contrasti in bianco e nero. Tra le sue esposizioni dedicate alla memoria cittadina ricordiamo il ciclo “Gli amici del Giglio”, presentato presso l’omonimo storico caffè di Bordighera, “I volti del mercato coperto”, con opere esposte direttamente negli spazi della struttura annonaria cittadina e più recentemente la retrospettiva “Personaggi di ieri a Bordighera” presso gli spazi dell’ex Chiesa Anglicana.

The Bicknell Museum in Bordighera is preparing to celebrate its founder with a prestigious new cultural event. On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 4:00 PM, an exhibition of portraits created by artist and renowned art critic Marco Farotto will open. The exhibition will fill the Bicknell Museum with portraits of the notable figures who were part of the circle surrounding Western Liguria’s first museum. Titled Homage to Clarence Bicknell, the exhibition will be open to the public from July 22 to August 6, 2026, during the museum’s regular opening hours.

Marco Farotto, an architect and painter from Bordighera, focuses his artistic work on documenting the faces and figures that shape the town’s collective memory, primarily using oil on canvas with striking black-and-white contrasts. His exhibitions dedicated to local history include the “Gli amici del Giglio” (Friends of the Giglio) series, presented at the historic Bordighera café of the same name; “I volti del mercato coperto” (Faces of the Covered Market), featuring works displayed within the town’s market hall; and, more recently, the retrospective “Personaggi di ieri a Bordighera” (Figures of Bordighera’s Past) held at the former Anglican Church.

15/07/2026

Two events organised by Dssa Daniela Gandolfi, director of the Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri and the Museo Bicknell in Bordighera...

- On Friday, July 17th 2026, on the occasion of the 108th anniversary of Clarence Bicknell's death, IISL, together with the Ventimiglia Museum, is organizing the traditional excursion to Tenda, where Clarence Bicknell will be honored by Daniela before the plaque commemorating him in the local cemetery. This will be followed by a visit to the Musée des Merveilles, welcomed by Director Silvia Sandrone, a former IISL scholarship holder, and Dr. Nicoletta Bianchi;

- Wednesday, July 22nd 2026 at 4:00 PM, our "Homage to Clarence Bicknell" by local artist Marco Farotto will be inaugurated in the Bicknell Museum hall. The exhibition will feature modern portraits of Clarence and his contemporaries who frequented the Museum.

We applaud these initiative and are so pleased with the continued activities enhancing the heritage of Clarence Bicknell

07/07/2026

Good initiative by the Museo Bicknell... Discovering the Museo Bicknell

https://www.sanremonews.it/2026/07/07/leggi-notizia/argomenti/eventi-1/articolo/bordighera-al-museo-bicknell-visite-speciali-tra-tesori-nascosti-erbari-storici-e-giornali-della-b.html

If you don't read Italian then the English is at https://clarencebicknell.com/discovering_museo_bicknell/

A summer spent discovering the lesser-known treasures of the Clarence Bicknell Museum and Library. July and August 2026 mark the launch of "Discovering the Bicknell Museum," a series of guided tours dedicated to the museum's "wonders," with a special focus on special collections not usually on public display. The initiative features events scheduled for Wednesdays at 10:30 AM and Saturdays at 2:30 PM, offering visitors the chance to access collections and materials housed in the institute's storage areas and historical archives.

21/06/2026

A Savona il convegno internazionale "Save the greeen", Bucci: "Il verde è patrimonio strategico per il futuro della Liguria" - IVG.it

Il convegno "Save the Green" ha visto la partecipazione di 23 relatori tra botanici, istituzioni, università ed esperti del settore, con approfondimenti dedicati alla conservazione della natura, ai giardini storici, alla sostenibilità e alla formazione delle nuove generazioni

21/06/2026

A Savona il convegno internazionale “Save the Green”: riconoscimenti a Lady Hanbury, Marcus Bicknell e alla famiglia Ricci per la valorizzazione del patrimonio botanico - Savonanews.it

L'evento, promosso dalla Regione e organizzato in collaborazione con l’Associazione Amici dei Giardini Botanici Hanbury, si è svolto nella Sala Rossa del Palazzo Civico. Bucci: "Verde patrimonio strategico per il futuro della...

21/06/2026

20 June in Savona.

Award from the President of Liguria to me which I accepted on behalf of Clarence Bicknell. He died over 100 years ago but he is well remembered not just got his botany, archaeology, watercolours and Esperanto but TV also for his concern for the environment, his philanthropy and the cultural legacy he left behind. I am proud to do what I can to perpetuate the good he appears to have given to society in this remarkable and beautiful coast and mountains of north west Italy.

The presentations to Carolyn Hanbury (Hanbury Gardens, la Mortola), the Ricci family (Villa Pergola in Alassio) and me kicked off a half day seminar on protection of the environment called SAVE THE GREEN. I spoke, in Italian, for ten minutes as an extension of my acceptance speech. You can download and read my talk and sources at https://clarencebicknell.com/clarence-bicknell-medal-liguria/.

The prime mover is the ineffable Francesca Centurione Scotto Boschieri who is not only cultural ambassador at large for Genoa, capital of Liguria, but also President of the Friends of the Hanbury Gardens who organised the seminar. The Hanbury Gardens are owned by the Italian state and run for them by the University of Genoa under the tutelage of Prof Luigi Minuto; cultural initiatives and activities are well done by the Friends. The event benefited from the work of Alessandro Bartoli and his wife Chiara Ferrando, advisor to Savona city council.

The plaque awarded reads “The President of the Region of Liguria, Marco Bucci, to Marcus Bicknell Esq.,for the tireless work of research and promotion of the cultural heritage left by Clarence Bicknell to the Region of Liguria.
Savona, 20th June”

Savona is a sea port city 40 minutes drive West of Genoa. A monstrous cruise ship docked over night, the shore-leave tourists displacing the throngs of skimpily-clad phone- accessorised fun-seeking teenagers at the quayside bars till the early joys. Culture.

15/06/2026

Regina Margherita a Bordighera – Gisella Merello – book review

Bordighera, a beautiful town on the Italian Riviera between the French border at Menton and the bustling port of Genoa, has a rich culture and moments of grandeur. One such moment was the adoption of the town by the most scintillating member of the Italian royal family, Margherita of Savoy (1851–1926), Queen of Italy by marriage to her first cousin King Umberto I of Italy. She was the daughter of Prince Ferdinando of Savoy, Duke of Genoa, and Princess Elisabeth of Saxony, and the mother of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Although she had been visiting Bordighera from Rome since her late twenties, it was the assassination of her husband, King Umberto I in 1900, which influenced the Queen to decide to live there permanently, purchase a sublime villa and build a second one next door.

As Sabine Noelle-Wying writes in Riviera Buzz (https://riviera-buzz.com/margherita-of-savoy-bordighera/), Queen Margherita “withdrew to the Ligurian Riviera to finally find peace again. Some places merely serve as a backdrop – and then there are those rare places that become a refuge. For Margherita of Savoy, Bordighera became precisely such a sanctuary: a place of longing shaped by light, sea air, and quiet elegance. Shaken by the weight of history and searching for a new sense of balance, she discovered in Bordighera something that went far beyond mere retreat. The town became an emotional anchor.”

This captivating period in the history of the Italian royal family and of Bordighera forms the basis for a new book, entitled Regina Margherita a Bordighera – Soggiorni, incontri e memorie nel Ponente ligure (Queen Margherita in Bordighera – Sojourns, Encounters and Memories on the Western Italian Riviera) by accomplished author Gisella Merello. The book is in Italian for the most part but those of us not fluent in Italian are grateful for the excellent English summaries and image captions.

Gisella’s research is always first class and the book is terrific… both authoritative and charming in the mass of anecdotal details. I expected a well-researched and brightly-written book from my friend and colleague Gisella and that is what I find. She manages to record a lot of splendid detail but at the same time maintaining a flow of the image, majesty and importance of Queen Margherita to Bordighera and to the wider Italian nation. I was aware of the Queen of course, from being in and around Bordighera for so long, but this book helps bring her to life for me. I congratulate Gisella sincerely for a job well done. I find myself telling those interested that Gisella, besides the gift for research and writing, has the additional quality of dedication and concentration. I know when she is engaged in an importance oeuvre because she is able successfully to shut out anything that disturbs her from the task. In this way she puts the best foot forward, undertakes the task and then finishes it. This is the way by which she has been able to write so many important papers and books each in a short space of time. Her legacy is assured.

More text and photos on our web site at https://clarencebicknell.com/regina-margherita-a-bordighera-gisella-merello/