NOTEBOOKS by the Scottish geologist Sir Charles Lyell have been barred from leaving the country by arts minister Michael Ellis.
The UK minister has stopped the export of the works by the man who influenced Charles Darwin.
Sir Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875) was a key figure in the history of geology and science.
He is best known for writing the Principles of Geology, which presented the idea of uniformitarianism - the theory that changes in the earth's crust during geological history resulted from the action of continuous and uniform processes.
The 294 notebooks and manuscripts, valued at £1,444,000, contain Lyell’s conversations with fellow scientists including his transcribed correspondence with the father of evolution, Charles Darwin.
Mr Ellis said: "This archive reveals the workings of one of the most influential scientists of the last 200 years and provides us with an extraordinary insight into a time when science was changing long-held beliefs about the world.
"I hope a buyer can be found to keep the unique records of a British great in the country."
The decision to defer the export licence follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by The Arts Council.
The decision on the export licence application for the notebooks and manuscripts will be deferred until 15 July.
www.gov.uk
SCOTTISH Ballet has made the second of five wishes come true as part of the company’s 50th anniversary year.
Jemma McRae, the late owner and dance teacher at Academy Street Dance Studio in Aberdeen submitted a wish for Scottish Ballet to visit and dance in her studio, as a way of saying thank you to her students for their support during her treatment for breast cancer.
Scottish Ballet told Ms McRae in January that her wish had been granted.
Ms McRae died, aged 43, in February.
However, the staff of Academy Street Dance Studio and Scottish Ballet remained committed to making her wish come true.
Following a day of workshops with Scottish Ballet dancers, and an exclusive viewing of the Spring! dress rehearsal at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen, 85 students from Academy Street Dance Studio came together to perform a 5-minute routine from the finale of Elite Syncopations by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, to a sold-out audience of 600 friends and family at Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom.
The director of Scottish Ballet, Christopher Hampson, said: "The students worked incredibly hard, and we thoroughly enjoyed performing with them to bring this special wish to life in Aberdeen’s beautiful Beach Ballroom."
Gillian Stuart and Joanne Milne, Jemma’s friends and colleagues at Academy Street Dance Studio said: "Jemma wanted to give every pupil and every parent something spectacular to look forward to as a thank you for their continued support over the years. Jemma’s little girl Izzy and the pupils at Academy Street Dance Studio – known as Jemma’s extended family – have gained so much from this experience and are extremely privileged to dance with a wonderful company like Scottish Ballet."
www.scottishballet.co.uk/wish
AN Lanntair at Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis, is to open a new exhibition by 24 leading artists on 18 May.
The show, Palimpsest, is the result of a partnership between the Society of Scottish Artists and An Lanntair.
James Lumsden, co-curator, said: "In 2018, we launched an open call to artists to submit proposals for artwork to be included in this exhibition. We were overwhelmed by the response, not only from across Scotland but also internationally.
"The title and theme of the exhibition is Palimpsest. Throughout the medieval period, because of the commodity value of writing materials, it was common for vellum manuscripts to have the original text scraped-off and written over. With forensic and other techniques it became possible to reveal the original writing, which could be more significant than what came after.
"This idea suggests multiple possibilities for artists – from imagery which is layered, erased or re-worked to conceptual layers of thought or process and this can be seen in the diverse range of works in this exhibition."
It runs until 29 June.
www.s-s-a.org
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