What to see this week:
Volcanoes at the Bodleian’s Weston Library, Oxford, until May 21 (01865 277094; www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk) Encounters with volcanoes, from a medieval description of smoking Icelandic peaks, witnessed by St Brendan, to Isabella Bird’s Hawaiian observations in 1872. Ash samples, maps, livid paintings, a fragment of charred scroll from Herculaneum and much else besides: don’t miss this small, but fascinating, show curated by volcanologist Prof David Pyle. Volcanoes: Encounters through the Ages is published by Bodleian Library (£20)
A Casket of Pearls: Celebrating Twenty Years of Collecting is at Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Morrab Road, Penzance, Cornwall, until June 3 (www.penleehouse.org.uk; 01736 363625) Best known for its paintings by the Newlyn School of painters, this significant regional museum/gallery also has good collections of 19th- and 20th-century British fine and decorative arts, photography and archaeological artefacts. The exhibition shows how the collection has developed over the two decades since Penlee House underwent its major refurbishment and extension.
Transferences: Sidney Nolan in Britain
is at Pallant House Gallery, 9, North Pallant, Chichester, West Sussex, from February 18 to June 4 (01243 774557; www.pallant.org.uk) The first major show in the UK’S programme to celebrate the centenary of the Australian Sidney Nolan (1917–92), a leading international figure in 20thcentury art (www.sidneynolantrust.org). Focusing on themes that preoccupied him while living and working in Britain (from 1953)—and showing how he incorporated European influences into his Australian subjects—the exhibition will include the famous images of Ned Kelly and a display of his set designs and costumes for the Royal Ballet.