Exhibitions

'The British Alps' Exhibition Opens November 2022

Award-winning artist Helen G S Forde brings her latest exhibition ‘The British Alps’ to the Alpine Club. The show is an exploration of the Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Skye, perhaps the most iconic mountain range in Britain and one with which Helen has a deep, personal connection.

‘The British Alps’ details this remarkable mountain landscape; from the rock architecture of the ridge itself to the deep cut valleys and green lochs that surround it. In oil and charcoal, ink, pen and watercolour, Helen’s work evokes a sense of place and offers an insight into the individuals who have made history amongst the gabbro and basalt.

Featured in the exhibition is Dr J. Norman Collie, President of the Alpine Club from 1920 to 1923, and a climber who had an abiding relationship with the Cuillin. Collie discovered climbing in the range when, aged 17, he came to Skye on a fishing trip and made an ascent of Am Basteir with local man John Mackenzie. He would return many times, pioneering new routes alongside Mackenzie with whom he became firm friends.

_{^{Dr J Norman Collie - Sligachan. Inks, Brush & Pen}}

^{_{The Inaccessible Pinnacle. Charcoal & Oil}}

Another figure who left his mark on “The British Alps” is Helen’s father Woodhurst Edward Forde who, with Ian Charleson, made the first ascent of The Greater Traverse of the Cuillin in 1939. Writing in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal, Charleson recalled:

“Beneath us the Island of Soay stood out like a map in bas-relief. We could dimly discern, too, many of the islands of the Inner Hebrides. At this point Forde burst into song, possibly in his enthusiasm for this unparalleled scene. I followed his example, and in very good spirits we proceeded along the ridge…We had our first meal at the foot of King's Chimney, after which pleasant interlude I had the pleasure of watching Forde leading this steep climb with the same effortless ease that I had admired on many previous occasions.”

^{_{Winter - Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. Oil on canvass}}

_{^{Am Basteir. Watercolours & Ink}}

“When I climb the King’s Chimney using the same hand and footholds as my Father, I experience a range of strong emotions. I have tried to engender these emotions and feelings into the heart of the works throughout this exhibition.”

Helen G S Forde

‘The British Alps’ will run from 15 November 2022 to 31 January 2023 at the Alpine Club’s premises of 55 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3QF and will be open from 12:00 – 17:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Visitors are encouraged to book in advance by contacting the Alpine Club Office on 02076130755 or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Please Note: The Alpine Club will be closed from 19 December to 02 January inclusive and the exhibition will be closed to visitors during this period.

You can see a full collection of the works on display here.

'The British Alps' Exhibition - Featured Works

Artists Helen G S Forde, brings her exhibition 'The British Alps', an artistic exploration of the Cuillin Ridge, to the Alpine Club's Charlotte Road premises. The exhibition is open to visitors on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between the hours of 12:00 and 17:00 and will run from 15 November 2022 to 31 January 2023. Further details of how to visit the exhibition are available here.

For those who are unable to attend the exhibition in person all of the pieces from the 'The British Alps' are available to view below.

^{'Cuillin of Skye in the Rain'}

^{Medium: Watercolours}

^£1,400

^{'Pinncle Ridge - Skye'}

^{Medium: Watercolours and Gouache}

^£1,600

^{'Collie's Ledge - Sketch'}

^{Medium: Pastels & Charcoal}

^£1,900

^{'Collie's Ledge'}

^{Medium: Pastels & Charcoal}

^{£2,200 SOLD}

^{'Evening Sunset in February'}

^{Medium: Oil on Canvas}

^£1,900

^{'Winter - Sgurr Mhic Choinnich'}

^{Medium: Oil on Canvas}

^£1,900

^{'South Ridge of Blaven in February'}

^{Medium: Oil on Canvas}

^£3,200

^{'The An Stac Screes'
Medium: Pastels and Charcoal}

^£1,400

^{'The Cuillin Ridge - Mid-summer'}

^{Medium: Oil on Canvas}

^£780

^{'An Teallach - Silent mountain - Beating wings'}

^{Medium: Oil on Canvas}

^£2,800

^{'Dr J Norman Collie}^{Former President of the Alpine Club'}

^{Medium: Pencil}

^£290

^{'The Inaccessible Pinnacle'}

^{Charcoal/Oil on Canvas}

^£2,400

^{'Dr J Norman Collie}^{Professor of Chemistry'}

^{Medium: Pencil}

^£580

^{'Dr J Norman Collie}^{Outside the Slighahan Hotel in Skye, 1942'}^{(Two months before his death, the beloved Cuillin etched across his face).}

^{Medium: Inks, Brush and Pen}

^£780

^{'Self-portrait, Black - 2020'
Medium: Inks & Brush}

^{Not For Sale}

^{'The West Ridge of Sgurr nan Gillean'}^{(Showing the 'Gendarme' which collapsed in 1987 after frost or lighting, this being as Norman Collie and John Mackenzie would have remembered the ridge).}^{Charcoal/Pastel & Watercolours}

^£1,500

^{'Loch Coruisk - The Sea Beyond'}

^{Medium: Watercolours}

^£2,400

_{'Loch Coruisk - Sketch'}

_{Medium: Inks and Watercolours.}

_£480_SOLD

^{'Marsco - Skye'}

^{Medium: Watercolours and Ink}

^£580

^{'The Black Cuillin'}

^{Medium: Watercolours and Ink.}

^£390

^{'Am Basteir'}

^{Medium: Watercolours and Ink}

^£1,400

^{'The Blue Cuillin'}

^{Medium: Watercolours}

^£450^SOLD

^{'Sgurr na Coinnich from Glen Arroch'}

^{Medium: Pastel and Watercolours}

^£690

^{'Self-portrait, Pink - 2020'
Medium: Conte Pencil and Pastel
Not For Sale}

A full breakdown of the works, including framing details and prices can be seen here.

To contact the artist for sales please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 07765401615.

AC Exhibition Transfers to Slovenia's Planinski Museum

Our Cenetennial Celebration Exhibition - 'Everest - By those who were there 1921, 1922, 1924' is on display at the Planinski Museum, Mojstrana, Slovenia, through December 2022. The exhibition catalogue has been translated into Slovenian alongside the Engish text, with all the images and maps. Anyone travelling to Slovenia can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for opening hours and further information.

A display board from the Planinski museum showing photographs and details from the 1922 expedition.

A display board from the Planinski exhibition with a discussion of the final attempt on the summit of Everest by Mallory and Irvine in 1924.

The full displays, in Slovene and English, can be accessed as pdf files via the links below:

Introductory Display

1921 Expedition Display

1922 and 1924 Expeditions Display

Expedition Equipment Display

Expedition Photographs Display

Everest Panorama

‘A Wider Landscape’ Examines Mountains through the Female Gaze

The Alpine Club is pleased to announce that 'A Wider Landscape', a group show featuring works from the Alpine Club collection and seven contemporary artists, will open at Charlotte Road on 13 September.

A graphic displaying strips of works by the featured artists above text reading: 'A Wider Landscape'

‘A Wider Landscape’ looks at mountains through a female gaze, reinterpreting the Alpine Club’s renowned collection in an inclusive and modern light. The exhibition displays a wide array of mediums and styles, showing how women engage with mountain landscapes and how personal safety for women in remote landscapes affects their work. Through the interplay of contemporary and historic pieces, the exhibition explores the myriad ways that female artists see, think and fantasize about mountains.

Exhibition curator and featured artist Polly Townsend says of the exhibition:

“Women are still vastly underrepresented in galleries and collections worldwide and even more so in landscape work. This exhibition is a small attempt to address this disparity, but it is also a series of conversations between the artists, the artwork and each other – a conversation about authority, beauty and what it is to interact with the mountains.”

The contemporary artists featured in the exhibition are Zoe Benbow, Serena Curmi, Janet Johnson, Jenny Pockley, Lisa Rigg, Emma Stibbon and Polly Townsend.

A mountain skyline, painted with flashes of bright colour to show the play of light on the landscape

^{'Save the Day' by Polly Townsend}

A golden woman lies naked in a classical artistic pose in front of a blue/green lake in which is a black swan and behind which is a mountain skyline with patches of snow.

^{'Lucia and the Black Swan' by Lisa Rigg}

The careful outline of a mountain is depicted in multiple small strokes as the open, lighter expanse in the front of the image seems to pass to the back of the frame, becoming the small lineof a path as it vanishes over the horizon

^{'Mountainway' by Serena Curmi}

The exhibition can be visited at the Alpine Club's Charlotte Road premises on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between the hours of 12:00 and 17:00 until the 10 November.

Booking ahead is encouraged and viewings outside of official opening hours may be accommodated on request. To arrange your visit, please contact the Alpine Club Office on 02076130755 or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

There will be an Opening Reception at the exhibition from 18:00 – 19:30 on the 13 September.

Exhibitions

'The British Alps' Exhibition Opens November 2022

'The British Alps' Exhibition Opens November 2022

'The British Alps' Exhibition - Featured Works

AC Exhibition Transfers to Slovenia's Planinski Museum

‘A Wider Landscape’ Examines Mountains through the Female Gaze

‘A Wider Landscape’ Examines Mountains through the Female Gaze

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