“Were I forced to make a choice between books and pictures in my home, without any hesitation I would say, “Give me the books”.
This is no sudden decision, but a well-considered one. I could, if I had to, live without pictures, but without a book I might exist – but not live in the full sense of the word.
Comparison between them is odious. The arts of writing and painting are near, yet far apart. Some books, like some pictures, tell a story. The great difference is you can alter a picture that is finished, but not an edition of a book that’s printed and published. I love looking at a famous picture in a gallery like Gainsborough’s “Perdita”, but I can sit at home or anywhere and read a good book.
Without books I am lost. Never do I go to bed without a book or something to read. My house is over-full of books; they get in the way. Bookshelves are filled and smaller volumes lay in piles on the same shelves.”
Sir Alfred Munnings, The Finish 1952.
Browse & buy books by Alfred Munnings and publications by The Munnings Art Museum on our online shop: www.munningsmuseum.org.uk/product-category/books
