President Alan opened the meeting by inducting a new member, Mike Hendry sponsored by Frank Kelly. Mike is a retired radiologist living in Bridge of Allan with his wife Christine.
Our speaker was one of our own members Ian Milton whose topic was, getting closer to Vincent. His encounter with Vincent van Gogh occurred during a holiday in Holland organized by his wife Ann, strictly no golf clubs to be taken! They have a Dutch son in law and were based in Groenigen with the main aim of a visit to the Kroller-Muller gallery which houses 11,500 items, including many impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, in particular the second largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, the largest being at the Van Gogh gallery in Amsterdam. Ian had taken a systematic approach to the wide variety of art on show favouring the impressionists and Vincent van Gogh, but struggling a little with Picasso and Braque. He also gave an account of the colourful life of Vincent van Gogh, from his early days as an unsuccessful art dealer to the dramatic events at Arles, the cutting off of his left ear, his voluntary year long stay in a mental hospital at St Remy and his eventual suicide. His talk was accompanied by an extensive series of illustrations.
The vote of thanks was given by Sandy Leven.
Next meeting, Speaker’s host Sandy Morrison, Visitor's host David
Paterson. More info at www.stirling .rotary1010 .org
Ian Richardson