Dunshay Manor | Purbeck | Dorset

An unusual interiors photoshoot. My good friend and artist Toby Wiggins wanted a memory of his studio at Dunshay Manor after the Landmark Trust took over the property and he was asked to leave.

A beautiful North facing artist’s studio, it was originally built for the artist George Spencer Watson. Later it was taken over by his daughter the equally famous sculptress, Mary Spencer Watson. It is a well worn work space, where many people have sat, talked, been studied and transformed into art. If only the walls could speak, they would no doubt have many intriguing stories to tell.

It was beautiful to shoot. I didn’t want to do any styling as many of the items hadn’t been moved for years and it felt right to keep that sense of time in the photos. This was a nostalgic job, not without a sense of sadness that this well loved studio would soon be without an artist for the first time in many decades.

Toby Wiggins