Published in the British Art Journal, IV, 2, Summer 2003
Results for search of category: 20th century British art
John Craxton at Bonham’s
Bonham’s in New Bond Street (the old Phillips) has a small exhibition of works by John Craxton in the room leading to the sale rooms. This is worth seeing as it contains loans from the estate of works which are not easily seen otherwise. The particularly nice thing about the show (and the works are not for sale) is that [Read More…]
Peter Watson,Richard Hamilton and Adrian Berg
In the early 1950’s, Peter Watson was heavily involved with the developing ICA. Although he was to die in 1956, he just had time to connect with one or two artists who are, or who were until very recently, still alive. An example was Richard Hamilton, who died not long ago. I spoke to him earlier in the year and [Read More…]
Robert Colquhoun
Went to an excellent lecture last night at the Fleming Collection, given by Davy Brown. He is the source of a great deal of knowledge about Colquhoun and has a large collection of his work. The interesting thing was his emphasis of the monotypes.From the early 1950’s until his death in 1962 at the age of 47, Colquhoun painted few [Read More…]
Stanley Spencer in Rotterdam/Francis Bacon in the Hague
Went at the weekend to the Kunsthal in Rotterdam,where there is a splendid new Spencer show.There are a large number of Spencers on display and also an attempt to contextualise the work by including work by many other contemporary British artists.So it turns into a wider review of the British art scene of the period,particularly of his early years.I can [Read More…]
Art in Northern Ireland (3)
The Ulster Museum in Belfast has a fine collection of 20th century British art,which is well worth seeing,especially for the English tourist who will find works by these artists rare in England.There are,for example,astonishing works by the great John Luke (1906-1975).There is also a small sculpture section,including a major piece by Henry Moore. Across the road from the Museum is [Read More…]
Art in Northern Ireland (2)
The exhibition of Irish Surrealist Art at the FE McWilliam Gallery in Banbridge had a variety of interesting pictures. I want to mention two. Ralph Cusack (1912-1965) is an artist whose work one will wait a long time before glimpsing. It very rarely comes through the saleroom. He is a curiosity rather than a substantive artist,perhaps. Readers may know something [Read More…]
Art in Northern Ireland (1)
It is a theme of mine that the London art world has shamefully ignored the achievements of the group of mid-century artists who came out of Northern Ireland and it is high time they got their just deserts in terms of UK recognition. This group is probably led by Gerard Dillon, but there are strong claims to importance from the [Read More…]
Stanley Spencer at Compton Verney
Compton Verney in Warwickshire is really proving a tremendous attraction for anyone interested in 20th C British art.Now there is a fascinating show of Spencer’s landscape art.One never sees these pictures together,although occasionally the odd one passes through the sale rooms.They don’t make such enormous prices as the more “typical” Spencers,such as the ones sold at the sale of Wilfrid [Read More…]
Marie-Louise Pierrepont,Countess Manvers
To Thoresby in Nottinghamshire,ancestral home of the Pierrepont family,now a hotel.In the Stables an exhibition of the work of the last countess,who died in 1984 aged 95.She had trained in Paris at the Academie Julian and was clearly competent,particularly in chalk and pencil.I remember walking round the house when Sotheby’s sold the contents in 1989 and seeing many works by [Read More…]