Many thousands of people have attended the Fresh Air Sculpture Shows over the years wondering at the diverse works of art carefully and strategically placed around the beautiful Cotswold gardens of Quenington Old Rectory where the biennial show is held.
Lucy Abel Smith has been privileged to live in this Grade II listed house on the banks of the mill race and River Coln for over 40 years following her marriage to late husband, David in 1982.
In 1992, Lucy was approached by British arts professional and curator at Brewery Arts, Wendy Shales to host an outdoor sculpture show. Despite her husband, David working away from home and Lucy herself having become a full-time mother to her one-year-old daughter Eliza, Lucy did most of the organising and set the seed for a show that was to organically grow in size and popularity over the next 34 years.
That first show welcomed around 300 people over a long weekend. Now the show lasts for three weeks, and the 2015 Fresh Air Sculpture Show recorded an attendance of over 13,000 art lovers.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds from the Fresh Air Sculpture Show go to the Quenington Sculpture Trust charity to provide an education programme for local children and youth groups to visit museums and galleries or take part in activities designed to generate an understanding of the art and craft of sculpture; and the placement of artists in local schools and workshops.
Other sizeable grants are given to finance work experience placements and apprenticeships for young artists to learn from some of the masters in the world of sculpture, glass and wood. And still more funding in the form of bursaries has been given to artists allowing them to develop their work in directions which might otherwise have stayed unexplored.
The biennial Quenington Sculpture Show is now coming to an end with the 2026 show from Sunday June 14 to Sunday July 5 being the very last blast of Fresh Air.
Artists from each of the previous 17 shows will be attending the finale and there’ll be more pieces on display than any other year along with wonderful British artists showing their art in the glorious Rectory Pool House.
“Some artists have taken inspiration for their work from our garden,” explained Lucy. “Quenington Fresh Air is a garden of ideas and, to buy or commission a piece of art is the biggest compliment you can pay an artist. It is also a great honour for the buyer to own a piece!”
Originally from Ayrshire, Lucy has been very active in the local community, and her sense of generosity and stewardship is ever-present. “I feel so privileged to live in such a beautiful house with such a gorgeous garden and I am happy to share it.”
For 11 years, she and late husband, David held open-air Shakespeare productions in the gardens of the Cotswold-stone Rectory with the River Coln creating a natural backdrop.
The Old Rectory gardens are regularly opened to the public for the Rare Plants Sale and as part of the National Garden Scheme, extending Lucy’s belief that beauty and creativity should be shared. Lucy said: “Our garden here at the Old Rectory was one of the very first gardens that began opening its gates for the National Garden Scheme that was launched in May 1927. My mother-in-law started the tradition when she moved to the property in 1928.”
The Quenington Village Fete is also held in the Rectory grounds – this year kindly hosted by the Ernest Cook Trust that recently moved their offices to just across the road in Quenington.
Lucy, who is an art historian, has not confined her artistic interests solely to Quenington. She has been running tours for the arts in western Europe since she was 19, then into central Europe and now covers the Balkans through her company ‘Reality & Beyond’. Through this company, she organises the Transylvanian Book Festival to promote literature, music, poetry, food and politics, and knows the country so well that she’s had published a Blue Guide about one particular area of Transylvania – the Greater Tarnava Valley.
And there’s more! This incredibly vivacious and versatile lady has – for 10 years – also been President of the Gloucestershire Guild that fosters and promotes fine craftsmanship and good design.
But now the end is near, and Lucy is soon to face the final curtain for the Fresh Air Sculpture Show. But she does have future plans to continue being a Trustee for the Quenington Sculpture Trust charity to fund individual artists each year and designers concentrating on textiles in 2028, ceramics in 2029, glass in 2030 and then furniture and blacksmithing.
“I will certainly miss the buzz of the artists, meeting with the curators and getting involved with the schools,” confided Lucy. “I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of my daughter, Eliza. She attended the shows with sustained interest since she was just one year old. And my husband, David was blessed with the vision and people skills to make this a resounding success. He enjoyed each show so much – he’d always loved a party!
“I’m thrilled that Eliza, her husband, Simon and my granddaughter, Cressida will be moving in permanently later this year and will make their own memories in the house.”
Article by Chris Roberts MBE PR
