SCHOOL VISITSIt is possible to book a visit to Ted Coney's Family Portraits by school groups and to arrange a bespoke tour to suit your requirements. As the house can accommodate about 10-15 students at a time, one could combine the trip with a visit to the Babylon Gallery, which is very close by. For more information on the Babylon Gallery click below 
Tour themes Birth, Marriage, Divorce and DeathThese important aspects of family life have always been recorded. This tour looks at the most significant, so far!
JourneysReal journeys can be taken, as way of commenting on family life. Sometimes, the journey symbolises a significant moment. Occasionally, the journey represented in the painting may be a metaphor for something else, without even having to make the excursion!
This tour looks at different sorts of journeys.
TimeTime has always played an important part in the work. Looking back, recording the passing of time, the present, or sometimes looking forward. A sequence of canvases or images are often used to show this more clearly. The tour will focus at a group of paintings were Time is used in different ways.
Puppets And DollsPuppets and dolls are often used in the work because – - They can often evoke something about a person more effectively , rather than the image of person themselves.
- Taking something banal and childlike and giving it other meanings can often be effective.
- They can suggest something about an era they were performed or used in.
This tour looks at how different puppets and dolls are used in the paintings.
AnniversariesAnniversaries are usually very important to any family and there is a need to mark them in some way. This tour looks at a group of paintings which shows how different events have been recorded.
Objects as SymbolsOnly in the early paintings, are actual people used, for portraits of the family. Later, objects are supplemented to represent them or their lives, or to put more difficult and sensitive ideas across. This tour looks at how the family have gradually become to be represented by other symbols.
Sense of PlacePlaces have always been important, mainly because of the people, usually the family, that are associated with them. This can be places that have been lived in, or places stayed in, on a regular basis.
Also, the idea that everyone in the family has their ‘place’ within the group is something else which has been explored. This tour looks at all aspects.
Figurative vs. AbstractThe early work was always figurative, that is, clearly seen figures or objects and places.Although observed from real things in the first instance, the images will now sometimes be abstracted (that is, a section taken out of context) or the motif will be suggested in a soft focus way. The tour looks at the reasons why different formats are chosen.
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