“Lcñ at hâ artists hv trnsformd significnt ivnts intu pêntñz n artwrcs ɖt incurij s t rflct on âr ôn plês in histri”
Gavin Hamilton: Agrippina Landing at Brindisium with the Ashes of Germanicus, 1765-72. Oil on canvas, 1825 x 2560 mm
John Minton: The Death of Nelson, 1952. Oil on canvas, Royal College of Art
Allen Jones: The Battle of Hastings, 1961-2. Oil on canvas, 1829 x 1829 mm
Richard Eurich: The Landing at Dieppe, 19 August 1942, 1942-3. Oil on wood, 1219 x 1753 mm
Richard Hamilton: The Citizen, 1981-3. Oil on canvas. Tate
Jeremy Deller: Jacket from The Battle of Orgreave Archive (An Injury to one is an Injury to All), 2001. Wall painting, paint on fibreboard, vinyl text, map, books, jacket, shield, printed papers, 2 videos and audio video, projection, colour and sound, 62 mins
Dexter Dalwood: The Poll Tax Riots (detail), 2005
Guardian: “Allen Jones’ The Battle of Hastings, 1961-2, juxtaposed with Philip James de Loutherbourg’s The Battle of the Nile, 1800. Photograph: Guy Bell/REX Shutterstock”
“Born in Caslfd, West Ywcšr, Henri Mur (1898–1986) z wn v ɖ most impwtnt artists v ɖ 20ʈ senčri. Đs mêjr xibišn, in c̣laḅrešn wɖ Ɖ Henri Mur Fândešn, têcs a freš aproč t Mur’z wrc bî cnsidrñ hiz pṛfând rlešnšp wɖ land, wč wz funḍmntl t hiz practis n fyld hiz vižl vcabylri.”
Ɖ mistri v ẇt z undr ɖ šrâd z smẇt acin t ɖ mistri in powtri. It z ɖs eḷmnt v ɖ uņon ɖt fasinets m in cevz n ɖ houlz in ɖ sîdz v hilz – y d’nt nô ẇt z ɖr untl y lc n xplor intu ɖm. Mistri plez a lj n inlîvnñ pāt in âr lîvz; nt nwñ bt wntñ t nô, wundrñ n gesñ, qesčnñ n xplorñ. (Henri Mur, 1974)
A fândñ pêtṛn v YSP, Mur wz cmitd t šowñ hiz wrc in ɖ ôpn er, n in ɖ rolñ hilz v ɖ fwmr Dírpāc in ptklr.
Ɖ xibišn nt onli xplorz ɖ ātist’s radicl nošn v plêsñ sculpčr in ɖ landscep – lj-scêl sculpčrz grīt ɖ vizitr on arîvl at ɖ Pāc n r dspled agnst ɖ bytifl n historic visṭz v ɖ Boʈīgādn – bt ɖ impwtns v ŕʈ in Mur’z crietv ʈncñ. Āčroc, Îsbrg, Roci Landscep n nymṛs uɖr drōñz, sm rerli sīn in public, alñ wɖ a renj v sculpčrz xplorñ scêl n ɖ inṭple btwn intrnl n xtrnl spêsz, emfsîz ɖ ātist’s constnt invstigešn v land, fṛm ɖ blac colsìmz v hiz homtân n ɖ rič jioḷji v Britn, t ɖ mistcl ênčnt fwmz v Stônhenj.
Ɖ xibišn olso priznts an oṗtyṇti t xplor ɖ man bhnd ɖ practis wɖ a cerfli ṣlctd dsple v prsnl āṭfacts, nôts, scečz n fôṭgrafs, kretd in c̣laḅrešn wɖ ɖ ātist’s dwtr, Mẹri Mur.
“Ɖs z ɖ frst xibiśn in Britn dvotd t sōltd-pepr prints, wn v ɖ rliist formz v ftogṛfi. A ynīcli Britiś invnśn, unveild bî Wiłm Henri Fox Tōlbt in 1839, sōltprints spred acrs ɖ glob, crietñ a ny viźl lanḡj v ɖ modn momnt.
Ɖs reṿluśnri tecnīc trnsformd subjicts fṛm stiļîfs, portrits, lansceps n sīnz v dêli lîf intu imijz wɖ ɖer ǒn sṗsific isʈetic: a soft, l’x́urı̣s ifct ptklr t ɖs foṭgrafic proses.
Ɖ fy sōltprints ɖt svîv r sldm sīn dy t ɖer fṛjiḷti, n so ɖs xibiśn, a c’laḅreśn wɖ ɖ Wilsn Sentr fr Ftogṛfi, z a snğlr oṗtyṇti t si ɖ rẹrist n bst rli foṭgrafs v ɖs tîp in ɖ wrld.
Orġnîzd in c’laḅreśn wɖ ɖ Wilsn Sentr fr Ftogṛfi.
Kretd bî Caṛl Jac̣bi, Kretr v Britiś Art 1850–1915, Sîmn Bêcr, Kretr, Ftogṛfi Inṭnaśnl Art, Caṛlîn Cōbo-Parsnz, Asistnt Kretr 1850-1915 n Hana Laynz, Asistnt Kretr 1850–1915.”
‘The Great Elm at Lacock’, 1843–45, by William Henry Fox Talbot
“Ɖs mêjr xibišn rīynîts ol ɖ svîvñ drōñz fṛm ɖ Wičz n Old Wimin Albm fr ɖ frst tîm, ofrñ a fasinetñ n inlîtnñ vy v a vri prîvt n prsnl Goia.
Drwn in ɖ last decêd v hiz lîf, ɖ albm wz nvr ment t b sīn bynd a sml srcl v frendz. Goia gev fri rein t hiz crı̣tiṿti, invntñ xtrōdnri imijz ɖt renj fṛm ɖ hymṛs t ɖ sinistr n ɖ mcābra.
In ɖs xibišn vizitrz r invîtd t dscuvr ɖ prîvt wrld v Goia’z bândls imajinešn, xprest ʈru vižnz n nîtmerz, sūṗstišnz, n ɖ probḷmz v old êj. Abv ol, ɖ drōñz rvil Goia’z peṇtretñ obẓvešn v hymn nêčr: âr firz, wīcṇsz n dzîrz.”
Robert MacBryde: Portrait of Robert Colquhoun, 1939 | Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
Robert MacBryde: Red and Black Still Life. Oil on canvas, 90 x 156 cm. Collection: Collection of Original Works for Children in Cambridgeshire
Still Life with Mandolin, by Robert MacBryde, 1943. Oil on canvas, 52 x 77.5 cm. British Council Collection
Woman with Paper Flowers, by Robert MacBryde, 1944. Oil on canvas, 53.3 x 70.5 cm. Tate
Robert MacBryde: The Chess Player, 1944. Oil on canvas, 76.2 x 51.3 cm. National Galleries of Scotland
Robert MacBryde: Woman with Cantaloupe, c.1945. Oil on canvas, 126 x 62 cm. Manchester City Galleries
Table with Objects No.1, by Robert MacBryde, 1946. Oil on panel, 58 x 46 cm. British Council Collection
Robert MacBryde: Still Life, c.1947. Oil on canvas, 41.5 x 87 cm. National Galleries of Scotland
Robert MacBryde: Still Life with Basket, 1948. Oil on canvas, 50 x 60 cm. British Council Collection
Still Life with Cucumber, by Robert MacBryde, 1948. Oil on canvas, 38.6 x 53.8 cm. National Galleries of Scotland
Robert MacBryde, Two Women Sewing, c.1948. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Robert MacBryde: Still Life: Fish on a pedestal table, c.1950. Oil on canvas, 61.3 x 50.9 cm. National Galleries of Scotland
“Ɖs mêjr xibišn xplorz ɖ wrc v ɖ Scotiš ātists Robt McBrîd n Robt Chūn or Ɖ Tu Robts, az ɖe wr nôn. Frendz v Fransis Bêcn n Lūšn Frýd, ɖe tc ɖ Lundn ātwrld bî stwm in ɖ 1940z, wɖ sel-ât xibišnz v ɖer pêntñz, bt bî ɖ 1960z ɖer pzišn az tu v ɖ cuntri’z most seḷbretd ātists hd bn iclipst, n ɖs z ɖ frst mêjr retṛspectv dvotd t ɖer wrc.
Robt McBrîd wz born in Mêbol in Eršr in 1913, Chūn in Cilmāṇc in 1914. Fṛm pur, wrcñclas bacgrândz, ɖe met at Glazgo Scūl v Āt in 1933, n sn bcem luvrz. In 1941 ɖe muvd t Lundn ẇr ɖe bcem pāt v ɖ seḷbretd Sôho set ɖt includd ātists sč az Bêcn, Cīʈ Vōn n Jon Craxtn, n ɖ powts Diḷn Toṃs n Jwj Bācr. Chūn spešlîzd in figrpêntñ, McBrîd in stiļîf. Hād drncñ, voḷtîl n uncompṛmîzñ, ɖer lîvz wr az pašṇt n cmpelñ az ɖer āt.
The Two Roberts: Colquhoun and McBryde, 1937-8, by Ian Fleming. Oil on canvas, 102 x 127.2 cm. The Glasgow School of Art
Ɖ Lfevra Gaḷri on Bondstrīt held a strñ v sxesfl šoz v ɖer wrc; ɖ Myziym v Modn Āt in Ny Ywc n ɖ Têt aqîrd pêntñz. Bî 1950 ɖe wr amñ ɖ most fems ātists wrcñ in Britn. Bt az abstraẋn bcem ɖ dominnt fws in Yṛpiyn āt in ɖ lêt 1950z, n az ɖer drncñ incrist, so ɖer popylaṛti sufrd. Chūn dîd penils in 1962, êjd jst 47; McBrîd wz noct ovr bî a car n dîd in 1966. Fy ātists hv caṭpultd t ṣlebṛti or dsndd intu obskṛti so swiftli: ɖer rmāc̣bl c̣rirz lastd scersli twenti yirz.”
Robert Colquhoun: Portrait of Robert MacBryde, 1939 | Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
Artist, Self Portrait. Robert Colquhoun, c.1940. Oil on canvas, 41 x 33 cm. National Galleries of Scotland
Robert Colquhoun: Encounter, 1942. Oil on canvas, 97.5 x 47 cm. Glasgow Museums
Robert Colquhoun: Actors on a Stage, 1945 | Private Collection
Weaving Army Cloth, by Robert Colquhoun, 1945. Oil on canvas, 75.5 x 101.5 cm. British Council Collection
Robert Colquhoun: The Whistle Seller,1945 | Private Collection
The Fortune Teller. Robert Colquhoun. 1946. Oil on canvas, 126.4 x 80.6 cm. Tate
Woman with a Birdcage, by Robert Colquhoun, c.1946. Oil on canvas, 101.5 x 74 cm. Bradford Museums and Galleries
The Students. Robert Colquhoun, 1947. Oil on canvas, 77.5 x 61 cm. British Council Collection
The Spectators. Robert Colquhoun, 1949. Oil on canvas, 126 x 89 cm. New College, University of Oxford
Figures in a Farmyard. Robert Colquhoun. 1953. Oil on canvas, 185.4 x 143.5 cm. National Galleries of Scotland
Robert Colquhoun. Oil on canvas, 91.4 x 60.9 cm. Leeds Museums and Galleries
Dancers Rehearsing, by Robert Colquhoun, 1958. Oil on canvas, 152 x 121 cm. The Fitzwilliam Museum
Cold Dark Matter (An Exploded View), 1991. Photo: David Levene
“Ɖ Ẇitẉʈ riôpnd on 14 Febrri 2015 wɖ a mêjr sôlo xibišn fṛm wn v Britn’z most aclemd cntemprri ātists, Cwnīlia Pācr – n hr wrc invîts y t witṇs ɖ trnsfmešn v ōdnri objcts intu smʈñ cmpelñ n xtrōdnri.
It z an xtnsv xibišn, wn ɖt fīčrz a wîd renj v wrc md jrñ Pācr’z c̣rir, fṛm hr sigṇčr pìs Cold Dāc Matr: An Xplodd Vy (1991) alñsd tu impwtnt ny cmišnz n mni uɖr ny wrcs.
Ahd v hr ny Ẇitẉʈ xibišn, Cwnīlia Pācr wrct clôsli wɖ sayntists at ɖ Ynivrṣti v Mančestr, most nôṭbli Costia Novozelov, hu, wɖ Andre Gem, wz awōdd ɖ Nôbel Prîz fr ɖ dscuvri v grafīn – ɖ wrld’z ʈinist n strongist mtirı̣l. Wrcñ wɖ gaḷrīstaf, Novozelov tc mîcṛscopc samplz v grafît fṛm drōñz in ɖ Ẇitẉʈ’s c̣lẋn bî Wiłm Blêc, Trnr, Cunsṭbl n Picaso, az wel az a penṣl-ritn letr bî Sr Ŕnist Ruɖ̇fd (hu split ɖ atm in Mančestr). H ɖen md grafīn fṛm ɖz samplz, wn v ẇč Pācr hz md intu a wrc v āt t māc ɖ ôpnñ v ɖ gaḷri n xibišn. A Blêc-grafīn sensr, activetd bî ɖ breʈ v a fizisist, set of a fîrwrc dsple ẇč rtrnd aynmītı̣rît intu ɖ Mančestr scî. Ɖs mītioršâr wz a spectaklr ôpnñ t ɖ ny Ẇitẉʈ.”
Carolus-Duran, 1879. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts (photo by Michael Agee).
Ramón Subercaseaux, c.1880. The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee
‘Édouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron’ (1881)
Dr. Pozzi at Home 1881. Oil on canvas. 79 3/8 x 40 1/4 in. (201.6 x 102.2 cm). The Armand Hammer Collection
Robert Louis Stevenson and His Wife, by John Singer Sargent, 1885. Photograph: Dwight Primiano/NPG
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-6
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1887. Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio
‘Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood’, 1888
Paul Helleu sketching with his wife (An Out-of-Doors Study), 1889. Brooklyn Museum of Art
La Carmencita, 1890. Paris, Musée d’Orsay
W. Graham Robertson,1894
An Artist in His Studio, 1904. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Group with Parasols, c.1904-5. Private Collection
Henry James, 1913
“Jon Sñr Sājnt (1856-1925) wz ɖ grtst pwtritpêntr v hiz jeṇrešn. Aclemd on bʈ sîdz v ɖ Atlantc, h wz clôsli cnctd t mni v ɖ uɖr līdñ ātists, raitrz, actrz n myzišnz v ɖ tîm. Hiz pwtrits v ɖz frendz n cntmprriz, includñ Ōgūst Rodĩ, Clwd Mone n Robt Lui Stīvnsn, wr rerli cmišnd n alaud hm t criet mr intiṃt n xperimntl wrcs ɖn wz psbl in hiz fwml pwtričr.
Ɖs mêjr xibišn v ovr sevnti pwtrits spanz Sājnt’s tîm in Lundn, Paris, Bostn n Ny Ywc az wel az hiz travlz in ɖ Itałn n Ñgliš cuntrīsîd. Impwtnt lounz fṛm gaḷriz n prîvt c̣lẋnz in Yṛp n America mc ɖs an unmiṣbl oṗtyṇti t dscuvr ɖ ātist’s most dẹrñ, prsnl n dstnctv pwtrits.
PARIS, 1874-1885
Born in Floṛns in 1856 t an xpatrı̣t Americn cupl, Jon Sñr Sājnt spent hiz fwṃtv yirz turñ Yṛpiyn sitiz n rzwts. On dsîdñ t studi pêntñ in Paris, h inrold at ɖ École des Beaux Arts in 1874 ẇl simlteňsli dveḷpñ hiz briłnt gifts az a pêntr undr ɖ tīčñ v Carolūs-Dŭrã, a fašṇbl Frenč pwtritist.
Sājnt wz at īz in ɖ wrld v Paris stydioz n fwmd frendšps wɖ a wîd renj v Frenč ātists n felo xpatrı̣ts. Wn v hiz clôsist frendz wz Pwl Êlu, ɖ eḷgnt pêntr n ečr v ɖ bômõd. H sōt ât Clwd Mone, hu wd rmen a lîfloñ frend v bʈ men, n Ōgūst Rodĩ, a tîtn v ɖ Frenč ātwrld. Sājnt wz xpšnli wîdli réd, ispešli in ɖ Frenč clasics, bt olso in cntmprri litṛčr.
An ŕli pêtṛn, ɖ Frenč plêrît Edwād Pîerõ, cmišnd pwtrits v hmslf, hiz wîf n hiz čildṛn, fr ẇč Sājnt wz cmperd t Von Dêc. Ɖ ātist wz a giftd piynist n a pašṇt myzicoḷjist. Hiz moḍnist cridnšlz wr demnstretd bî hiz admirešn fr ɖ myzic v Ričd Vāgṇr, n olso bî hiz inʈyziastc rspons t Spaniš myzic n dans, ẇč inspîrd fḷmnco picčrz n pwtrits.
BRWDWE, 1885-1889
Sājnt’s mastrpìs, Cānešn, Lili, Lili, Rôz, wz pêntd ẇn h wz btwn lîf in Paris n Lundn (1885-6). Ɖ ātist’s dsižn t muv rezidns fṛm wn t ɖ uɖr cem at a tîm v crîsis, ẇn hiz c̣rir wz in jeṗdi aftr hiz pṛvoc̣tv pwtrit v Madam X (Madam Pier Gôtro) cōzd a scandl at ɖ Paris Ṣlon in 1884. H fând solis in ɖ Anglo-Americn coḷni v ātists n raitrz in ɖ Cotswold vilij v Brwdwe, ẇč includd ɖ Americn ātists Franc Milit n Edwin Ostin Abi, ɖ Ñgliš iḷstretr Fred Bānād, n ɖ raitrz Henri Jêmz n Edṃnd Gos. Hir h pêntd hiz fems gādnpicčr, a cnstructd sìn yzñ ɖ Bānād dwtrz az modlz, n pwtrits v uɖr membrz v ɖ cmyṇti, includñ Lili Milit n Alis Bānād.
In Bwnṃʈ, at ɖs sem pirı̣d, h capčrd ɖ wîri frem n nrvs eṇji v ɖ raitr Robt Lui Stīvnsn in tu intns caṛcṭrîzešnz. Sājnt wz xperimentñ wɖ an Impreṣ̌nist paḷt, pêntñ vivid scečz v felo ātists at wrc ât-v-dorz, includñ Clwd Mone n Pwl Êlu, n landscêps az avãgād az eni biyñ pṛdyst in Ñgḷnd at ɖ tîm.
BOSTN n NY YWC, 1888-1912
Sājnt nvr gev p hiz Americn sitiznšp. H wz at hom in Bostn n Ny Ywc, ẇr h hd mni frendz n pêtṛnz n a brjnñ repytešn. In ɖ fwmr siti h carid ʈru hiz tu grt myṛl scīmz v dec̣rešn, in ɖ Bostn Public Lîbrri n ɖ Myziym v Fîn Āts.
In 1890, Sājnt hd ɖ oṗtyṇti v pêntñ sm v ɖ grt Americn actrz v ɖ êj fr ɖ Pleyrz Club in Ny Ywc, includñ Edwin Buɖ n Loṛns Baṛt. A fy yirz lêtr h pêntd ɖ Šêxpirı̣n actṛs Êda Riyn, n dru Mẹri Anḍsn. 1890 wz ɖ yir in ẇč Sājnt pêntd ɖ flamboynt Spaniš dansr Cāmenʈita, hu intranst Ny Ywc ōdı̣nsz wɖ hr fḷmnco dansñ.
Myzic wz a bond wɖ Iẓbela Stywt Gādnr, wn v Bostn’z culčṛl līdrz, t hūm h gev ɖ pwtrit v ɖ cmpozr Čālz Mātin Lrfḷr az a brʈdêgift.
LUNDN, 1889-1913
Sājnt wz imrst in ɖ vîbṛnt culčṛl lîf v Lundn, n a frend t mni ātists, raitrz n myzišnz. In ɖ 1890z, h wz imrjñ az ɖ līdñ Anglo-Americn pwtritpêntr v hiz jeṇrešn, n mcñ hiz māc az a myṛlist wɖ hiz cmišn, Ɖ Trîumf v Rlijn, fr ɖ Bostn Public Librri.
In 1894 Sājnt pêntd ɖ êjñ Ñgliš powt Covntri Patmor n, bî contrast, ɖ raitr n iḷstretr W. Greym Robtsn, ɖ ipiṭmi v yʈ n isʈetc rfînmnt. Ɖ noṿlist Jwj Meṛdiʈ n ɖ powt Wiłm Butḷr Yêts bʈ sat t Sājnt fr čācoldrōñz, n in 1913 ɖ ātist’s intiṃt frend Henri Jêmz, fr a pêntñ t seḷbret hiz 70ʈ brʈde.
Sājnt wz xtrimli influenšl on ɖ Lundn myzicl sìn, pṛmotñ ɖ c̣rirz v mni myzišnz, amñ ɖm ɖ Frenč cmpozr Gabriel Fore. Ɖ Lundn ʈiytr z reprizntd bî ɖ ṣprb pwtrit v Eḷn Teri az Lêdi Mcbeʈ, a ʈiatricl n ātistc turd’fws; bî ɖ enigmatc Itałn actṛs Elionora Dūse, in a strenj n mstirı̣s imij, n bî ɖ plêrît n actrmaṇjr Hāli Granvil-Bācr, hu revluṣ̌nîzd ʈiatricl pṛduẋnz.
YṚP, 1899-1914
In ɖ pirı̣d aftr 1900, Sājnt agn trnd t landscêp az a rlif fṛm pwtritcmišnz, travlñ č sumr n ōtm t ɖ Alps, Venis n suɖn Yṛp. H wz inverı̣bli acumṗnid bî frendz, hu, f nt olwz in ɖ top flît v ātists, wr sbstanšl n taḷntd ppl. H md a pýnt v pêntñ ɖm az ɖe scečt, pirñ az it wr ovr ɖer šoldrz t si ẇt ɖe r dwñ.
Ɖz picčrz mt b cnstrud az a fwm v slfpwtričr, ɖ ātist myzñ on hiz ôn rôl in rcwdñ ɖ načṛl wrld ẇl wočñ uɖrz at wrc. W r preznt az āt z biyñ md, bt âr intrpṛtr z Sājnt n it z sīn ʈru hiz îz. Amñ ɖ mastrpìsz in ɖs žãra r An Ātist in hiz Stydio, dpictñ ɖ Itałn pêntr Ambrojo Raf̦ele; Ɖ Fânṭn, a picčr v Jên d’Glên scečñ wočt bî hr huzbnd Wilfrid, n Villa Torre Galli: Ɖ Lôja, ẇr Sr Wiłm Blêc Ričmnd n Wilfrid d’Glên cnfrunt wn anɖr fṛm oṗzit cwnrz v ɖ spês.”
The Fountain, Villa Torlonia, Frascati, Italy, 1907. Oil on canvas 71.4 x 56.5 cm