Paintings and Illustrations of Basingstoke by Diana Stanley

Paintings and Illustrations of Basingstoke by Diana Stanley before the demolition of the old town. “It is an affectionate history of Basingstoke, in which she set out to record buildings, views and features which were to disappear, at the time of town development in the 1960s. “She took great pleasure in seeking out the beauty in the ordinary. In May 1966, she had an exhibition in the town and said: ‘Most of us are half blind to the beauty of the familiar. We see our surroundings through eyes and minds that are jaded by living.’ “She has left us with some beautiful illustrations of a particular moment in Basingstoke’s history. Diana illustrated some children’s books – notably The Borrowers series by Mary Norton and Worzel Gummidge by Barbara Euphan Todd. However, Debbie Reavell, from Basingstoke Heritage Society, said: “Her great contribution to Basingstoke is a book called Within Living Memory which she published in 1969.