Pallant House Gallery Magazine 14

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Colin St John Wilson: Collector and Architect 9 February–8 June 2008 A special issue to celebrate the life and work of Prof. Sir Colin St John Wilson 1922–2007

ÂŁ3 Number 14 Feb−May 2008 www.pallant.org.uk

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JAMES HYMAN GALLERY 5 Savile Row London W1S 3PD T +44 (0)20 7494 3857 info@jameshymangallery.com www.jameshymangallery.com

gallery one

Alan Davie – New Paintings gallery two

Edward Middleditch – Sea and Sky 24 January – 1 March 2008


Eileen Cooper RA Simon Lewty Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Will Maclean

Exhibiting at Art First: February–May 2008

ART FIRST CONTEMPORARY ART First Floor Gallery, 9 Cork Street, London W1S 3LL t 020 7734 0386 www.artfirst.co.uk Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Burnt Orange Discs on White No.1, 1972, oil on board, 78.5 x 78.6 cm



Contents Colin St. John Wilson: Collector and Architect 28 34 38 42 50

An Examined Life by Frances Guy The 1922 Kid by R.B. Kitaj R.B. Kitaj by Simon Martin Architectural Ambitions by MJ Long and Stefan van Raay The Artist at Work by Colin St John Wilson

Prints Room 61 Made in Scotland by Simon Martin 64 From DĂźrer to Manet by Simon Martin

Learning 66 Creative Response by Mandie Saw 70 Building Bridges with Significant Objects by Veronica Kociuch

Friends 89 Chairman's Letter 91 A Visit to British Library by Alan Wood 92 Forthcoming Friends' Events From Top Howard Hodgkin, Grantchester Road, 1975, Oil on wood panel, Wilson Loan, Š Howard Hodgkin; Christine Borland, The Quickening, from 'Habitat', 1999, Screenprint on paper, The Golder Thompson Gift (2004); Significant Objects Workshop, Westergate Community School at Pallant House Gallery

Regulars 8 Editorial 11 Director's Letter 12 Current Exhibitions 16 Forthcoming Exhibitions 21 Gallery News 73 Collection News 82 Book Reviews 85 Luncheon with Kate Mosse 95 What's On 105 Listings 108 Pallant Photos 112 Artwork of the Month 7


Editorial EDITORIAL Editor Harriet Wailling, h.wailling@pallant.org.uk Gallery Editorial Gillian Birtchnell, Frances Guy, Simon Martin, Stefan van Raay, Edwina Vine Guest Editorial (with many thanks) Julia Cooper, Richard Hall, Jock Johnston, Veronica Kociuch, Jillie Moss, Mandie Saw, Liz Walker, Alan Wood Design, Photography & Production David Wynn, d.wynn@pallant.org.uk

Supporter of the Collection 2008

Legal Support from

ADVERTISING Booking and General Enquiries Kim Jenner +44 (0)207 3005658 Jane Grylls +44 (0)207 3005661 Gallery Information Pallant House Gallery 9 North Pallant, Chichester West Sussex, PO19 1TJ Telephone +44 (0)1243 774557 Email info@pallant.org.uk www.pallant.org.uk www.myspace.com/pallanthousegallery FRIENDS Events +44 (0)1243 770816 Membership +44 (0)1243 770815 BOOKSHOP +44 (0)1243 770813 the pallant restaurant +44 (0)1243 770827 ART LIBRARY +44 (0)1243 770824

The Priory and Poling Charitable Trusts, The Garfield Weston Foundation and other Trusts, Foundations and anonymous benefactors.

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GERALD LA I N G 27 February to 11 March 2008

THE FINE ART SOCIETY

148 New Bond Street London W1S 2JT +44 (0)20 7629 5116 alt@faslondon.com www.faslondon.com

Galina I, bronze, 1973


20th Century British Art

Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005) Mechanical Fantasy (King & Queen) 1960

oil, ink, watercolour & collage on paper signed 18 3 / 4 x 28 in / 47.5 x 71 cm

Specialist dealers in Moder n British paintings and sculpture

Artists Estates represented include Ivon Hitchens, Roger Hilton, Kenneth Armitage, Bryan Wynter, Adrian Heath & John Wells

Jonathan Clark Fine Art 18 Park Walk London SW10 0AQ / + 44 (0) 20 7351 3555 info@jonathanclarkfineart.com / www.jonathanclarkfineart.com


Director's Letter Stefan van Raay

This issue of the Pallant House Gallery Magazine is particularly special. We celebrate Sir Colin St John ‘Sandy’ Wilson’s life (1922–2007) with the exhibition ‘Colin St John Wilson: Collector and Architect’ and a selection of his and others' writings in these pages. We have every reason to be grateful to him and his wife MJ Long. The recognition of their achievements continues. In recent months the Gallery received four additional awards: three Brick Awards (Building of the Year, Best Public Building and Best Garden Landscaping) and a Certificate of Excellence for the garden by England in Bloom. An Evensong in celebration of Sir Colin's life will be held on Friday 8 February 2008 at 5.30pm at Chichester Cathedral. Since March 2007 Lady Nicholas Gordon Lennox, in addition to her chairmanship of the Friends and the Gallery Appeal, acted as temporary Chairman of the Trustees of the Gallery until the search for a new chairman was successfully concluded. She worked relentlessly in all three roles, and invested much time and energy in the Gallery. We cannot thank her enough for her contribution as acting Chairman. She will remain a Trustee of the Gallery and Chairman of the Friends and the Appeal. We are pleased to tell you that Mr David Macmillan has agreed to become the new Chairman of the Trustees of the Gallery. Born in 1957, he grew up in Sussex and Gloucestershire and spent most of his working life in the family firm Macmillan Publishers. He is a passionate collector of modern and contemporary art. We very much look forward to his association with the Gallery.

The Honorary Treasurer of the Gallery, Mr Peter Headey, has passed the baton on to Mr Trevor James, a senior partner in the accountancy firm Sheen Stickland. Peter has brilliantly steered the finances of both the capital project and the revenue budgets through the last six years. His almost daily presence in the offices, always positive and upbeat, will be missed and we thank him for his contribution to the Gallery. Peter remains the Honorary Treasurer of the Friends. Trevor James is a charities specialist who has worked for many good causes in this part of the world and nationwide. We welcome him on to the Board of Trustees of the Gallery. The Silver Pop Party, held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Gallery, was not only a glamorous event but it raised an astonishing £95,000 for the Appeal. This money will fund the entire exhibition budget for 2008–9. We congratulate all involved, in particular Tania Slowe and Fiona Smythe, the cochairmen of the event committee. Funding the running costs of the Gallery remains a major challenge for us; unfortunately we must draw attention to the financial needs of the Gallery time and time again, in particular if we want to continue to provide a high quality, innovative and exciting programme. We are proud that Frances Guy’s catalogue ‘Eye-Music: Kandinsky, Klee and all that Jazz’ was shortlisted from the 200 publications submitted nationwide for the Art Newspaper/AXA Exhibition Catalogue Award 2007. She deserves our congratulations for making a potentially difficult subject into a stimulating exhibition and a beautiful and accessible catalogue, available from the Bookshop. Finally, we are delighted that Bonhams have confirmed their continued support of the collections for 2008. We thank our supporters, the sponsors, the volunteers and the Friends of the Gallery for their contributions to the achievements in 2007, and we hope all will continue to join us in the 2008 Gallery ventures! 11


Current Exhibitions

Colin St John Wilson: Collector and Architect 9 February–8 June 2008 Commemorating the life and work of Colin St John 'Sandy' Wilson (1922–2007), this retrospective celebrates Wilson's legacy through his architectural achievements and outstanding collection of twentieth century British art amassed over a lifetime and given to Pallant House Gallery through the Art Fund in 2004. 'Colin St John Wilson: Collector and Architect' brings together many of Wilson's drawings, models and writings from some of his greatest architectural projects, including the British Library and Pallant

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House Gallery, for the first time. The exhibition coincides with a major rehang of the Wilson Gift, with works by Wilson's contemporaries Michael Andrews, Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, R.B. Kitaj, Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton, as well as major figures including David Bomberg, William Coldstream and Walter Sickert all on show. Photographs and ephemera documenting the studios designed by Wilson's wife and partner MJ Long for several of the artists represented in the Wilson Gift, will also be on display.


In Focus

Prints Room

The Artist at Work: William Coldstream and Michael Andrews 19 January–11 May 2008 Based on Colin St John Wilson’s book detailing his experience of sitting for both artists, this exhibition draws on the Wilson Collection to highlight the working practices of Coldstream (1908–87) and Andrews (1928–95). Coldstream, known for his methodical gridbased compositions, was Andrews’ tutor at the Slade School of Art but encouraged a freer approach in his pupil that found its fruition in the late Thames Paintings of the 1990s, which feature in the show.

Contemporary Scottish Artists: Recent Acquisitions from the Golder-Thompson Gift 22 January–30 March 2008 Since 2001 Pallant House Gallery has been acquiring contemporary prints by Scottish artists to form one of the few public collections of Scottish prints south of the border. The collection provides an overview of the wealth of talent emerging from the Scottish art schools and leading printmaking studios including the Glasgow Print Studio and Edinburgh Printmakers. The exhibition includes work by Christine Borland, Martin Boyce, June Carey, Ken Currie, Alan Davie, Peter Howson, David Mach and Ian McCulloch.

Studio In House: Staff and Volunteers Exhibit Until 27 January Partnership of the Month: Mark Craigwell and Maurice Wilson 28 January–2 March Partnership of the Month: Ted Meadows and Joyce Wood, Betty Young and June Bryant 3–30 March Partnership of the Month: John Mulligan and Tom Paine 1–27 April Outside In: Peter Cutts (award winner) 29 April–30 May Clockwise from far left Sir Colin St John Wilson at Pallant House Gallery with R.B. Kitaj, The Architects, 1981, Photo by Derry Moore; Michael Andrews, Colony Room I, 1962, Oil on board, Wilson Gift through The Art Fund, © June Andrews; David Mach, Hostile Environment, from 'Habitat', 1999, Screenprint on paper, The Golder Thompson Gift (2004), © David Mach; Manet, Edouard, Olympia, 1867, Etching on paper, Wilson Loan, © Pallant House Gallery

From Dürer to Manet: Prints and Drawings from the Collection 1 April–15 June 2008 Although Walter Hussey is celebrated for commissioning and collecting the work of modern artists such as Moore, Piper and Sutherland, his private collection also included exquisite Old Master prints and drawings. Here for the first time, works on paper by Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Prospero Fontana and Giulio Romano, through to Thomas Gainsborough, Édouard Manet and others are gathered together to reveal the true diversity of the Gallery's historic collection. 13


Arturo Di Stefano Pentimenti

purdy hicks gallery · 8 february – 8 march 2008 65 Hopton Street · London se1 9gz · 020 7401 9229 · info@purdyhicks.com


This Season's Highlights  Must visit… the Charterhouse, St Alban the Martyr Church and Guilford Cathedral all in one day with the Friends of Pallant House Gallery. For details on how to become a Friend and take part in the Friends’ visits, see pages 92-93.

 Must hear... MJ Long, architect, partner and wife of Colin St John Wilson; Roger Stonehouse, Professor of Architecture at the University of Manchester and author of a recent publication on Wilson’s work; and Stefan van Raay, Director of Pallant House Gallery, in a not-to-be-missed evening about Professor Wilson and his projects. Part of the 2008 Festival of Architecture. See page 95 for details on how to book.

Must become… a volunteer at Pallant House Gallery, and get to spend quality time with one of the best collections of Modern British art in the world! For details about how to apply, contact the Front of House Supervisor on 01243 774557.  Must see… the last in the series of Art Films at the Gallery, culminating with a double bill screening of Lorenza Mazzetti’s ‘Together’ (1956) and ‘Pop Goes the Easel’ (1962). See page 96.

 Must have… one of the stunning photographs from the ‘In Camera: Snowdon and the World of British Art’ exhibition at Pallant House Gallery. Choose from Salvador Dali, Rudolf Nureyev, Marlene Dietrich and others. Each form a strictly limited edition of 50 numbered, framed and mounted prints, all signed by Lord Snowdon. Call the Bookshop on 01243 770813 for more information.

Clockwise from bottom left Still from Lorenza Mazzetti’s ‘Together’ (1956); Photograph of MJ Long by Anne-Katrin Purkiss; Charterhouse; Snowdon, Rudolf Nureyev's Foot, 1982, Photograph by Snowdon © Snowdon/Camera Press; Chair by Robin and Lucienne Day

Must Buy… Richard Hamilton's 'Selected Works' catalogue written by Sir Colin St John Wilson. Illustrating many iconic works by the artist who was a life long friend. Their memories of being involved with the Independent Group are shared in this text from a conversation held in the summer of 2005. Limited edition, available from the Bookshop on 01243 770813.  Must for kids… a special workshop for children celebrating good design. Inspired by Chichester residents and iconic designers Robin and Lucienne Day as part of Museums and Galleries Month in May. See page 100 for details about all children's workshops and how to book.

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Forthcoming Exhibitions

Colin Self: Art in the Nuclear Age 21June–12 October 2008 Colin Self (b.1941) was a leading figure in the 1960s British Pop Art movement and one of the first British artists to explore Cold War politics and the nuclear threat. Described by Richard Hamilton as ‘the best draughtsman in England since William Blake’, this exhibition, the first ever retrospective of his work, includes his powerful prints, paintings, collages and sculptures from 1960 to the present day. 16

Eileen Agar 25 October 2008–15 March 2009 Eileen Agar (1899–1991) was a lyrical and imaginative painter who managed to retain her own identity even when in the overpowering company of Picasso and despite being pigeon-holed as a Surrealist. She was a talented photographer, an inspired collagist and occasional object-maker. Her artistic roots were in Cubism and Abstraction as much as in the native British Romanticism which found such exuberant expression for a few years in Surrealism. This exhibition, curated by Andrew Lambirth, will endeavour to show Agar as the independent and original artist she was, focusing on her exceptional gift with paint and collage.

From left Colin Self, Figure No.2 (Triptych), 1971, Aquatint on paper, Wilson Loan, © Colin Self, All Rights Reserved, DACS.; Eileen Agar, Self-Portrait, 1938, On loan from a private collection, © Artist’s Estate


Rose Hilton Grey Curtains

oil on canvas 76 x 76 cms 30 x 30 ins

Rose Hilton at Tate St. Ives: The Beauty of Ordinary Things: 26th January - 4th May Rose Hilton’s (b.1931) first solo display of work at Tate St Ives, this exhibition will look at how Hilton’s paintings have evolved over her career, which spans five decades. The show will include early nudes, works from the series of portraits she painted of her late husband Roger Hilton whilst he was in bed convalescing and commissioned landscape works. A fully illustrated catalogue is available with essay by writer, critic and curator Andrew Lambirth whose book on the artist will be published later this year.

MY MESSUM’S

Rose Hilton is represented internationally by Messum’s An exhibition of selected works is available on line

private collecting online an easy way to buy art www.messums.com 8 CORK STREET LONDON W1S 3LJ Tel +44 (0)20 7437 5545

MESSUM’S


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“Chanson”. Bronze. Edition of 9. 15” x 6¾” x 5¾” (38cm x 17cm x 14.5cm)

DEBORAH STERN ARBS Telephone: 020 7262 7104 Viewing by appointment in central London www.deborah-stern.com Email: info@deborah-stern.com


The last great picture of Damien Hirst The work of Brian Griffin soon to be seen at Arden and Anstruther

Arden and Anstruther Photographic Gallery, 5 Lombard Street, Petworth www.ardenandanstruther.com Telephone 01798 344411


Gallery News Learning and Community Programme Thursdays in the Studio are set aside for community groups, Partners in Art and those who need additional support in taking part in art activities. The ‘Introduction to Art at Pallant House Gallery’ course is an ongoing series of workshops that offers a safe first step into the Gallery, allowing people to familiarise themselves with the space and collection. From this course people have gone on to take part in the Partners in Art scheme and the Hans Feibusch Club - a vibrant and exciting series of workshops that supports people with a range of needs, offering an opportunity to try new art skills and develop an artistic voice. To find out more about Community Thursdays at Pallant House Gallery, contact the Head of Learning on 01243 770835.

Art, Politics and Church: Celebrating George Bell 23−25 June 2008 2008 is the fiftieth anniversary of the death of George Bell, the celebrated Bishop of Chichester who was not only an instrumental figure in post war reconciliation, but also an important patron of the arts. Bell bought the church and the arts together, commissioning work by Hans Feibusch, T.S. Eliot, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell among others, and this four day conference, with a lecture at Pallant House Gallery on 24 June, commemorates his legacy. For more information call 01243 816194 or visit www.georgebellconference.org.uk.

Chichester Decorative and Fine Art Society adopts Artworks Following their ‘adoption’ of John Piper’s ‘Study for the Chichester Cathedral Tapestry’ in 2006, Chichester DFAS has generously adopted two works on paper by the eighteenth-century artist John Nixon (1760−1818) to support the costs of conservation and re-mounting. The Chairman Mrs Diana Taylor has selected two historic works with local connections to Chichester. Nixon made extensive sketching tours in the South of England during which he created the caricature of ‘Mrs Munday, a Fruiteress at Chichester’ (1806) and ‘A Breeches Maker’s Shop in a Fair at Chichester’ (1788).

MORE Gallery Awards Overall Winner, West Sussex County Council Design & Sustainability 2007 - “a wonderful transfusion of new architectural blood in this historically important location. This building deserves its overall award.” Building of the Year, Best Public Building, and Best Landscape Project, Brick Development Agency Awards 2007. Certificate of Excellence, South and South East in Bloom Awards 2007. Highly Commended, Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Tourism ExSEllence Awards 2007. And finally, Amy George, who works in the Pallant House Gallery Bookshop, was announced the Winner of the 2007 Chichester Open Art competition in the under 21s category.

Clockwise from top left Hans Feibusch, Untitled still life of Sunflowers with two heads, 1982, Oil on canvas, Feibush Studio gift of the artist 1997, © By Permission of The Werthwhile Foundation; Pallant House Gallery, Photograph © Peter Durant/ arcblue.com; John Nixon, Mrs Munday, a fruiteress at Chichester, 1806, Ink and watercolour on paper, Bought by Friends (1989), © Pallant House Gallery

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Penzance

www.stonemangraphics.co.uk

01736 351363


Previews Ancient Landscapes Taking a different approach from Pallant House Gallery’s recent exhibition ‘Poets in the Landscape’, Southampton City Art Gallery’s forthcoming show explores the pastoral vision in British art from Samuel Palmer through to the Brotherhood of Ruralists. Pallant House Gallery will be lending works by Graham Sutherland, Edward Calvert and John Piper to the exhibition, which will be touring to Bath, Falmouth and Plymouth. ‘Ancient Landscapes - Pastoral Visions: Samuel Palmer to the Ruralists’ is at Southampton City Art Gallery from 17 April−22 June 2008.

Edward Calvert, The Sheep of His Pasture (Detail), 1828, Line engraving on paper, Hussey Bequest, Chichester District Council (1985), © Pallant House Gallery

MODERN PAINTERS With paintings featuring the music halls, theatres, cafés, gritty urban interiors and bustling street scenes of London in the 1910s, the Camden Town Group introduced Post-Impressionism to Britain, influenced by the work of Van Gogh and Gauguin. This is the first exhibition for over 20 years about the Camden Town Group and focuses on the exciting work produced by the principal members of the group: Spencer Gore, Harold Gilman, Robert Bevan, Charles Ginner and Walter Sickert and will include Sickert’s ‘Jack Ashore’ (1912–13) on loan from Pallant House Gallery. ‘Modern Painters: The Camden Town Group’ is at Tate Britain from 13 February–4 May 2008.

Walter Sickert, Jack Ashore (Detail), 1912-13, Oil on canvas, Wilson Gift through The Art Fund

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Colin St John Wilson: Collector and Architect Colin St John Wilson will always be remembered as the architect of the beleaguered British Library project. But as Pallant House Gallery’s major new show reveals, Wilson was also one of the most important collectors of modern British art of our times, and an instrumental figure in ensuring the continuity of modernism in British building design, from social housing to the art gallery. Curator Frances Guy introduces the man through his own words, while those who knew him, including his wife and partner MJ Long, artists and friends R.B. Kitaj, Peter Blake and Paul Huxley, and colleagues Eric Parry and MaryAnne Stevens, also pay tribute.

Prof Sir Colin St John Wilson at Grantchester Road, Cambridge, 1963-64 Image courtesy of Black Dog Publishing, London

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Colin St John Wilson: An Examined Life Frances Guy

This season Pallant House Gallery celebrates the life of Professor Sir Colin St John Wilson, both with regard to his legacy to the nation in the form of the British Library, and other public and private buildings, and his contribution to the Gallery itself as co-architect of the Gulbenkian-winning design and collector of the unparalleled collection of Modern British art, now known as the Wilson Gift. This exhibition is also an opportunity to assess his other facets: as an educator, through his teachings and professorship at the School of Architecture in Cambridge, and through his writings in books such as ‘Architectural Reflections’ (1992), ‘The Other Tradition of Modern Architecture’ (1995) and ‘The Artist at Work’ (1999). Aside from these published works however, there is a wealth of other material which exists in the archive and relates both to his career as an architect and the development of the art collection. Much of this material is in the form of unpublished notes intended to form the backbone of an autobiography that has remained unwritten. These notes make for fascinating reading: as an insight into Wilson’s philosophy as an architect; as documentation of the projects, in particular, the machinations behind the “thirty years war” of the beleaguered British Library; as a testimony of his friendships with artists and the initial seeds of his collection; and as a record of those artworks that were sold to fund other purchases as his taste developed. The quality and quantity of the material in the archive means that a biography could yet be realised, but in the meantime, to accompany the exhibition and in order to use Professor Wilson’s own words as much as possible, a selection of these writings are included here.

On the early years: ‘The story goes that the first intelligible sound to pass my lips was the word “pretty” pronounced with a sickening lisp but accompanied by a grab at my mother’s pearl necklace. This, it would seem, was my epiphany revealing once and for all my identity as someone with a good eye for anything beautiful and a strong propensity to make a grab for it.’ ‘I can say with absolute conviction that from my earliest days at school I was determined to carry out some task that would test me to the limit. My historical hero was Napoleon (later replaced by Nelson): my contemporary hero the romantic figure of T.E. Lawrence who had just killed himself on a motorbike and later became in my mind the shadowy model for the hero of Auden and Isherwood’s The Ascent of F6… Could it be that all the other activities were simply rehearsals in another mode, honing the resolve, making of me a familiar with defeat and the overcoming of defeat? And not me only but the chance encounter with talents so different from mine but temperament so close that we became, like mountain climbers, bound together like one body scaling what none of us could have mastered alone; first M.J., then John Collier and in the last assay John Honer. There could have been no substitute for any one of these in the plot as it unfolded.’

Eduardo Paolozzi, Wittgenstein in New York from 'As is When', 1965, Screenprint, Wilson Gift through The Art Fund, © The Trustees of the Eduardo Paolozzi Foundation

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On early encounters with art: ‘At the age of six I was taken by my mother to visit the studio of a painter. We lived in Cheltenham and the artist specialised in painting horses – paintings with titles like Shamrock: Steve Donaghue Up. He was working on a big oil painting in which a group of horses were cantering and prancing across an open field from left to right. He picked up a brush, pressed the tip into the yellow ochre on his palette and, to my terror, placed the brush in my hand. Then he held me up to the canvas and, mercifully guiding my hand with a firm grip, said “This is how we do it”, and with a single short, gentle stroke pressed a small deposit into the slightly yielding canvas. The sensuality of that touch, as if one were stroking the horse’s flank itself, combined with the spiky scent of turpentine and linseed oil, were to brand my imagination with the stamp of initiation like the brush of blood on the cheek at the first kill when fox-hunting: and ever since, for me, any visit to an artist’s studio is attended by a quickening of the pulse.’ On the first purchase: ‘When I was demobbed from the Navy in 1946 I received a gratuity of £35 and one of the first things that I did was to buy a painting. One of my Cambridge contemporaries was Nicholas Brown whose father was the [director] of the Leicester Galleries just off Leicester Square in London. Nicholas had, as I was happy to discover, survived action as a glider pilot for the Arnhem landing: but to me the most important thing was that he gave me a friendly entrée to his father… Without the faintest demur he gave me permission to hunt around in the store-room on my own. The result was that I spent my £35 at one go on a portrait by Spencer Gore of his wife. I did not keep the painting for long and so my recollection of it is not very focused, - a whole figure seated in a wickerwork armchair, side view, auburn hair facing left and lit from aft. I suspect that I bought it as the nearest thing that I could afford to a Sickert - who was the nearest thing I would ever hope to get to a Degas - the artist who reigned above all in my estimation…

The reason for which I did not keep the Spencer Gore is that my taste became more venturesome by “modern” and the only way that I could afford to buy something new was to sell what I had. This, alas, is the theme that runs right through my ventures as a collector right up to the present day and it occurs to me that I should some day put together a “virtual” collection of all the works that I have had to sacrifice on the altars of new love.’ On Meeting Paolozzi at the Mayor Gallery in 1948: ‘On a table just inside the door a batch of collages was spread out in readiness for selection and framing for the next exhibition. Somewhere in the dark at the back of the room someone was banging away with a hammer; and so, unabashed at intrusion where something worth seeing was at stake, I began to peer at the work on the table. Bold images drawn in sputtering black ink on white paper interwoven with ‘papier coupe’ forms Venetian red or blue. There was about each of these an assurance close to arrogance, and a take-it-or-leave-it primitive nonchalance unlike the fussy desire to please of the war-time “Romantics”. In the shock of pleasure that they provoked I said “Wow!” out loud and suddenly out of the darkness behind me a voice said, “You can take it if you want to”. Flummoxed at being caught unaware, I quickly put on an air of correct behaviour and very guardedly asked “What gives you the right to say that I can have it?” and the voice replied, “Well, I made it.” Quick as a flash I said “I can’t take it from you for nothing. How about it if I give you all the cash I have on me?” and delving into my pockets came up with thirty seven shillings and sixpence. By this time the figure from the back of the room had emerged from the darkness in the sturdy form of Eduardo Paolozzi who then thrust out a massive hand and said “O.K., - but stuff it under your sweater as you go out”. In retrospect I do not think that I had cheated Freddie Mayor out of a vast sum since I saw shortly afterwards a cutting in which the illustration of one of the collages is accompanied by the headline “Would you give £15.15 for this?” But for me the most rewarding aspect of the event was the friendship that grew out of it.’

Walter Richard Sickert, The Old Bedford (Detail), 1910, Etching on paper, Wilson Loan (2004), Estate of Walter R. Sickert, 2008, All Rights Reserved, DACS.

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On a visit to Brancusi’s studio in Paris in the early 1950s: ‘The sense of being in the Sorcerer’s lair was unnerving but far from oppressive. The space itself was a work of art in which sculptures of polished brass, white plaster, veined marble and rough-hewn wood had been disposed in groups under the calm white light from high windows. A temple of trophies through which you moved in a trance. Sculpture is above all the art that provokes the desire to touch and here the prodigious interplay of textures crowded that sense to a pitch that would have been precious if it were not that many of the surfaces were work surfaces and many of the objects well-worn tools so that the prevailing spirit was of a place of work momentarily at rest. Here and there the white walls carried monochrome panels of black and red - in one case a blue horizontal panel carried a group of white flying birds abstracted into shallow flat-topped triangles. This was a study for a mural in the project for a temple below ground in which three of his Bird in Space figures would flank a circular pool at quarter points with the fourth location assigned to the one solitary occupant of the space and light admitted in a shaft from an oculus overhead. Had it been built it would have been the most powerful exchange between architecture and sculpture of our time.’ On ’This is Tomorrow’, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1956: ‘The exhibition This is Tomorrow was an attempt to see what happened when you got artists, painters, sculptors, and engineers collaborating. Theo Crosby discovered that Bryan Robertson, the wonderful Director of the Whitechapel Gallery, had a vacant gap in his exhibition programme and was happy for us to take it over that summer. And so we would get all our friends and buddies together in a meeting at Adrian Heath’s studio to decide what to do. It was a riotous meeting. In our group Peter Carter and me with the engineer Frank Newby and the sculptor Robert Adams. The painter was Roger Hilton, who unfortunately was always drunk, and at a certain point he stood up and shouted “Get these bloody critics out of here!” At this point Lawrence Alloway and Reyner Banham discretely disappeared. Pandemonium continued until at a certain point Theo or someone said, “Shut up, everybody. Be quiet. Whoever wants to form a group will have a place like a booth in a market”. And so I did a layout in the Whitechapel for a series of positions for such booths. You [Richard Hamilton] did your bit

with Terry Hamilton, John Voelcker, John McHale and Magda Cordell. There was Peter and Alison Smithson and Eduardo Paolozzi and Nigel Henderson at the far end and my group had the location very near the entrance so that ‘Robby the Robot’ walked through it on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition. But your piece in particular became a tremendous focus for what was a rather fuzzy concept in 1956, as to what Pop Art was going to be, and you used all sorts of experimental factors such as touch and smell and changes of light.’ (Wilson in conversation with Richard Hamilton, extract from 'Richard Hamilton: Selected Works' published by Pallant House Gallery, 2005, available from the Bookshop. See page 81) On the relationship between art and architecture: ‘Le Corbusier was talking a lot about sculpture and architecture coming together. He himself practised it, particularly with his big tapestries and so on, but it was very much an idea in the air, but very, very few architects actually practised what they were preaching. I think […] that I have, whenever I could possibly do it, practised what I preached. I’ll tell you what mean by that. The British Library, for instance, the tapestry by Kitaj on the left of the entrance hall, the Eduardo [Paolozzi] which is placed in the courtyard [...] they existed in my mind as part of the design from day one. Curiously enough, I had even... a rather sort of monumental seated Egyptian figure for a sculpture. While I was in Eduardo’s studio and he was doing the [Monument to Isaac Newton]…I said, “That’s it!”... So I think I can claim that I have practised what I preached in believing that painting and sculpture and architecture really can [...] make a difference when they are together rather than when they are separate. That’s really what This is Tomorrow, in my mind, was meant to be about.’ (transcript from the This is Tomorrow 50th Anniversary Conference, Pallant House Gallery, 23 September 2006)

Clockwise from bottom left This is Tomorrow Exhibition, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Robbie the Robert in the Group Ten Pavilion, 1956; This is Tomorrow Exhibition, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Model of the Group Ten Pavilion, 1956; British Library entrance hall staircase with the tapestry by R.B. Kitaj. All images courtesy of Black Dog Publishing, London.

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The 1922 Kid: A Life in Art R.B. Kitaj

The American artist R.B. Kitaj wrote the following text in 1997 to accompany an exhibition marking the completion of the British Library and Colin St John Wilson’s contribution to British architecture and culture. Ten years on, it is particularly fitting and poignant to reproduce it here, in memory of both architect and painter, and the friendship they shared. 'It always seemed to me so right that Sandy Wilson was born in the year when Modernism came of age, 1922, the year of Ulysses and The Wasteland, the Duino Elegies and the Tractacus, Mandelstam’s Tristia and the last volume of Proust... you name it. We talked of it as an ‘annus mirabilis’. In the history of art of the modern era, I don’t recall or haven’t read a painter writing about a collector. And yet the often complex, sometimes beautiful relation between painter and collector is, after all, one of the many distinct marvels in the life of art. If, as in the present case, the painter and collector enter into deep and lasting friendship, crowned by the fact that the collector is an artist (architect) himself, the marvel is compounded and glorious indeed, believe me. As I

prepare to leave my long English period behind, I can hardly bear to imagine what life will be like without seeing or talking with Sandy every few days. I guess my Los Angeles telephone bill will be very high. I first met Sandy in Cambridge over thirty years ago when he asked me to speak to students and he put me up in his own Granchester Road house, which he had created – maybe my first experience of a Modernist house, a House of Life and a House of Art in the senses Mario Praz meant. Well, in the immortal words of Sam Goldwyn, Sandy and I have passed a lot of water since then. We have both become controversialists in what I take to be one of Modernism’s most vivid but too easily overlooked traditions. A smooth ride is not a hallmark of the romance of art in its most noble dramas during our godforsaken century, a century somewhat saved from utter darkness time and again by radical artists who survive to leave their all too human mark, sometimes beautiful, sometimes heretical. Out of the Paris of Sandy’s youthful encounters with Corbusier, Giacometti and Brancusi (as horror receded) these words of Albert Camus speak and tell: ‘In art, rebellion 35


is consummated and perpetuated in the act of real creation, not in criticism’. I have never met a man, outside the demon painters I know, who so avidly stalks rebellion in the painting of art of others in the keen knowledge that what makes art tick is stored in the rebel urge. What is art if it is not a rebellion against that which is not new? And new equals singular in my book. Aside from his own artwork, Sandy lives in a quest for new factors in art often neglected by the most avid collectors of modern art. Many private collections are indistinguishable from so many others, fluent in the artspeak of the moment, but I would guess that Sandy’s collection, in its master’s reflection, will be seen to be the most singular in these islands. I have never accepted the term ‘He has an eye’ to designate a great gift for seeing what is ‘good’ in art, nor have I much faith in the notion that a picture either ‘works’, or does not. Sandy’s eye for what works for him, it seems to me, is of a more plentiful order of, let us call it – culture. His is a culture I have always been drawn to, deeply conjoined to downright personality in art and architecture and writing. Personality, humanity, human to the core, profoundly Christian in striking measure – kindness, as Van Gogh yearned for in art. Sandy wants to know his artist as best he can, and ultimately to put the person at the heart of what he, Sandy, builds. He is religious, dare I say fanatic, in his brokering of marriage between art and architecture. Borges said artists create their precursors, and Sandy creates his – Corbusier, Aalto, Kahn, F L Wright and the artists who absorb him day after day... He has helped me when I’m in his company – two bibliomaniacs, either in his library or mine, both of which he and MJ designed. We pore over, not only books and pictures in books, but over real pictures as well – we both collect art. This bibliomania and these art manias are 36

not avocations. Addictions they may be but the books feed into the art we make, his and mine, as surely as landscape or art-theory or music turns other artists on, thrusts them toward the making of art. And Sandy paints pictures and he thinks through various drawing genres like his beloved Corbusier did, only Sandy’s picturing has run past particular English art of his own era – art he would wish to join him in what he builds. The drawings he does are charged with, not only his love of drawing, but with his intimacy with protean, volatile art modes of his milieu – iconoclastic and never resting. Sandy will be seen to take his place – a unique place – in the art of his era, in an inner circle of artists who work upon each other’s art and mind. But I always think of Sandy as a real friend of painters. To have watched him over many years, probing the human histories, the presence of personality in painter after painter such as Bomberg, Coldstream, Hamilton, Andrews and those of my own generation, examining such work with great heart, is a memorable study in what one might call the unsung human interest of art rather than the much more common nuts and bolts we hear so much about in dull texts and middlebrow opinion. Hail and Farewell, dear friend, till we meet again!' Extract from ‘Colin St John Wilson’, published by the Royal Institute of British Architects, 1997, text © R.B. Kitaj, reproduced with kind permission of the Kitaj Estate Over R.B. Kitaj, The Architects, 1981, Oil on canvas, Wilson Loan, © Estate of R B Kitaj Above from left R.B. Kitaj, Specimen Musings of a Democrat, 1961, Oil and collage on canvas, Wilson Gift through The Art Fund, © Estate of R B Kitaj; R.B Kitaj, Priest, Deckchair and Distraught Woman, 1961, Oil on canvas, Wilson Gift through The Art Fund, © Estate of R B Kitaj


Anthony Abrahams Sculpture and Graphic Works Gallery Pangolin: 14th January - 22nd February Museum in the Park, Stroud: 14th January - 28th April

to go

Catalogue available

Rat: Bronze · Edition of 5 · 77cm high

Gallery Pangolin Chalford · Gloucestershire · GL6 8NT · UK · T: 00 44 (0)1453 886527 E: gallery@pangolin-editions.com · www.gallery-pangolin.com

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R.B. Kitaj, The Last of England (detail), 2002, Š Estate of R B Kitaj


R.B. Kitaj Simon Martin Shortly before his own death in 2007, R.B. Kitaj offered to donate two of his paintings to Pallant House Gallery in memory of Professor Wilson: a self-portrait entitled ‘The Last of England’ (2002), and ‘Lot and His Daughters (after Cézanne)’ (2004) previously exhibited at the 2005 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Simon Martin, Assistant Curator, introduces the artist whose gift is a lasting memorial, not only to Sandy and Kitaj, but also to their enduring friendship. The American painter R.B. Kitaj (1932–2007) was one of the most influential figures in British art following his adoption of London as his home in the late 1950s. The art critic Robert Hughes once wrote of Kitaj that, ‘He draws better than almost anyone else alive’. Pallant House Gallery is fortunate to hold one of the strongest public collections of his work, including a group of important paintings and drawings and almost 200 prints, as a result of his long and close friendship with Colin St John Wilson and MJ Long. Kitaj was a leading light in the ‘School of London’, a label he coined to describe the loose group of figurative artists consisting of Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Michael Andrews and himself. He was a champion of figurative art and in 1976 he organized the seminal Arts Council exhibition ‘The Human Clay’ at the Hayward Gallery, which included the work of 48 London artists. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Kitaj ran away from home at the age of seventeen to serve as a merchant seaman. Following a voyage to Mexico and Cuba he sailed to Europe where he studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna, before serving in the US Army for two years in France and occupied Germany. Under the terms of the GI Bill he was entitled to a grant to study at the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford from 1958–59 and subsequently at the Royal College of Art in London. Kitaj was unwillingly labelled a ‘Pop artist’, more by association with the generation of artists that emerged from the Royal College in the early 1960s, including Derek Boshier, Patrick Caulfield, David Hockney, Allen Jones and Peter Phillips, than by any obvious ‘pop’ sensibility in his own work. Although

his ability to brilliantly collage together a range of visual languages in paintings and prints had much in common with the techniques of pop artists such as Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi, Kitaj aligned himself more with Surrealism and automatic techniques related to ‘free association’. Rather than referencing popular culture, Kitaj’s art is characterised by erudite literary and historical allusions. His eclectic sources included Walter Benjamin, T.S. Eliot, Kafka, the murdered communist Rosa Luxembourg and artists such as Degas and Cézanne. At the Ruskin School Kitaj had been taught by Percy Horton, who in turn had been taught by Walter Sickert, a disciple of Edgar Degas, to whom Kitaj was often likened as a draughtsman. Kitaj’s print portfolio ‘First Series: Some Poets’ (1966–69), exhibited at Pallant House Gallery in Spring 2007, featured nuanced portraits of contemporary American poets including Robert Creeley, Ed Dorn, Robert Duncan and Charles Olson with compositions which recalled the appearance of poetry on a page. He became increasingly interested in exploring his Jewish heritage in his paintings and writings such as ‘The First Diasporist Manifesto.’ His literary references led to both intellectual respectability and vituperative accusations of obscurantism from some art critics, particularly on the occasion of his Tate Gallery retrospective in 1994. He ascribed the tragic death of his second wife, the painter Sandra Fisher, from an aneurysm at the time to his treatment by the critics and moved from Britain to Los Angeles, where he remained until his death. The ‘Tate War’ and Sandra’s death affected him profoundly, and her death became a central theme in his later work. In 1991 Kitaj became the first American artist since John Singer Sargent to be elected to the Royal Academy. He went on to receive the Golden Lion at the 1995 Venice Biennale, and in 2001 staged an exhibition at the National Gallery, London entitled ‘In the Aura of Cézanne and Other Masters’, which revealed his continuing engagement with the figurative tradition in art. R. B. Kitaj’s ‘The Architects’ will be the Artwork of the Month in May. There will be a free talk at 11am (see page 97 for details) and a workshop inspired by the painting at 12 noon (see page 99) on Weds 28 May. 39


Peter Blake Artist I first met Sandy Wilson in the late fifties, 50 years ago. He was one of the first people to collect my work then, and we stayed friends. I shared and suffered with him the travails and setbacks of designing Liverpool Civic Centre, which after several changes of Government wasn’t built, then later the long period of designing and building the British Library, and the uninformed and sometimes silly, negative criticism of it when it was completed.

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I always wanted Sandy to design a gallery for my collections, and although we didn’t ever do that, he did with MJ Long design and convert three beautiful studios and our nice house for us. Sandy leaves a fantastic legacy to London with the magnificent British Library, and to Chichester at Pallant House Gallery, both with the new building and his collection of paintings. This extract first appeared in Building Design (issue 1772) on 25 May 2007.

Peter Blake in his studio by Anne-Katrin Purkiss


Paul Huxley Artist and former Tate Gallery trustee I met Sandy Wilson when we were fellow trustees of the Tate Gallery from the early 1970s. He was already the architect of the British Library, and I was impressed with his tenacity and courage when he told me it would take him the rest of his life. Not a bad estimate, but thankfully not entirely correct. Some 25 years later I got to know Sandy as a friend through his wife, MJ Long, who designed my home. It is a converted industrial building with so many party walls and complications that our lawyer said it should have been a test case for law students. I remember Sandy’s first visit after it was completed. His response was rapier-like. He analysed the details of geometry and light, the alignment of columns and nuances that I had failed to observe after two years being in and out of the place. He loved what MJ had done to the building, and said many times in later years how much he wished it was his home. I gradually learned what a huge mentor, supporter and encourager he was to his family, his students and friends, as well as to the artists whose work he collected.

Great architects, like top people in any creative field, can often be so self-absorbed as to neglect recognising the achievements of others. Great architect he was, but never like that. His creative imagination was not insular. He was a scholar of architecture and the arts, and in parallel to pursuing his own vision he was an enthusiastic advocate of those he believed in, through his conversation, his lectures and writing. I see that sort of generosity of spirit in his buildings. There is no ego or pomposity in the British Library or Pallant House Gallery, they are not built to impress but to use and enjoy. They speak to our spiritual and intellectual faculties, placing us, the users, at the centre of the experience. This extract first appeared in Building Design (issue 1772) on 25 May 2007.

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Architectural Ambitions MJ Long and Stefan van Raay

Architect MJ Long and her late husband Colin St John 'Sandy' Wilson were the pioneering team behind the award winning Pallant House Gallery extension. But what lay behind their vision? Director Stefan van Raay finds out.

Top Sir Colin St John Wilson and MJ Long at Pallant House Gallery with R.B. Kitaj, The Architects, 1981, Photo by Derry Moore; Left Pallant House Gallery, Photograph © Peter Durant/arcblue.com

Stefan van Raay: MJ, in the many years that we have worked together, we have never really had the opportunity to fully discuss publicly the philosophy and principles behind your and Sandy’s design of Pallant House Gallery. Could you explain what those were? MJ Long: Every building was, for us, a search to find the appropriate answer to the particular situation, place, and client. There is never an idea or a philosophy that is superimposed on the particular place. It is more important that the building is appropriate than that it is recognizable as the work of our firm. There are, however, themes that run through our work; use of natural materials, care with proportions and details so that the architecture is related to the scale of humans, is approachable, and is pleasurable to the sense of touch as well as sight. Throughout the project I remember that Sandy, you and I would often discuss the application of what is known as the Golden Section in the eighteenth century Pallant House, and consequentially in the new building. Can you explain a little more about that concept? Sandy was educated at a time when classical proportions were still part of an architect’s education, and he was always interested in proportion as an important way of connecting people with buildings. He was as interested in the Corbusian proportional system of “le modulor” as in the Golden Section. Both systems provide a set of nesting dimensions which allowed proportions to be applied to the smallest and largest parts of the building. Sandy was convinced that good proportions are felt by the observer, and was delighted when Le Corbusier came to see the addition to the School of Architecture in Cambridge, and immediately said “ah--le modulor”. It was always part of our intention to relate the simple proportions of the gallery to the new extension. 43


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Sandy always referred to architect predecessors who he revered. In the Gallery, you have both quoted their work, or at least alluded to some of them. Who were the sources? We never have felt that being modern architects prevented us from enjoying and learning from the architecture of the past, both distant and recent. Only the most limited of modern corporate architecture took as its program the total rejection of architectural history. The form of modernism which Sandy called “The Other Tradition” felt that reinventing the wheel in each new building commission was nonsense. There are two architectural traditions that meet at Pallant House Gallery. “Classical” modernism, and a more organic modernism. The order of the galleries, and the symmetrical composition of the rendered courtyard facades are related to the former, and the pushed out window in the main gallery could be suggested by the Villa at Garches by Le Corbusier. On the other hand, the brick outer carapace is much more casually related to the geometry of East Pallant. On North Pallant, the glazed terracotta is a nod at the glazed tile which is always such an enjoyable foil to the brickwork in a building by Aalto, one of our heroes. The planning of the ground floor is very unclassical. The location of the new building, and the need to locate the lift and stair against Pallant House, means that the entrance is not centred on the focus of the combined architectural composition, and it is necessary to shift the arriving visitor to the right to make the necessary connection to the garden and the connection between the old and new buildings. This is done with an entrance space which shifts to the right, with a ceiling that climbs to the light, and owes much to the work of Alvar Aalto. Sandy made real drawings on paper and would always include the human figure in those drawings. Can you explain the significance of that approach? Real drawings on paper is the natural means of communication for both of us. As for the people, it is always important to relate an architectural idea to the human figure. An architectural idea has a scale and size implicit in it, and if it is carried out at the wrong size, it becomes a monster. Testing it against the scale and eye level of its human occupants is important at every stage of design.

In your work, light is a major player in the architectural context. What were the considerations in the Gallery? Daylight in galleries can be seen as an enemy -carrier of ultraviolet damage to fragile art works. But it is also essential to the life of the place. The task is to get the light in, but be sure that it is controllable, and that any sun can be kept off the surface of the art works. We decided to put the main galleries on the top floor where they could be lit from above, leaving the wall surfaces for hanging space. The roof is made up of a series of concrete cones related in size to the small galleries (and incidentally to the room sizes in Pallant House itself). Daylight is admitted through louvred skylights at the apex of each cone, which is screened from below by central “islands” of suspended ceiling which carry the mechanical ductwork and the lighting throughout the gallery. Daylight is reflected off these central elements, and reflects off the roof slopes to wash the walls below. When very sensitive material is shown, daylight can be reduced to a minimum, but at other times, it gives the gallery vivid life. As clouds pass the sun, the whole space breaths in a way which is totally unavailable to galleries lit only with artificial light. And ultimately, where would you say that Pallant House Gallery fits in Sandy’s and your oeuvre to date? It is, as other buildings of ours, uniquely related to this particular place, but it shares with other of our work an interest in using natural materials, a passion for using daylight, a conviction that a building must feel good to the touch, and that detail is very important, and a care with the developing experience of proportion, material, and light as the visitor moves through the building. This is unique, however, in the direct connection between some of its contents and Sandy’s passion for art. It is uniquely the focus of his interests as an architect and a collector in the last years of his life. MJ Long and Stefan van Raay will be in conversation with art critic Roger Stonehouse at Pallant House Gallery on Thursday 8 May. See page 95. To book tickets call 01243 774557.

Pallant House Gallery, Photograph © Peter Durant/arcblue.com

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Eric Parry Director of Eric Parry Architects Sandy Wilson straddled the worlds of theory and practice with unmatched vision, clarity and creative energy. In practice the early small buildings are brilliant tectonic and spatial set pieces, brimming with confidence, full of life and reference to his correspondences with philosophy, literature, the visual arts and architecture. The Herculean struggle with the British Library, against the political and architectural grain of its time, has yielded a building that will be understood to be a wonderful defence of the humanist spirit for which he fought.

46 Image courtesy of Black Dog Publishing, London

Through his teaching, research and writing he established a position that on at least three tides of fashion set him apart – international modernism, postmodernism and most recently the cult of the icon. He cultivated a period of creativity and confidence at the School of Architecture at Cambridge which, as he would have wished, has enabled many of his students to follow his example in practising architecture and sharing a passion for the subject on its broadest terms. This extract first appeared in Building Design (issue 1772) on 25 May 2007.


Mary Anne Stevens Director of Academic Affairs at the Royal Academy of Arts Sandy Wilson was someone of exceptional determination, energy and commitment. Alongside the completion of Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, he devoted the closing three and a half years of his life to a project that started modestly but grew both in scale and ambition: the masterplan for the Royal Academy of Arts. The task was challenging. The physical elements are architecturally compelling but complex. The two buildings that inhibit the 1ha site, Burlington House and 6 Burlington Gardens, are listed and sit back-toback and at different datum lines. The brief was demanding as the plan had to accommodate the Royal Academy’s past, present and future cultural remits, and the ongoing need for accommodation for staff and infrastructure. The requirement was to make the Royal Academy an academy in the true meaning of the word, fit for the 21st century. Through meticulous and dogged interrogation of the plan and the structure of the buildings, the individual departmental briefs and Architectural drawing by Prof. Colin St John Wilson, Courtesy of the Royal Academy

the anticipated opposition of the planning and listing authorities, Sandy crafted a masterplan that is exceptional in its clarity, coherence and comprehensiveness. As Sandy walked the site, he seems to have responded to the Venetian Gothic south (rear) façade of 6 Burlington Gardens and appreciated the potential of the transitions from confined cavernous spaces to expansive open areas. Taking these as his cues, Sandy would talk about the visual excitement of debauching from a Venetian calle – the new link – into a generous piazza where Burlington House meets 6 Burlington Gardens. The RA Schools have a front door for the first time, sculpture can be displayed, and the public can move from the Royal Academy’s cultural offerings through a newly created urban space, a gift to Central London. This vision will be Sandy’s great legacy to the Royal Academy. This extract first appeared in Building Design (issue 1772) on 25 May 2007.


Piazza to Reading Room Theresa Shiban Professor Wilson once said that if the British Library was his symphony then Pallant House Gallery was his quartet. Theresa Shiban’s poem pays tribute to the British Library. Š Theresa Shiban 2007. Theresa Shiban is currently writer in residence at the award-winning design and architecture practice, BDP.

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The first thing you notice is what you don’t it is not imposing overwhelming you are not made to feel insignificant with monumental humility it is the box the words come in storey upon storey hidden below not towering above to impress or oppress its exalted purpose democratised grandeur and majesty achieved by an honest brick A British Institution wrestled down to size to a human scale and gifted

made to bounce around corners and softly illuminate the illuminated verticals of stripy colour alpha digit diamond dot Volume 1 A-K Volume 2 L-Z a 6-storey jewel box glowing * * * * I detour through Humanities more laughing light whites and warming wood the visual rhythm of grids and open cages (Someone let the words out again!)

I am welcomed by the horizontals elevated not cowed the masses ennobled by nothing more than literacy

multiples of plug-sized squares magnified and morphed into the sculptural ceiling above a latter day clerestory for contemporary scribes

or rather nothing less boxes within boxes within the biggest box of all a gentle spectrum (reds browns whites blacks greens) wraps around a space for meeting a Lego tower points the way

My Work Is Obviously Important Look Where I Do It * * * *

* * * *

I continue up the familiar stair to A & A and the desk I claim as mine (8115)

and enter into light a cathedral space of secular worship (in the beginning was the word)

safe protected cherished, even

vaults of them, below and above a bank of words you spend and spend but never lose

in a room of one’s own (my own) (your own)

I am invited in

I tread soft rounded stairs handling marble leather brass (materials of privilege offered to the proletariat) mirroring the gold embossed spines of a king’s library more light (where is it coming from?) directed coaxed refracted toyed with a conjurer’s trick of mirrors

I sit and begin to work to distil the great chorus of language treasured within this building into one simple word gratitude 49


The Artist at Work Professor Sir Colin St John Wilson

In ‘The Artist at Work’, the publication which inspired the exhibition of the same name at Pallant House Gallery, Professor Wilson detailed his experience of sitting for William Coldstream and Michael Andrews whilst each painted his portrait. Coldstream’s work, finished in 1983, is now part of the Wilson Gift and the portrait by Andrews, painted a decade later, is being lent to the exhibition by a private collector.

Wilson on Coldstream: ‘The proposal for the portrait came from Anthony d’Offay, who knew very well my interest in Coldstream’s work. Since my office was at that time in Canonbury Square, London, about ten minutes’ walk from Coldstream’s house at 56 St Paul’s Road, it was very easy to agree upon an arrangement whereby he would work on the painting about twice a week between 9 and 11 a.m. The place chosen for the sittings was the corner of a room at the top of the building which had both a large roof-light and also a south-facing window. The northfacing window behind and to the right of the sitter was permanently blanked out. Coldstream produced an easel, and a corner cupboard was used for stowing away his implements. The painting was kept between sittings in a wooden crate which had been specially made for a painting of the same size that had been on tour. The painting was carried out over a period of fifteen months and was deemed ‘complete’ by Coldstream on 19 March 1983 after the ninety-sixth sitting. The frequency of sittings was broadly constant, although there was a period of intermission during his visit to the United States at the time of the travelling exhibition Eight Figurative Painters. William Coldstream, Portrait of Colin St John Wilson, 1982–3, Oil on canvas, Wilson Loan, © Andrew Margetson

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The first sitting was arranged for 8.30 a.m. on 10 December 1981. Coldstream appeared at 8.45, walking very slowly on the icy pavement, carrying a canvas. False start: it was not the right size. I had the impertinence to say that I wanted it to match the size and proportion of the wonderful Seated Nude of 1973-4 painted in Adrian Stokes’s living room, that was one of my dearest possessions. So I had to drive to the Slade to collect the larger canvas in my car. My second impertinence was to hang on the wall behind my head R. B. Kitaj’s Specimen Musings of a Democrat in the fond belief that the grid-lines of that painting would help Coldstream to get a move on. On the contrary, a great deal of time was spent by him in shifting the grid-lines up, down and sideways on his painting. The book I chose to be reading was Adrian Stokes’s Colour and Form. Coldstream spotted this straight away and said that the book has been ‘very important to me (I particularly liked his notion of “carving”) at the time when I was about thirty – no, twentynine’. This seemingly casual correction (the book was published in 1937, Coldstream was born in 1908) was an early warning to me that there would not be much concession to sloppiness in the conversation. I elected to wear a grey suit, which I later regretted as too submissive to the cliché about Coldstream’s male sitters. On the other hand, at the Coldstream memorial meeting, held (may we be forgiven) not in a chapel but in the Chemistry lecture room at University College, I noted with some amazement that even the women seemed to be wearing grey suits. It was English surrealism at its most arcane. My final impertinence was to propose the inclusion in the painting of a small pile of books, introduced for the first time after the seventieth sitting. My reason for this was iconographical – a celebration of the fact that Ulysses, The Waste Land, Vers une Architecture, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Charmes and the Duino Elegies were all published within a year of my birth in 1922, which was also the year in which both Le Corbusier and Aalto set up their architectural practices. The inclusion of the books was not provoked by any suggestion, for compositional reasons, from Coldstream, who simple accepted it with complete sang-froid; once the books were there they had to be dealt with like anything else.’

Wilson on Andrews: ‘Each sitting was preceded by a certain ritual of welcome conducted with scrupulous courtesy. It would begin with my arrival by car at 8 in the morning (to beat the traffic): I would stop at the barrier in the archway into the mews of Avenue Studios in Sydney Close – walk down the long vaulted gallery to his studio and summon him by shouting through the letter box of his studio at No. 11. He would then return with me to raise the barrier, allowing me to drive into the mews where he would hover solicitously to see me safely parked, before striding back down the gallery with me to the studio. He would then make coffee for me, tea for himself, get out some biscuits and we would sit at the round table in the lower studio, chewing over the last art and architecture gossip of the hour – some current exhibition or publication of importance, some crisis at his gallery, new tiles for the balcony of his flat, the need to replace his boiler, the planning of a (constantly deferred) holiday in Italy… I would then change into my blue ‘portrait shirt’ and climb up the steep curving stair with the fat round handrail into the large upper studio. Most of the length of the north wall had tall windows into which he had fitted, to their full height, removable light wood frames stretched with brown paper so that by shifting them he could ‘tune’ the level of light. (He was extremely sensitive to changes in light – cloud movement or even a bird flying past would provoke a reflex flinch.) I had no idea what technical procedure to expect from him. As we have seen, Coldstream’s way of working had by comparison been broadly predictable. There I had been required to be the still centre of an unblinking cone of vision, and to that end the rites of the preparation had something of the disciplined sequence pursued in the operating theatre: the precise location of my chair, his chair and the easel, together with my posture in the chair (complete with marks for elbows and feet) were all located by cross-marks made out of adhesive tape. The artist himself never moved from his chair: I was expected not to move at all.

Michael Andrews, The Estuary, Thames Painting, 1994–5, Oil and mixed media on canvas, Wilson Gift through The Art Fund, © June Andrews

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Andrews, on the other hand, however devoted a student of Coldstream he may have been, was known to have departed widely from the restrictions of Coldstream’s practice. He had used photographic material since the early 1960s, both as a collage-like exploration of compositional alternatives and also as a form of ‘sketch-study’ for individual components; and the surface finish of his paintings showed evidence of a wide range of techniques – oil paint and acrylic, spraying or pouring paint, transparent washes, scumbling, glazing and impasto, unprimed and primed canvas, board, paper of sandpaper, silkscreen and cut stencil, admixtures of ash or sand or grass-blades from the site… …There was no preliminary drawing or photography. Standing before me with the easel to his right, Andrews painted two horseshoe marks on the floor around the toes of his sneakers as if to fix once and for all the position of his view point – that at least was in true Coldstream manner. But that position was not retained after the starter’s gun set him off into action and from that moment onward any resemblance to the method of William Coldstream ceased.’

The Artist at Work: William Coldstream and Michael Andrews Rooms 15 and 16 Until 11 May 2008 Guided tours of the exhibition take place on 28 March, 17 and 23 April. For more information about these and other exhibition tours, please see page 96. ‘The Artist at Work’ by Colin St John Wilson has been republished by Lund Humphries to coincide with the exhibition at Pallant House Gallery and is available from the Bookshop. Call 01243 770813 to order your copy today.

Top Michael Andrews painting Colin St John Wilson in the studio, 1994 Photograph by Bruce Bernard. © June Andrews, Estate of Bruce Bernard Left Professor Colin St John Wilson 1993–4, Oil on canvas, Private Collection

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Made in Scotland Simon Martin

Ross Sinclair, If North was South and East was West from 'The Habitat Portfolio', 1999, Screenprint on paper, The Golder-Thompson Gift (2004), © The Artist

Soon after Pallant House Gallery re-opened its doors in 2006, a review in the Independent on Sunday praised the fact that as a ‘collection of collections’ donated or bequeathed by private individuals, the Gallery represented a history of modern British taste, unlike many public institutions whose collections have been formed by committees. The Golder-Thompson Gift is a remarkable synthesis of these two seemingly opposed approaches to collecting, fusing the generosity and passion of two private collectors with the close participation of the Gallery’s curatorial staff. As a student at Manchester University in the 1970s, Mark Golder attended a lecture by Walter Hussey, the donor of the Gallery’s founding collection. In 2001, inspired by the Dean’s enlightened attitude to arts patronage and collecting, he and Brian Thompson decided to support Pallant House Gallery in forming what is now arguably one of the best public collections of contemporary Scottish prints outside Scotland.

The label ‘Scottish’ has been interpreted inclusively, to incorporate not only artists who are Scottish by nationality, but artists who work in Scotland or have produced prints at the four leading printmaking studios in Scotland: Dundee Contemporary Arts, Edinburgh Printmakers, the Glasgow Print Studio, and Peacock Visual Arts in Aberdeen. Mark Golder and Brian Thompson were particularly interested in the range and quality of the contemporary prints that have emerged from the Scottish print studios and art schools in recent years. The decision to acquire a representative collection of Scottish prints reflects not only the political devolution of the United Kingdom, but also the fact that as a Gallery of Modern British art Pallant House Gallery should collect and exhibit art from across the British Isles. The Golder-Thompson Gift includes works by over 45 artists, ranging from established figures such as John Bellany, Ian Hamilton Finlay and the ‘Glasgow School’ 61


John Bellany, Oddyssey, 1993, Etching on paper, The Golder-Thompson Gift (2001), © John Bellamy

(a group of figurative artists that emerged from the Glasgow School of Art in the 1980s including Stephen Campbell, Ken Currie, Peter Howson and Adrian Wiszniewski), to younger contemporary artists such as Toby Paterson, Ross Sinclair and David Shrigley. The current selection of recent acquisitions from the Gift showcases works produced in a range of different printmaking techniques including etching, drypoint, lithography, screenprinting and woodcut, and provides a ‘taster’ of the diversity of work being produced in Scotland. As collectors, Golder and Thompson are drawn not only to work that has undeniable beauty, such as an etching of an Iris flower by the doyenne of Scottish art Elizabeth Blackadder, or a screenprint of the sunset over Fife by her husband the artist John Houston, but they are also attracted to ‘edgy’ images which provoke the viewer and raise sometimes difficult questions. The choice of works purchased with the Gift results from what Golder has described as ‘constructive differences of opinions’ between each other and the Gallery’s curatorial staff. Some of the prints are undeniably challenging. Conflict features as a theme in a number of works, reflecting the harsh reality of the age in which we live. Peter Howson was appointed an Official 62

War Artist during the Balkan War and travelled with the British forces participating in the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia. His powerful lithograph entitled ‘Brains’ (1994) depicts the impact of conflict with unsettling immediacy. Likewise, violent situations also form the subject of two works by former Turner Prize nominees: David Mach’s ‘Hostile Environment’ and Christine Borland’s ‘The Quickening’, which presents a marksman and her mirror-image locked in a metaphysical fatal stand-off. Yet possible solutions are also offered: Ross Sinclair’s etching ‘If North was South and East was West’ (1999) literally turns the world map upside down to provide an alternative view of the world “not as it is, but as it could be.” Contemporary Scottish Prints: Recent Acquisitions from the Golder-Thompson Gift The Prints Room 22 January–30 March 2008 Mark Golder and John MacKechnie RSA, Director of the Glasgow Print Studio, will be in conversation with Simon Martin, Assistant Curator discussing the Golder Thompson Gift and contemporary Scottish printmaking on Thursday 21 February 2008. See page 95 for details. Book now on 01243 774557.


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From Dürer to Manet Simon Martin

Although Walter Hussey is celebrated for commissioning and collecting the work of modern artists such as Moore, Piper and Sutherland, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, his private collection also included exquisite Old Master prints and drawings. His interest in these works was sometimes approached through modern eyes, such as a drawing of a group of figures by the French Rococo artist Jean Antoine Watteau which was purchased on the advice of Henry Moore, but in any case, as an aesthete and self-styled ‘Patron of Art’ Hussey was a great believer in ‘quality’ regardless of the period in which a work of art was produced. Some of the works on paper that Hussey acquired reflect his religious convictions: the group of woodcuts and etchings depicting the Biblical story of the Flight into Egypt by artists including Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Giandomenico Tiepolo; and a sanguine ink drawing of Saint George slaying the Dragon by the Bolognese Renaissance artist Prospero Fontana. Others reflect more earthly concerns such as a drawing of a male nude that was previously attributed to Bernini, although a recently discovered inscription suggests that it may be a study for a fresco in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome by Annibale Carracci. Another study for a decorative scheme is Giulio Romano’s powerful ‘Head of an Eagle’ (1526-28), believed to be a design for the ceiling of the Camera delle Aquile (Room of the Eagles) in the Palazzo del Te in Mantua.

The display provides a rare opportunity to view these fragile works, which have recently been conserved, as well as British landscapes by Thomas Gainsborough, John Sell Cotman, John Robert Cozens and John Varley and etchings by Manet from the Wilson Collection. Manet’s infamous nude ‘Olympia’ (1867) may mark a break with tradition but it also provides an important link to the modern art for which Pallant House Gallery is more widely known. From Dürer to Manet: Prints and Drawings from the Collection The Prints Room 1 April –15 June 2008 Assistant Curator Simon Martin will give an informal talk about the works on display on Thursday 3 April at 6pm and Wednesday 9 April at 10.30am. Turn to page 96 for details.

Rembrandt van Rijn, ‘The Flight into Egypt; Crossing a Rill’ (detail), 1654, Etching and drypoint on paper, Hussey Bequest (Chichester District Council, 1985)

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Creative Response Mandie Saw

To the casual visitor, Pallant House Gallery provides an enjoyable way to spend a day perusing one of the best collections of Modern British art in the country. For other members of the community however, the Gallery is a salient part of their wellbeing. Mandie Saw, from Portsmouth-based group Creative Response Arts, a charity which works with adults suffering mental health problems and those in recovery from alcohol and drug addictions, explains how the re-opening of the Gallery has made a very real difference to some individuals. It all began quite by accident, really. There I was, having a quiet moment in the Cathedral Grounds one Sunday back in 2006, when I stumbled across a friend. ‘Have you been to see Pallant House Gallery yet? It’s just re-opened’. ‘No!’ said I, not particularly interested. It seemed like a bit of a bus man’s holiday. Let me explain why. I work for a charity called Creative Response Arts working alongside adults suffering long and enduring mental health problems as well as those in recovery from alcohol and drug addictions. We have a unique approach using art as a catalyst for healing, social inclusion and rebuilding self esteem. We are not art therapists but use the art itself as the therapy. All our arts workers are practising artists and many have first hand experience of mental distress. The following week, at our Bognor Regis studio, I happened to mention to everyone that perhaps we should have a summer outing and maybe it should be a trip up the road to experience the recently re-opened Pallant House Gallery. ‘Oh yes’ said everyone ‘that would be great, when shall we go?’

So a phone call was made to the nice lady at reception and a party of twenty booked in for the following week. ‘Shall I book you in to meet with our Head of Learning, Marc Steene?’ she asked. ‘Why should that be relevant to us?’ I thought, but oh how wrong I can be! Soon after this first tentative meeting, The Richmond Fellowship and Creative Response, West Sussex, planned a joint exhibition to celebrate Mental Health Day with work in three venues. A call was made to Marc Steene to ask if he would showcase or advertise our exhibition. ‘No’ came the reply. ‘Oh’ I thought, ‘that’s that then’, before he had time to add ‘You can have the Studio for two weeks instead if you like!’ Wow… So that’s how it happened. Since then the relationship has grown tremendously, with the Gallery becoming a second home to me and many of our participants. Last summer the Gallery and Creative Response worked together again, this time with Marc, the Friends of Pallant House Gallery, HM Prison Ford and former service users to embark on a new venture that would bring marginalised outsider artists out of the closet and into the mainstream environment of a prestigious art gallery, by inviting them to submit work for the first ‘Outside In’ exhibition. The response to this project was breathtaking. And once again we were able to hold another Mental Health Day exhibition in the Studio under the title of ‘Head Room’, where sixty pieces of work were shown from sixty different people.

Artwork by Derek Ballard

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John Lewis

This joining of forces has so far been more amazing than I could ever have hoped. People facing chronic isolation, lack of self worth and no self esteem are being taken seriously. The impact of being able to have the chance to show work in such a setting is phenomenal: the sense of achievement is immense, self-worth is now sky high, and dignity has been firmly re-established. The statistics show that one in four people, at some point in their lives, will experience some form of mental distress. Showing what can be achieved through liaisons such as those forged between Pallant House Gallery and Creative Response hopefully go some way in removing the stigma that’s attached. As for the future, we are planning many more joint ventures, maybe more regular workshops run by Creative Response in the Studio, but also looking at ways we can be more effective, inclusive and educational. Thank you Pallant House Gallery, thank you Marc Steene. 68

Participants say“I have exhibited some of my work twice at Pallant House Gallery. I felt so proud that I had produced something that others thought worthy of showing. I was quite embarrassed that people were actually looking at my work but got a massive lift when I earwigged them talking about it. I took my children to view the exhibition and felt immensely proud when I realised how they were so impressed at their Daddy showing his stuff in such a lovely place. My children have been asking for a long time what Daddy does, now they know and have told everyone at their school. Thank you.” Derek Ballard “I found looking round and being at the Gallery inspirational. Also having a picture exhibited at Pallant House Gallery was a boost to self esteem.” Gary Thomas “There was some confusion when we arrived as to where we would be, but once that was sorted it was one of the best things that had happened to me in a few years.” Thomas Hughes


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Building Bridges with Significant Objects Veronica Kociuch Head of Art at Westergate Community School, Veronica Kociuch has been teaching art in West Sussex for almost 26 years. Here she describes how she became involved with Pallant House Gallery, and why it is far more than just another building. Westergate Community School is a mixed comprehensive that caters for all levels of ability, situated within the ‘six village’s community’ of Eastergate, Westergate, Walberton, Yapton, Aldingbourne and Barnham. After a successful Lottery bid, the school was rebuilt in two stages, firstly in 1999 and then 2002, and now includes the very popular Six Villages Sport Centre, an adult community programme, a well organised Day Nursery and very active Youth Wing. About five years ago or so I was approached by Frances Guy (Curator) and Marc Steene (Head of Learning) and invited to take part in a project called ‘Building Bridges’. The children were asked to design and build miniature new galleries of how they would like an art gallery to look. This turned out to be both an inspirational and exciting experience allowing the students to give full reign to their creativity. For the duration of the project my students became junior artists and architects, exploring many of the considerations of a real brief. And knowing that the new Gallery was in the process of being built gave the project a real impetus. Since the ‘Building Bridges’ project, the school’s partnership with the Gallery has continued to enrich and enhance our curriculum. Later on during the building of the Gallery’s extension, some of our Year 9 students attended a week-long workshop with one of the Gallery’s artist educators to study and paint artworks from the collection. The results were attached to the hoardings outside the Gallery as a mini gallery and we were all stunned, or should I say flattered, when someone actually stole two of them!

During the last academic year, all of Year 9 under Anne Bowerman the PHSE teacher, worked on a project called ‘Know Your Place’. This project used the Gallery’s Significant Objects resource in partnership with Chichester Festival Theatre, to deliver the PHSE curriculum exploring issues to do with global citizenship and what it means to be British, and all the students visited the Gallery and took part in workshops. After my many years teaching Art and Design I can only say how thrilling it is to still give the students the opportunity to experience a sense of 'awe and wonder' in an art environment that I have also considered to be so spiritually enriching, especially because we did not need to go to a major London gallery to see such important works. I wasn’t introduced to this kind of environment until I was almost 24 years old and when I experienced this level of stimulation, I literally soaked myself in it. What lucky children! ‘Building Bridges’ was an Arts Council England funded audience development programme for the building of the new gallery. ‘Know Your Place’ is part of the Cultural entitlement programme funded through Strategic Commissioning from the Department of Culture Media and Sport to encourage schools to work more closely with museums and galleries. ‘Significant Objects’ can be used in a variety of ways. In schools it has been used to explore issues around emotional development, community and citizenship and other PHSE curriculum. It is also used as a tool to promote reminiscence work with the elderly and other community groups and to allow people the opportunity to explore and share personal histories. If you are a teacher, or work with a group who might benefit from the projects mentioned, please contact the Head of Learning, Marc Steene on 01243 770835, to find out more.

Pupils from Westergate Community School

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Collection News

Duncan Grant at Charleston This year the Charleston Trust will be marking the 30th anniversary of the death of the Bloomsbury artist Duncan Grant (1885–1978) with an exhibition of some of his most important paintings (19 March–2 November 2008). Although Charleston, near Lewes in East Sussex, was Grant’s home from 1916 until 1978 and its permanent collection reflects his artistic influences and friendships as well as his lifestyle, many of his best paintings were sold or given away during his lifetime. Pallant House Gallery will be lending Grant’s celebrated painting ‘Bathers by the Pond’ (1920–21) which will be hung in the atmospheric interiors of Charleston Farmhouse, one of the most fascinating artists’ homes in England.

Bow on Display This year, the Gallery will finally be displaying more of the Geoffrey Freeman Collection of Bow Porcelain together with the Arthur Miller Collection of Irish Glass in new cases in Room 3, where works from the historic collections are on show. This has been made possible partly through a generous donation by Mrs. Fiona Lunch, who has donated the glass collection in memory of her father, and has contributed to the cost of one of the pairs of display cases.

Top Duncan Grant, Bathers by the Pond, 1920-1 (circa), Oil on canvas, Hussey Bequest, Chichester District Council (1985), © 1978 Estate of Duncan Grant, courtesy Henrietta Garnett Above Bow Factory, Tea Party Group, c.1760, Porcelain ware, Geoffrey Freeman Bequest (1997)

Warhol at Pallant Whilst Patrick Caulfield’s ‘Juan Gris’ from the Wilson Gift is out on loan to the National Portrait Gallery’s Pop Art Portraits exhibition (touring to the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart from 23 February to 8 June 2008), the NPG have reciprocated with the loan of an iconic screenprint of Mick Jagger by Andy Warhol. Made in 1975 the screenprint is based on a series of photographs Warhol took of Jagger whilst Mick and Bianca were renting Warhol’s Long Island house during rehearsals for the Rolling Stones forthcoming American tour. The two artists first met each other at a party held for the Stones in New York in 1964 when the band was making its first US tour, and their subsequent friendship was based on a mutual recognition that both were a formative part of the counter-culture revolution taking place in the mid-1960s. In 1971 Warhol designed the cover for the album Sticky Fingers which gave the Stones a raunchy, hard core image. This is mirrored in the 1975 screenprint, where Jagger’s pose with head-flung back and Warhol’s exaggeration of his hallmark lower lip and gives the rock star an air of sultry menace, very much in tune with his flamboyant on-stage posturing. The print is currently on display with the Gallery’s collection of British Pop art in Room 10.

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The Arthur Miller Collection of Irish Glass Julia Cooper

An outstanding ‘collection of collections’ lies at the heart of Pallant House Gallery. Now, the collections are joined by the distinguished Arthur Miller Collection of Irish Glass, through the generosity of his daughter, Mrs Fiona Lunch, formerly Mrs Fleck. Described by the V&A Ceramics and Glass Department as a collection of ‘consistently high quality, having been assembled over a long period with a connoisseur’s eye and the advice of well-known and experienced dealers’ the Arthur Miller Collection of Irish Glass comprises some 80 pieces of domestic glassware, both functional and decorative. In period, it spans the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries. Without specific marks, it is notoriously difficult to attribute individual pieces firmly to a specific glass-house, or even region, but most of the glass does possess traits generally associated with Ireland. Moreover, there is a good representation of shapes, cutting-styles and patterns which may help identify certain pieces with a particular glass-house city; for example, a deeply incised, brilliant cut points to Waterford, whereas a shallower, softer cut suggests Cork. 74

The late 18th century hey-day of Irish glass sprang from an interplay between crippling excise taxes in England, the easing of such restrictions in Ireland and the passing of the 1780 Free Trade Act. These laws provided a powerful incentive for glass-houses and their workers to move from England to Ireland. There, production increased; four main glass-house cities flourished – Dublin, Belfast, Waterford and Cork - and a reputation for brilliance of quality was established, most famously at Waterford. Irish glass was in demand across a rapidly expanding world market. The Arthur Miller Collection is displayed alongside the Geoffrey Freeman Collection of Bow Porcelain in Room 3, where the Gallery’s historic collections are gathered. Each collection perfectly complements the other, so that visitors may glimpse into the domestic world of the 18th century merchant class, and enjoy beautiful objects, which they too aspired to collect.


The Art Library and Reading Room The Art Library’s holdings include books, exhibition and auction sale catalogues, periodicals, artists’ books and archives. Open to all, the Reading Room provides a quiet area where visitors can browse a selection of books and current journals. There are connections for lap-top computers and reading tables, plus chairs designed by Robin Day. At present, access to the Art Library Collections is through the library staff who manage the catalogue database and process requests. Users require either a Friends Membership Card or a valid ID to make a request and staff will endeavour to assist in locating relevant information and responding to enquiries. The Art Library catalogue is in the process of being transferred to an online catalogue to improve access to the collection for Art Library users in the future. The comprehensive collection documents

paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photography, architecture, design, performance and emerging twentieth century and contemporary art forms. There is a dedicated section for monographs on British and international artists to facilitate research into Pallant House Gallery’s art collection. If you are making a special journey to visit the Art Library, please check first on 01243 770824, or contact Reception on 01243 774557 to book an appointment. Gillian Birtchnell, the Librarian, will oversee the Library on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays with Tuesdays and Wednesdays supervised by Sarah Longden, the Documentation Assistant. Opening hours: Tuesday - Friday 10am– 1pm and 2pm–5pm plus Saturday 10am–2pm

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Nina Saunders: Autumn Flowers When Walter Hussey commissioned artists such as Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland and John Piper to create new works of art, first at St Matthew’s in Northampton and then at Chichester Cathedral where he was Dean from 1955 to 1977, he set a precedent for combining the old with the new that Pallant House Gallery is proud to continue. Nina Saunders’ Autumn Flowers, the third in the series of commissions in the stairwell of Pallant House, again demonstrates how the most challenging contemporary art often takes its inspiration from the past, and that there is nothing more stimulating to creativity and the imagination than being presented with the challenge of working within a historic interior. Freelance writer and art critic David Gleeson first encountered Saunders’ work via a television commercial, commissioned by a cosmetics company and launched at London’s ICA. He later wrote about her installation ‘Forever’ in Frieze magazine in 2002 and has written for a new book, produced especially to accompany the installation at Pallant House Gallery. In this preview extract, Gleeson tracks the development of Autumn Flowers:

"A commission such as this is more than a chance for an artist to prove their creative mettle - this they do by rising to the challenge of the location, its function and history. It is also, importantly, a real chance for an institution to help advance an artist’s development. The nature of Nina Saunders’ work and its intense, laborious production has effectively restricted her creative freedom and this commission provides a rare chance for the artist to realise a larger piece, extending the boundaries and possibilities of her practice. At last the concept first seen in Making Love to Flowers has been allowed to outgrow the limited confines of a contemporary domestic interior, the ‘bee swarms’ have stretched and distended, and Autumn Flowers is revealed as a sumptuous, gothic phantasmagoria in the spacious hallway of Pallant House." Autumn Flowers is on display until spring 2009. The accompanying book is available from the Bookshop.

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Nina Saunders: Multiples

From Left Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Mrs William Morris Sewing, Pencil The Artists model for 'Little White Chair' by Nina Saunders © Nina Saunders

To celebrate the third large scale site-specific work at Pallant House Gallery, artist Nina Saunders has produced two multiples which demonstrate how her sculptures and installations form a kind of trompel’oeil representation of domestic reality. The multiples are so infused with clever, simple humour that much of the brilliant craftsmanship and more serious thought behind them can easily be overlooked. If you want to buy a piece of challenging and thought provoking art, this is your artist. The installation Autumn Flowers has four, pod-like forms hanging from the ceiling above a comfortable late-nineteenth-century mahogany armchair. The armchair has been rebuilt and re­covered in Saunders’ trademark style, which, as author of the new essay David Gleeson describes, ‘means she has taken this object and recreated it, imbuing it with a profoundly different new life and meaning..'

The 'Little White Chair' edition, specially produced for Pallant House Gallery, allows collectors to take home their own Saunders miniature, inspired by the antique chair which forms part of her installation. Little White Chair 2007 by Nina Saunders Boxed, signed and numbered £75 + p&p £10 The second multiple, an upholstered sculpture in the form of a buttoned pan, is titled 'Mr William Morris's Pan for the Application of Utilitarian Cleaning' and continues the theme of producing works which arise out of the ‘subversion of the everyday object’. Come and see for yourself... Mr William Morris's Pan for the Application of Utilitarian Cleaning 2007 by Nina Saunders Signed and numbered from an edition of 50 £360.00 + p&p 79


Bookshop News Pallant Editions The idea of ‘multiples’ sprang up in the Sixties with the hope of making new art accessible to a broader public. While the ‘multiple’ was perceived as an art form that would sell, and consequently find its way into the homes of many instead of just a few select galleries, it was also looked upon by many artists as an art form that allowed for experimentation with varied artmaking techniques.

Paul Catherall Renowned for his linocuts of architectural landmarks and figurative illustrations Paul Catherall has produced a new print to coincide with the opening of the Colin St John Wilson exhibition. Selecting elements of Wilson’s architecture, including references to the British Library and Pallant House Gallery, Catherall succeeds in producing another bold and contemporary design.

Multiples are not intended to exist as one-of-a-kind works of art, but rather as editions of an original. Part of the creative challenge to the artist is in finding ways of realising an idea that can be repeated time and again, which involves researching new methods and sourcing new materials, leading to some unlikely collaborations between artist and fabricators.

The British Architect by Paul Catherall and Pallant by Paul Catherall 4 Colour lino prints (38cm x 28cm) Both titles are signed and numbered from an edition of 250 £65 + £15 P&P

Pallant House Gallery has been delighted with the success of the first multiples which have included Langlands and Bell’s ‘Frozen Sky’ watch, the Paul Catherall four colour lino print of the new Pallant House Gallery extension and Peter Blake’s enormously popular ‘Bobbie Rainbow’, and his four enamel badges which are also disappearing fast. The multiple which accompanied the installation ‘Shell’ by artist Susie MacMurray proved such a hit, that a limited series of shell panels was released at the end of October to coincide with the removal of the mussel shells from the stairwell walls. Work on new multiples for Pallant House Gallery by a number of different artists, including Colin Self and Peter Blake, is underway watch this space!

A specially commissioned artist’s multiple by Paul Catherall, in the form of a canvas book bag is also available from the Bookshop.

Susie MacMurray SHELLS by Susie MacMurray Limited edition shell panels Varied sizes available: £125–£800 SHELL by Susie MacMurray Silver-plated mussel shell lined with velvet Boxed, signed and numbered from an edition of 250 £75 + £10 P&P Peter Blake, Dancing around Pallant House 1, 2007, © Peter Blake

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Bookshop News The Other Tradition of Modern Architecture: The Uncompleted Project Colin St John Wilson Black Dog Publishing, 2007 £19.95 St John Wilson sets out to examine the underlying themes of modern architecture in this handsome re-edition of a seminal work. He assesses their impact, influence, and continuing development in an original, insightful and passionate text. Colin St John Wilson: Buildings and Projects Roger Stonehouse & Eric Parry Black Dog Publishing, 2007 £39.95 The definitive monograph on Sir Colin St John Wilson, this erudite, comprehensive publication spans projects throughout his career and includes several of his late buildings, of which Pallant House Gallery is one. The reader is taken on a journey through modern British architectural history with fascinating texts by respected architects and writers which fully elucidate St John Wilson’s contribution to architecture.

The Artist at Work On the Working Methods of William Coldstream and Michael Andrews Colin St John Wilson Lund Humphries, 1999 £19.99 The first full-scale study to focus on the working methods of artists by direct observation this comparative analysis contains hitherto unpublished material by the artists and includes Colin St John Wilson's copious notes and his own sketches and photographs of the artists at work painting portraits of him.

Pallant Prints and Cards Visitors to the Bookshop can take home high quality reproductions of their favourite artworks, complete with a choice of mounts and frames. A beautiful range of greetings cards - including original works by Harvey Daniels, Peter Blake, Susie MacMurray, Antony Gormley designed especially for Pallant House Gallery - will also widen the range of collection inspired merchandise available. Harvey Daniels, Whip, 2007, © Harvey Daniels

"Not just pertinent but a pleasure to read." - The Architects' Journal

Richard Hamilton: Selected Works Pallant House Gallery, 2005 Colin St John Wilson & Richard Hamilton Limited edition of 1000 £7.50

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Book Reviews

Edward Bawden & His Circle The Inward Laugh Malcolm Yorke Antique Collector’s Club, £35 Edward Bawden’s work covered a huge spectrum. As well as his paintings, he made intricate linocuts, designed posters, murals and wallpapers, and illustrated books. To everything that he did he brought an originality, humour and sense of design that never ceases to amaze and delight. This fascinating book traces his life and those whom he met and worked with during those years. It not only provides wonderful illustrations of his work, but of theirs as well. Well worth the price! Liz Walker Malcolm Yorke will be giving a talk on Edward Bawden at Pallant House Gallery on Thursday 10 April. See page 95 for details.

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Lucian Freud William Feaver Rizzoli, £65 This beautifully produced book includes 35 paintings made after the comprehensive 2002 Tate exhibition catalogue. Feaver’s new essay compares the artist’s enquiry in paint to his grandfather’s in psychoanalysis, and the publication includes a latest conversation with Freud in February 2007 alongside a particularly poignant photograph of the artist with a fox cub, taken by David Dawson his painterassistant, sitter and dog walker. The focused chronology and over 360 excellent colour reproductions make this an extremely enjoyable addition to existing literature on one of our greatest living artists. Richard Hall William Feaver will be giving a talk on Michael Andrews at Pallant House Gallery on Thursday 10 April. See page 95 for details.

Enclosures: Andy Goldsworthy James Putnam Thames and Hudson, £35 When Andy Goldsworthy made his moonlit chalk path at Petworth and the weathered hearth stones for Pallant House Gallery, he bought drama to the Sussex landscape and turned the chalk into metaphor for charting a course and for homecoming. Such poetic dialogue is at the heart of Goldworthy’s art and in this book, all his exceptional skills as a maker are on show: exquisite photography, robust but infinitely refined construction based on meticulous draftsmanship, and above all the peculiar, will o’ the wisp genius of the man who can manipulate a skein of wool, a handful of feathers, a tangle of bracken into designs of haunting but ephemeral beauty. Jock Johnston


Top left: Sources Of Pop V Image Size: 505 mm x 505 mm Paper Size: 660 mm x 685 mm Edition Size: 175 Left: Sources Of Pop VI Image Size: 505 mm x 505 mm Paper Size: 660 mm x 685 mm Edition Size: 175 Above: Summer Days Image Size: 438 mm x 893 mm Paper Size: 640 mm x 1106 mm Edition Size: 175

CCA Galleries are proud to introduce three stunning new editions by Sir Peter Blake. The eagerly awaited ‘Original Sources of Pop Art V’ and ‘VI’ are now available. Original silk screen prints with 28 colours, glazes, glitter and diamond dust, in an edition of 175 and Summer Days. Sir Peter was commissioned by Coca Cola this summer to create a huge piece of artwork which was installed on the South Bank. It featured the iconic 75 year old Coke bottle and was part of their Summer on the Coke Side of Life activity. CCA have published this iconic artwork as a limited edition silk screen print in an edition of 175, entitled Summer Days. For further details about the works now available please contact CCA at The Studio on: 01252 797201 or by email: sales@ccagalleries.com

www.ccagalleries.com



Luncheon Kate Mosse and Stefan van Raay

Best selling author Kate Mosse, famed for novels ‘Labyrinth’ and more recently ‘Sepulchre’, talks to Stefan van Raay, Director of Pallant House Gallery in the warm and inviting surrounds of the Pallant Restaurant. Kate looks positively glowing beneath her rain-soaked coat as she ducks inside, out of the grey rain splashing against the restaurant windows. Locally, Kate is known as the daughter of Richard and Barbara Mosse, supporters and aficionados of the Chichester Festival Theatre for as long as anyone can remember (Kate was Deputy Director from 1998–2002). But since 2005, Kate has enjoyed an international celebrity of her own after publishing ‘Labyrinth’, a runaway success which has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. Her second book ‘Sepulchre’ hit the bookstores in time for Christmas and went straight into the bestseller list. As she shakes off her coat I ask her whether the second book has seen the same success of the first. ‘Sepulchre sold as many copies in three weeks as Labyrinth sold in its first three months, so the signs are good!’ she says as we select a table by the window and open our menus. ‘It’s had a lot to live up to – second book syndrome, although actually it’s my sixth book. There was lots of expectation’ she agrees with me, ‘but the feedback has been really positive. I still find it wonderful that my work appeals to so many people and continues to be such a success. It means I can carry on writing and not get a proper job!’ she jokes.

We scan the menu. Kate hunts for vegetarian dishes and admits she’s impressed with the choice. Blindly tasting the Rosé house wine she guesses its origins immediately. ‘Not French, not American, must be from somewhere like Spain? Or Portugal? Dry and more cherry…..’ Absolutely spot on. The Portuguese Terra Franco Rosado (£10.50 per bottle) is beautiful and sooths the palate with subtle summer fruit flavours. I order a selection of marinated olives to go with the wine, to which Kate comments ‘lots of restaurants do olives as mini starters now, but they are so variable from place to place – sometimes too horribly sweet for my taste’, but when they arrive, she loves them and between the two of us, they disappear in no time. For mains, we both choose the chargrilled bruschetta with ratatouille and grilled goat’s cheese dressed with a local leaf salad (£13.95). ‘When we are in Carcassonne [Southwest France] my husband Greg and I always eat loads of goat’s cheese, so I’m always keen to try out new versions of one of my favourite dishes!’ Kate explains. ‘Promise to share a cheese platter with me afterwards?’ I readily agree to a shared cheese board and ask whether her latest bestseller, 'Sepulchre', is set in France, as 'Labyrinth' was. ‘It’s set in Paris and Rennes-les-Bains in the Languedoc region, about thirty kilometres south of Carcassonne. It's another adventure story, but this time part ghost story and part tarot tale. I loved researching and 85


writing the book. Paris was the artistic centre of the world in the 1890s but at the same time French society was in turmoil after the trauma of the Franco-Prussian War. Parisians didn’t exude that British confidence and the sense of ‘doing your duty’ for empire. On the contrary, they experienced a sense of loss and instead searched for alternatives like, for instance, Christian Science, theosophy, anthropology and symbolism. Think about what Odilon Redon and Gustave Moreau were producing at that time for example. This is the backdrop for Sepulchre, all set within the boldest voluntary reconstruction of a world capital ever: Hausmanns Paris.’ With the seemingly overnight success of ‘Sepulchre’ and ‘Labyrinth’, it’s easy to forget that Mosse is also a successful radio and television presenter and was a modestly celebrated author before her big break. ‘The first book I ever wrote was a pregnancy guide, based on my experiences and those of twenty-five other women. After reading that, a publisher approached me and made the point that what I clearly liked doing most was telling stories. He commissioned me to write fiction. I wrote two novels, then the BBC book on the Royal Opera House to accompany the now famous, or should I say infamous, fly-on-the-wall documentary which disclosed the rifts and acrimony that had previously been hidden behind the scenes there. That was a hugely important experience. It taught me about narrative, but also about how manipulative television can be’. Mosse’s longstanding passion for creative writing also led her to co-found what has become one of the most successful prizes in the literary world: the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, which celebrates international fiction written by women. I ask her about how it came about, and she explains, how ‘in 1991 the Booker Prize shortlist, which at that time was the biggest and most important outlet for rewarding authors and propelling them into the international limelight, didn’t include any female authors at all, despite the fact that 60 per cent of the novels published that year had been by women. A group of us – a small band of determined men and women, many of whom were publishers, journalists, booksellers, librarians and writers – got together to discuss this. The end result was the first Orange Prize in 1996. It has gone from strength to strength and is now one of the highlights of the literary year.’

After the main course (which Kate describes as ‘simply delicious’) and more Rosé which Kate drinks with her glass brimming with ice, we order the promised platter of local cheeses as a shared course (£6.50) which, when it arrives, Kate relishes. Both Kate and her husband Greg are real locals and I find out that they met back at school when the Chichester High School for Boys and the Chichester High School for Girls combined to put on an Offenbach production of ‘La Vie Parisienne’. During their university years they each went their own ways, but a chance reunion brought them together again. ‘It was very romantic.’ Kate explains. ‘I came down on the train from London to visit my sister who’d just had a baby, and then at Gatwick Greg stepped on the train coming home from Paris. It was the first time we had seen each other since our school romance and very quickly we realised that was it. After a year of commuting between England and France, we settled in London, but in 1998 we moved back to Sussex when I became the Deputy Director of the Chichester Festival Theatre, working with Andrew Welch. Apart from the challenge of the job, it was also a chance for us to bring up our children away from London and return to Sussex, which we both love.’ ‘So what was it like coming back to Chichester after living in London?’ I ask Kate. ‘Initially, we were a bit anxious that it would be claustrophobic, but as it turns out, it was perfect. Both of my sisters and their families are here, as is Greg’s mother and my parents. We love walking, having the sea close by, and with world class theatre – and, of course, a world class art gallery with a fantastic restaurant and bookshop. It’s everything you might want from London but more. It’s home.’ Kate Mosse presents A Good Read on BBC Radio 4. 'Sepulchre' is published by Orion £18.99 The Pallant Restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday during normal Gallery opening hours, and late on Thursdays, serving food until 8pm. To make your Reservation call 01243 770827.


Entertaining at Pallant House Gallery From receptions, meetings and dinners to children’s parties and guided tours, entertaining at Pallant House Gallery couldn’t be more unique. Whether it's a business meeting or conference, a breakfast discussion or private luncheon, it can be as simple as coffee and cake, or extend to a five course banquet! Mouth watering canapés, delicious buffets, 3 course dinners and fine wines are all provided by The Pallant Restaurant. Helen Ward, Pallant House Gallery's Events Co-ordinator, is used to guiding clients through the organisation of their events – whether it’s a children’s party with crafts in the studio – or a reception in the galleries where guests can enjoy being surrounded by one of the best collections of Modern British art in the world.

Photograph by Jason Hedges

Private tours also offer an intimate way of getting acquainted with the collection. Trained guides are on hand to ensure the most is experienced out of a visit, with the option to tailor the tour to suit specific interests and requirements (within certain limits!). Bookings can be made for individual parties and for groups of over 10 people in advance. To find out more contact Helen on 01243 7708383 or h.ward@pallant.org.uk. For private hire of The Pallant Restaurant contact Lindsey Mellor on 01243 784701 or email thepallantrestaurant@talktalk.net. Restaurant Vouchers are also available for that special gift of dining out.

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www.sallymarienstudio.co.uk contemporary ceramics, painting and sculpture

Peter Beard Matthew Chambers Alex Calinescu Carina Ciscato

Paul Jackson Christy Keeney Chris Lewis Sally Marien

Alison Crowther Jack Doherty Judith Fisher Alison Gautrey

Annabel Munn Matthew Radford Ruthanne Tudball Cara Wassenberg

Dumpford Farmhouse Trotton Petersfield Hants GU31 5JN T 07767 268895 E info@sallymarienstudio.co.uk

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d Matt Small Shepard Fairey (Obey) Cyril Power Br Trafford Parsons Storm Thorgerson It’s Pop It’s Art ampson Banksy Kozyndan Jane Sampson Miss Bugs gan Hicks James Cauty Ben Allen Graham Carter S in Hush Simon Dixon Jamie Reid Anna Marrrow Cy Charlotte Cornish Dan Baldwin Andrew McAttee E r D Peter Blake Bruce McLean Stanley Donwood Ja row Eelus RYCA Peter Kennard Adam Koukoudakis Half landscape.indd 1

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Collectable prints, expert advice t 01273 724829 e info@artrepublic.com 13 Bond Street Brighton BN1 1RD Open Mon to Fri 9.30am - 6pm Sat 9am - 6pm Sun 11am - 5pm

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Chairman of the Friends' Letter Lady Nicholas Gordon Lennox

Ivon Hitchens, Red Centre, 1972, Oil on canvas, Kearley Bequest, through The Art Fund (1989), © Estate of the Artist

I am delighted to tell you all that in this, our 25th anniversary year, the membership of the Friends of Pallant House Gallery now number 3,500. This is a fantastic achievement! With so many Friends to look after we are giving much thought to arranging an exciting programme of visits and events, and I hope you will agree we are achieving this. Through the winter months, on occasional Thursday evenings, there will be some cutting edge art films selected to coincide with current exhibitions, and on 24 January the first Gallery Art Quiz – it should be a highly enjoyable evening and we hope as many Friends as possible will join us. Details of the films can be found on page 96. In May there will be a spectacular trip to Italy visiting Ravenna, Bologna, Modena, Ferrara and Parma. This six day trip was proposed by the Director and is being organised by one of our Friends, Renata Baillieu, who is highly experienced in arranging cultural tours. There will be an introductory talk by the Director explaining the significance of the art of the region to those taking part in this tour.

Your suggestions and comments will always be welcomed in the Friends' Office and a special section of the noticeboard in the hall of the Gallery has now been allocated especially to the Friends. Notices of all the latest news on visits and events can be seen here. Friends receive the Magazine well in advance of other readers, so do enjoy your priority booking privilege and return the booking form, found on page 101 early. As you will all know, Pallant House Gallery has had no greater friend than Sir Colin St John Wilson, and the exhibition opening on 9 February will be a tribute to his extraordinary contribution to this Gallery. Please note that an Evensong in celebration of Sir Colin's life will be held on 8 February 2008 at 5.30pm in Chichester Cathedral. After five years as Membership Secretary, Beth Funnell is sadly retiring from the post in April. I am sure you would all like to join me in thanking Beth for her tremendous contribution to the Friends – she will be very much missed in the Friends’ Office, but happily will continue her involvement with the Gallery as she intends to become one of our volunteer guides.


Friends News Gallery Club and Patrons For Friends who want to be more closely associated with the Gallery or who would like to make a greater contribution, we have two special categories of membership, Gallery Club and Patron. In addition to the benefits enjoyed by Friends, members of the Gallery Club are also invited to private views and once a year we host a reception where the Director and Curators discuss favourite works from the collection. Patrons are also invited to the Director’s Dinner with a distinguished guest speaker, which this year was addressed by Sir Christopher Frayling, Chairman of Arts Council England. Membership of the Gallery Club is £300 a year and Patrons starts from £1,000. If you would like to discuss upgrading your membership please contact Beth Funnell on 01243 770815.

Voluntary Membership Secretary The Friends’ Office is looking for a Membership Secretary to replace Mrs Beth Funnell who will be leaving this voluntary position in April. The Membership Secretary is responsible for managing all the Friends membership. This involves overseeing the mailing of subscription reminder letters, the enrolling of new Friends, checking payments and maintaining the database of member’s details. The Membership Secretary is also responsible for making the Gift Aid claim twice a year. He/she would sit on the Friends Executive Committee. Good computer skills essential. If you would be interested in working with the Friends in this capacity please contact the Friends’ Membership Office on 01243 770815 or email friends@pallant.org.uk.

Email Addresses Do we have your email address? We are now able to email you with details of all the Friends’ visits and events and make sure you are kept informed about what is happening in the Friends’ Office. If you have just got an email address or have recently changed yours, please send us an email headed ‘email address’ to friends@pallant.org.uk.

Gift Membership Looking for a unique present? Why not make a gift of membership to the Friends? Your friends will get free entry to Pallant House Gallery and all exhibitions, free copies of the Magazine and priority booking for Friends’ events and talks. The gift that will last all year!

The monthly Pallant House Gallery email bulletin will keep you upto-date with latest developments in the Gallery. If you filled in your email address on the application form but did not tick the box requesting the email bulletin you will not be receiving it as we do not send unsolicited mail. If you would like to be on the email list, please send an email headed ‘subscribe’ to subscribe@pallant.org.uk and we will add your details.


Friends Visit to the British Library Alan Wood

As part of this special issue of the Pallant House Gallery magazine, and in tribute to Professor Wilson, Alan Wood remembers the Friends’ visit to the British Library in May last year. The visit to the British Library was sadly overshadowed by the death of Sir Colin St John Wilson earlier in the month. As part of the visit, arranged several months before by the Friends Events team, Professor Wilson had generously agreed to be our guide for the day. Instead, and in his memory, we observed a minute’s silence near the great figure of Isaac Newton, sculpted by his friend Eduardo Paolozzi. The library is one of Wilson’s greatest architectural achievements, a project which took years to realise. The forecourt provides much needed public space in this part of London, near St Pancras Station, while underneath several floors of shelving provides storage for millions of books. From the spacious entrance area there is access to the reading rooms where books are supplied on request using state-of-the-art retrieval systems. The public exhibition rooms are also on the ground floor where some of the great treasures of the library can be seen. These include the Magna Carta, the Lindisfarne Gospels, Shakespeare’s First Folio and sacred texts such as the Codex Sinaiticus.

The King’s Library of 65,000 volumes was collected by George III and formerly held in the British Museum. Now displayed in a six storey glass tower, we appreciated the scale and innovative design from a vantage point near the top of the building. The British Library is a functional building designed to bring together information resources from locations all over London. But it is also a building that welcomes visitors. There is much to see and enjoy, this was another great Friends visit.


Friends Events 01243 770816 Friends Membership 01243 770815

Friends Events Wednesday 20 February The Charterhouse and St Alban the Martyr Church A trip to somewhere with the Friends Tuesday 11 March JMW Turner’s House and Henry Moore at Kew Gardens This is so exciting...

Tuesday 8 April The De La Warr Pavilion and Kenneth and Mary Martin Exhibition After an £8million restoration project, this Modernist icon, commissioned by the 9th Earl De La Warr in 1935 and designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff, re-opened in 2005. We will be given a tour of the building and the curator will take us around the critically acclaimed exhibition, ‘Kenneth Martin and Mary Martin: Constructed Works’. Both artists were at the forefront of the Constructivist movement in England in the 1950s, working alongside artists like

Victor Pasmore. The exhibition, previously at Tate St Ives, focuses on Kenneth Martin’s early mobiles and abstract paintings and Mary Martin’s elegant relief-sculptures. 10am–7pm approx. £36 to include a pub lunch and afternoon tea 13–18 May Friends’ Italian Trip Bologna-Modena-ParmaFerrara-Mantua-Ravenna There are a few places remaining on this exciting six day visit to Italy with a special introductory talk by Stefan van Raay. Flying from Gatwick, we will explore the area of Emilia-Romagna with its great cultural heritage of art, architecture and gastronomy, and stay at a comfortable, centrally located hotel in Modena. For a full itinerary contact the Friends’ Office. £1617.50 Single Supplement £170 (Double room) £90 (Single) Wednesday 2 April Friends’ Coffee Morning We are continuing the series of informative coffee mornings with Ann Broomfield, the Gallery’s painting restorer, who will give an illustrated talk on the subject. 10.30am–12 noon. £3 to include coffee

Wednesday 7 May Friends’ Coffee Morning David Hopkinson, Vice Chairman of the Appeal Fund and Angus Hewat, Trustee and Honorary Legal Adviser to the Gallery, talk about the origins of the Gallery. 10.30am–12 noon. £3 to include coffee


Become a Friend and support one of the best collections of Modern British art in the country. As a Friend of Pallant House Gallery your contribution is invaluable, helping the Gallery to care for the collections and continue to present an innovative range of exhibitions and events. As a Friend of Pallant House Gallery, you could enjoy: • • • • • •

Unlimited free entry to the collection and all Pallant House Gallery's special exhibitions Free copies of the Pallant House Gallery Magazine delivered directly to your door three times a year A varied programme of exciting art events, special visits and coffee mornings, especially for Friends Priority booking of all Pallant House Gallery events as publicised in the Magazine Regular email bulletins Younger arts enthusiasts can also enjoy fun activity sheets, events and workshops

Choose the membership that suits you: Single Friends Membership Joint Membership Family Membership (includes up to 4 children under 16) Student Friends Membership Young Friends Membership (under 16) Gallery Club Patrons Please fill in the membership form overleaf.

Ivon Hitchens, Red Centre (detail), 1972, Oil on canvas, Kearley Bequest, through The Art Fund (1989), © Estate of Artist

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What's On Special Evening Talks Thursday 21 February Contemporary Scottish Prints John MacKechnie, Mark Golder and Simon Martin To coincide with the Print Room show of contemporary Scottish prints from the Golder - Thompson Gift, leading Scottish printmaker John MacKechnie RSA, Director of the Glasgow Print Studio and collector Mark Golder will be in conversation with Simon Martin, Assistant Curator to discuss printmaking techniques and Pallant House Gallery’s growing collection of contemporary Scottish prints. 6pm; £7 to include a glass of wine, £3.50 students Thursday 6 March The Life and Work of Michael Andrews William Feaver One of Britain’s leading postwar artists, Michael Andrews (1928-95) was the creator of iconic paintings such as ‘The Colony Room’ and ‘The Estuary: Thames Painting.’ To coincide with the exhibition ‘The Artist at Work’, the acclaimed art historian and author William Feaver will give a talk on the life and work of this fascinating artist. Following the lecture he will sign copies of his various publications on modern art, available from the Bookshop. 6pm; £7 to include a glass of wine, £3.50 students

Tickets 01243 774557

Edward Bawden, Brighton Pier, 1958, Linocut, © Estate of Edward Bawden

Thursday 10 April Edward Bawden and His Circle Malcolm Yorke Edward Bawden had an extraordinary talent for working in a wide-range of media including book illustrations, watercolours, prints and posters for the London Underground, and was associated with artists such as Eric Ravilious. Malcolm Yorke has written biographies of Keith Vaughan, Eric Gill, Mervyn Peake and Matthew Smith. Following the lecture he will sign copies of his new book on Bawden, available from the Bookshop. 6pm; £7 to include a glass of wine, £3.50 students

Thursday 8 May MJ Long, Roger Stonehouse and Stefan Van Raay in conversation Hear MJ Long, architect, partner and wife of Professor Wilson; Roger Stonehouse, art critic; and Stefan van Raay, Director of Pallant House Gallery discuss Professor Wilson’s architectural achievements and outstanding collection of Modern British art in this special evening talk to coincide with the Colin St John Wilson: Collector and Architect exhibition. 6pm; £7 to include a glass of wine, £3.50 students

DID YOU KNOW? Friends of Pallant House Gallery receive the Magazine 3 times a year, well in advance of other readers. To enjoy this priority booking privilege for all events return the booking form, found on page 101, as early as possible.

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What's On Films and Exhibition Tours

Tickets 01243 774557

Film Nights

Exhibition Tours

In association with Chichester Cinema at New Park the films have been especially chosen to coincide with the Colin St John Wilson exhibition at the Gallery.

Friday 28 March The Artist at Work: Michael Andrews and William Coldstream Led by Pallant House Gallery Guides 2.30pm; £4 to include tea; £2.50 students

Thursday 28 February Sketches of Frank Gehry Oscar winning director Sydney Pollock and architect Frank Gehry have been friends for years, and in this absorbing documentary (2006) the two men appear together in a series of relaxed interviews. Shot mostly with handheld cameras, this is a tribute to the dynamic, American-born architect best known for the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. Featuring Dennis Hopper, Bob Geldolf, Julian Schnabel. Cert PG-13 5.30pm; £8 to include a glass of wine and popcorn; Lecture Room. £4 students

Rembrandt van Rijn, ‘The Flight into Egypt; Crossing a Rill’ (detail), 1654, Etching and drypoint on paper, Hussey Bequest (Chichester District Council, 1985)

Thursday 13 March Pop Art Film Night An evening of two pop art films: Lorenza Mazzetti’s ‘Together’ (1956) which stars the artist Michael Andrews and sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi, both of whom were friends of Professor Wilson, and the cutting-edge ‘Pop Goes the Easel’ (1962) directed by Ken Russell and starring Peter Blake, Derek Boshier, Pauline Boty and Peter Phillips. 5.30pm; £8 to include a glass of wine and popcorn; Lecture Room £4 students

Still from Lorenza Mazzetti’s ‘Together’ (1956)

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Thursday 3 April From Dürer to Manet Simon Martin, Assistant Curator will give an informal talk about the techniques and artistic context of the works included in the display. 6pm; £6 to include a glass of wine, £4 students Wednesday 9 April From Dürer to Manet Simon Martin, Assistant Curator will give an informal talk about the techniques and artistic context of the works included in the display. 10.30am; £4 to include coffee, £2.50 students Thursday 17 April The Artist at Work: Michael Andrews and William Coldstream Led by Pallant House Gallery Guides 6pm; £6 to include a glass of wine, £4 students Wednesday 23 April The Artist at Work: Michael Andrews and William Coldstream Led by Pallant House Gallery Guides 10.30am; £4 to include coffee; £2.50 students


What's On Free Talks Artwork of the Month Talks An introduction to one work from the collection each month. 11am, last Wednesday of the month. Free with Gallery admission. Artwork of the Month Workshops follow these talks and must be booked in advance - see page 99 for details. Wednesday 30 January January 4 1953 (Thorpe, Wharfedale in Snow) (1953) by Ben Nicholson Gallery Guide Jock Johnston introduces Ben Nicholson’s beautiful wintry scene.

Wednesday 26 March Crucifixion IX (1963) by Craigie Aitchison Gallery Guide Jillie Moss looks at why Aitchison chose this subject, and how the painting relates to the Gallery’s permanent collection. Wednesday 30 April Colony Room 1 (1962) by Michael Andrews Anne Hewat introduces a pivotal work from the Wilson Gift, currently on show in the ‘Artist at Work’ exhibition in Rooms 15 and 16.

Wednesday 28 May The Architects (1981) by R.B. Kitaj Gallery Guide, Richard Hall, looks at who’s who in this significant work by R.B. Kitaj, who died last year. Wednesday 25 June Reserved Table (2000) by Patrick Caulfield Judy Addison Smith explores Caulfield’s approach to painting through one of his iconic works.

Wednesday 27 February Portrait of Dr George Bell, Bishop of Chichester (1954) by William Coldstream Celebrating 100 years since the birth of William Coldstream, Gallery Guide Liz Walker introduces the artist’s portrait of Bishop Bell, in the centenary year of Bell’s death.

Above William Coldstream, Portrait of Dr George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, 1954, Oil on canvas, Tate: Presented by Dr Bell (1956), © Andrew Margetson; Right Patrick Caulfield, 2000, Reserved Table, Acrylic on board, Wilson Gift through The Art Fund, © Patrick Caulfield

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What's On Free Guided Tours Saturday Highlights Tours A great introduction to the works on display at Pallant House Gallery. Free with Gallery admission. Every Saturday at 3pm with experienced and knowledgeable Gallery Guides. A British Sign Language interpreter accompanies the last tour of the month.

Thursday Evening Tours As well as the chance for some late night shopping in the Bookshop and an evening meal in the Pallant Restaurant, Thursday evenings are also about getting to know the collections. Tours start at 6pm from the Reception, rotate between six themes each week, and are free with half price Thursday evening entry. Landscapes and Modernity 21 Feb/3 Apr/15 May/26 June Looking at how landscape has been depicted in art; from the 18th century pastorals by the Smith brothers to the urban landscapes of Whistler, Sickert and Gore and contemporary landscape art by Andy Goldsworthy.

Still Life: The Language of Objects 28 Feb/10 Apr/22 May Exploring how artists have used still life as a means of expression and experimentation; from historic still life painting through Cubism, Surrealism, Abstractionism and Pop Art. Pop Art and the Swinging Sixties 31 Jan/13 Mar/24 Apr/5 June The ‘Swinging Sixties’ and Pop art go hand-in-hand in this tour which looks at work by Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, Richard Hamilton, Colin Self and others who introduced ideas of celebrity, popular culture and political protest into their work. Collectors and Collecting 7 Feb/20 Mar/1 May/12 June A ‘collection of collections’, Pallant House Gallery reflects 20th century tastes in art. Get an insight into who gave what to the Gallery,

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including architect Colin St John Wilson, businessman James Kearley and the church ‘patron of arts’ Walter Hussey. Portraits: Image and Identity 27 Mar/8 May/19 June Pallant House Gallery includes many portraits from the 16th century to the present day. This tour explores the developments in the art of portraiture through aspects of pose, dress, personality, experimentation and selfrepresentation. The Eighteenth Century House: Fine Arts and Furnishing 24 Jan/6 Mar/17 Apr/29 May Built at the start of the Georgian era in 1713, the Queen Anne Pallant House is explored in this tour which considers the architecture, the interior and the historic paintings by Hogarth, Romney and the Smith Brothers of Chichester.


What's On Adult and Student Workshops

Tickets 01243 774557

Art Masterclasses A programme of three hour long workshops based on the collection for those with some previous experience at painting, drawing or printmaking. The sessions are all led by artists experienced in traditional art techniques and are an extremely popular way to hone your skills in a relaxed and friendly environment. Book early to avoid disappointment! Each workshop costs £9 per student, plus a materials and/or model charge where applicable. Please bring your own art materials. Sunday 27 January Painting a Still Life in Oil Artist: Jenny King, 1–4pm Sunday 10 February Printmaking Artist: Louise Bristow, 1–4pm Sunday 2 March Watercolour Artist: Jenny Tyson, 2–4pm Sunday 16 March Life Drawing Artist: Sue Holloway, 1–4pm Sunday 13 April Acrylic Artist: Frances Hatch Sunday 27 April Experimental Drawing Artist: Suzie Darcel, 1–4pm

Artwork of the Month Workshops Designed to introduce visitors to a new way of experiencing art from the collection, the Artwork of the Month workshops encourage participants to respond creatively to works under guidance from an experienced arts educator. The workshops take place on the last Wednesday of the Month following the free Artwork of the Month talk (see page 97) and cost £6 per person, plus a materials charge where applicable. All workshops must be booked in advance as places are limited. Please bring your own art materials with you.

Wednesday 27 February Portrait of Bishop Bell by William Coldstream Artist: Jenny Tyson, 12 noon–2pm Wednesday 26 March Crucifixion IX by Craigie Aitchison Artist: Dinah Kelly, 12 noon–2pm Wednesday 30 April Colony Room 1 by Michael Andrews Artist: Louise Bristow, 12 noon–2pm Wednesday 28 May The Architects by R.B Kitaj Artist: Suzie Darcel, 12 noon–2pm

Sunday 18 May Life Drawing Artist: Jenny King, 1–4pm 99


What's On Children's Workshops Saturday Art Workshops £6 per child unless stated otherwise. Book early as places are limited! Saturday 26 January Mexican Dolls Spend a day learning how to make a traditional Mexican doll with artist Antonio Rodriguez. £12; 9–12 year olds. Two-part session 10am–12 noon and 1-3pm. Saturday 9 February Wonderful Buildings Old and New Create a mixed media picture inspired by the old and new aspects of Pallant House Gallery with artist Leisa Chambers. 13–16 year olds; 10am–12 noon Saturday 1 March Touchy-Feely Felt Flowers Artist Jaita Patel introduces the installation ‘Autumn Flowers’ by Nina Saunders in this fabulous feltmaking workshop. 5–8 year olds; 10am–12 noon Saturday 15 March Shrunk Down Miniature Gallery Artist Louise Bristow explains how to make your very own mini gallery to take home. 9–12 year olds; 10am–12 noon

100

Tickets 01243 774557

Free Holiday Art Workshops No booking required but places are limited. 5–16 year olds 10am–12 noon; repeated 1–3pm Wednesday 20 February Mexican Kite Making Artist: Antonio Rodriguez

Saturday 26 April Podtastic Make your own pods based on the installation by Nina Saunders with artist Jenny King. 5–8 year olds; 10am–12 noon Saturday 3 May Natural Forms Explore the exciting range of natural forms found in nature with artist Jane Moran. 9–12 year olds; 10am–12 noon Saturday 17 May Inside-Outside Exploring and drawing the Gallery and House with artist Jenny King. 13–16 years old; 10am–12 noon

PLEASE NOTE Details of all our events are correct at the time of going to press. Every effort is made to ensure no changes are made once published.

Wednesday 9 April Easter Fun 1 Artist: Jenny Tyson Wednesday 16 April Easter Fun 2 Artist: Jaita Patel Tuesday 27 May Design Day: Museums and Galleries Month 2008 Artist Suzie Darcel leads this special workshop for Museums and Galleries month 2008, inspired by the work of Robin and Lucienne Day, two of the leading lights on modernist design, who now reside in Chichester.


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Friends Only Events Charterhouse and St Alban

20 Feb

£35

Turner's House and Henry Moore at Kew

11 Mar

£38

De La Warr Pavilion

8 Apr

£36

Italian Trip

13–18 May

£1617.50

Tick box for Optional Guided Tour

Co st

m be

ro fT

ic

ke ts

Booking Form

(Contact Friends for details)

Friends Coffee Morning

2 Apr

£3

Friends Coffee Morning

7 May

£3

Contemporary Scottish Prints

21 Feb

£7, £3.50 (students)

Life and Work of Michael Andrews

6 Mar

£7, £3.50 (students)

Edward Bawden and His Circle

10 Apr

£7, £3.50 (students)

MJ Long in conversation

8 May

£7, £3.50 (students)

Sketches of Frank Gehry

28 Feb

£8, £4 (students)

Pop Art Film Night

13 Mar

£8, £4 (students)

The Artist at Work: Andrews & Coldstream

28 Mar

£4, £2.50 (students)

From Dürer to Manet

3 Apr

£6, £4 (students)

From Dürer to Manet

9 Apr

£6, £4 (students)

The Artist at Work: Andrews & Coldstream

17 Apr

£6, £4 (students)

The Artist at Work: Andrews & Coldstream

23 Apr

£4, £2.50 (students)

Painting a Still Life in Oil

27 Jan

£9

Printmaking

10 Feb

£9

Watercolour

2 Mar

£9

Life Drawing

16 Mar

£9

Experimental Drawing

27 Apr

£9

Life Drawing

18 May

£9

William Coldstream

27 Feb

£6

Craigie Aitchison

26 Mar

£6

Michael Andrews

30 Apr

£6

R.B. Kitaj

28 May

£6

Mexican Dolls

26 Jan

£12 (two part session)

Wonderful Buildings Old and New

9 Feb

£6

Touchy-Feely Felt Flowers

1 Mar

£6

Shrunk Down Miniature Gallery

15 Mar

£6

Podtastic

26 Apr

£6

Natural Forms

3 May

£6

Inside-Outside

17 May

£6

Special Evening Talks

Films and Exhibition Tours Film Nights

Exhibition Tours

Adult and Student Workshops Art Masterclasses

Artwork of the Month Workshops

Children's Workshops

All of the above are fundraising events for Pallant House Gallery

Total £

101


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Cheque Payments Cheques should be made payable to Pallant House Gallery Services Ltd. Please leave the actual amount open in case we are not able to provide all the tickets you request. For security "Not above £‌.." can be written at the bottom 102 of your cheque and we will advise you of the cheque total.


Flying Lessons by Vanessa Pooley Bronze, 2007, length 30cm

Half landscape.indd 1

tel: 01603 663775 www.vanessapooley.com 22/10/07 12:28:13

High quality ceramics, glass, wood, textiles, sculpture, jewellery, oils, water colours, batiks and limited edition prints. Artists include Eric James Mellon’s stoneware, Fran Tristram’s burnished raku, Priscilla Ritchie’s oils, watercolours by Kate Osborne and Bridget Woods, glass by Rob Marshall, sculpture by Alex Beale, mixed media art by Alison MilnerGulland. We also exhibit original art from children’s books, including the work of David Armitage, Gillian McClure, Mique Moriuchi and John Prater. Opening hours Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00–5.30 or by appointment Tel: 01243 554818 forgegallery@aol.com www.forgegallerywalberton.co.uk

F ORGE G ALLERY • T HE S TREET • WALBERTON • N EAR A RUNDEL • W. S USSEX • BN18 0PQ



Listings Arundel ZIMMER STEWART GALLERY 29 Tarrant Street 01903 855867 www.zimmerstewart.co.uk Anja Niedring, Maggie Tredwell and Chris Lewis 2–23 February A mixed show of landscape paintings and sculptural ceramics. Katharine Le Hardy and Matthew Blakely 1–23 March Paintings of North Devon beach scenes with porcelain functional ceramics. Nick Bodimeade and Paul Dennis 30 March–19 April Landscape and figurative paintings with studio pottery concentrating on variations on the bottle form. Jonathan Joubert and Phil Hall 26 April–17 May Abstract figurative paintings with illustration drawings.

Brighton BRIGHTON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY Royal Pavilion Gardens 01273 292882 www.virtualmuseum.info Little Black Dress 1 December–May (Fashion & Style Gallery) Exhibition charting the history of this iconic garment. Curated by leading

‘Sussex Landscape’, by Anja Niedring, at Zimmer Stewart Gallery

fashion designer Andrew Fionda (of the label Pearce II Fionda), and featuring Julien MacDonald’s flowing creation modelled by Victoria Beckham in her book That Extra Half Inch. The Art of Wrapping: Furoshiki Textiles from Japan 9 October–17 August (James Green Gallery of World Art) These historical and contemporary re-useable textiles, decorated with bold designs, are striking alternatives to plastic bags.

Chalford GALLERY PANGOLIN 9 Chalford Industrial Estate, Chalford, Gloucestershire 01453 886527 www.gallery-pangolin.com Anthony Abrahams: Maquettes and Drawings 14 January–22 February Anthony Abrahams: Sculpture and Prints 14 January–26 April Abrahams’ first one-man show for almost twenty years. At the Museum in the Park, Stroud. 20/21 International Art Fair 21–24 February Stand 42, at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London. From Aardvark to Zebra–an Anita Mandl Bestiary 19 May–27 June

Chichester CASS SCULPTURE FOUNDATION Sculpture Estate, Goodwood 01243 538449 www.sculpture.org.uk Sculpture Estate Opening 1 April onwards New works from Bryan Kneale, Phillip King and Tim Morgan will be on show, as well as over 70 other works from leading British artists. NEIL LAWSON BAKER Graingers Studio, West Ashling 01243 576082 www.neillawsonbaker.com Neil welcomes visitors to his studio by appointment. OTTER GALLERY Bishop Otter Campus, University of Chichester 01243 816098 www.chiuni.ac.uk/ottergallery John Adams: Boxes and Assemblages 16 January–10 February Created from found and made objects, Adams says his pieces are like ‘theatres which derive from my inner vision, my inner world’. Drawing on Research 16 February–16 March Continuing their exploration of practice and research, members of the University’s Fine Art teaching staff examine the boundaries of drawing. Pamela Schilderman 20 March–20 April Installation work in which Schilderman aims to ‘provoke ambiguity in the viewer’. Hatch 26 April–27 May Work by level 1 & 2 Fine Art undergraduates.

‘Talking I’, by Anthony Abrahams, at Gallery Pangolin

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Glasgow GLASGOW PRINT STUDIO 48 King Street 0141 552 0704 www.gpsart.co.uk January–February (Gallery 3) A selection of works in print by workshop members and other artists associated with Glasgow Print Studio Rachel Duckhouse 6–29 March (Gallery 3) A labour intensive act of intricate and repetitive mark-making create subtle yet intriguing images. Natalie Mcilroy: Carrying Prilm 3–27 April (Gallery 3) Combining film and printmaking to investigate the absurdity of the human body in relation to everyday landscapes. Moyna Flannigan: The Blind House 11 April–10 May (Gallery 1) A series of fictional portrait paintings and etchings exploring modern day parallels to the political dynasty of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

London ALAN CRISTEA GALLERY 31/34 Cork Street 020 7439 1866 www.alancristea.com Gordon Cheung: Paradise Lost 30 January–23 February New paintings and prints. Ian McKeever: Assembly 28 February–5 April Paintings, gouaches and etchings.

‘The hauling of the James Caird’, by Natalie McIlroy, at Glasgow Print Studio

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Langlands & Bell: A Muse Um 9 April–10 May New animations and works on paper. ART FIRST 9 Cork Street 020 7734 0386 www.artfirst.co.uk Eileen Cooper RA, Simon Lewty, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Will Maclean February–May THE FINE ART SOCIETY 148 New Bond Street 020 7629 5116 www.faslondon.com 19th and 20th-century British fine and decorative art, and contemporary art. JAMES HYMAN 5 Saville Row 020 7494 3857 www.jameshymangallery.com Alan Davie: The Shaman’s Enigma 24 January–1 March (Gallery 1) Edward Middleditch: Sea and Sky 24 January–1 March (Gallery 2) Hughie O’Donoghue: New Paintings 6 March–19 April JONATHAN CLARK FINE ART 18 Park Walk 020 7351 3555 www.jonathanclarkfineart.com Specialist dealers in Modern British paintings and sculpture. Artists include Ivon Hitchens, Roger Hilton, Kenneth Armitage, Bryan Wynter, Adrian Heath and John Wells.

‘Pink Jug’, by Patrick Caulfield, at Alan Cristea Gallery

MESSUM’S 8 Cork Street 020 7437 5545 www.messums.com Rose Hilton at Tate St. Ives: The Beauty of Ordinary Things 26 January–4 May Featuring early nudes, works from her series of paintings of late husband Roger Hilton, and commissioned landscape works. OFFER WATERMAN & CO 11 Langton Street 020 7351 0068 www.waterman.co.uk Richard Allen Opening in the Spring The artist’s first retrospective exhibition. PURDY HICKS GALLERY 65 Hopton Street, SE1 020 7401 9229 www.purdyhicks.com Pentimenti 8 February–8 March Exhibition of work by Arturo di Stefano. Stepanek and Maslin 13 March–19 April Ola Kolehmaine 2–31 May THE REDFERN GALLERY 20 Cork St 020 7734 1732 www.redfern-gallery.com Roman Halter 4–31 January Pierre Alechinsky 5–28 February Henry Inlander 4 March–3 April

‘Seascape 1’, 1974, by Edward Middleditch, at James Hyman Gallery


Penzance

Southampton

Walberton

STONEMAN GRAPHICS GALLERY Orchard Flower Farm, Madron 01736 361756 www.stonemangraphics.co.uk Hugh Stoneman: The Printmaker’s Studio 26 January–11 May (At Tate St Ives) Renowned for collaborations with national and international artists, Stoneman ensured that, through the intrinsic artistic qualities of print media, their work found new relationships between image and material. This exhibition displays career highlights spanning four decades.

SOUTHAMPTON CITY ART GALLERY Civic Centre 023 8083 2277 www.southampton.gov.uk/art A Rational Aesthetic: The Systems Group and Associated Artists 11 January–30 March Featuring work by Richard Allen, Trevor Clarke, John Ernest, Malcom Hughes, Michael Kidner, Peter Lowe, Kenneth and Mary Martin, David Saunders, Jeffrey Steele and Gillian Wise. Ancient Landscapes Pastoral Visions: Samuel Palmer to the Ruralists 18 April–22 June, (Galleries 1–3) Exploring the development of landscape painting in the post-First World war era. Featuring: Graham and Anne Arnold, Peter Blake, Jann Haworth, David Inshaw, Paul Nash, Samuel Palmer, John Piper, Stanley Spencer and Graham Sutherland. Eva Yipp 18 April–22 June (Gallery 8) Chinese-born artist Eva Yipp’s work takes its inspiration from the Chinese theatre culture, which is largely unknown in the West.

FORGE GALLERY The Street 01243 554818 www.forgegallerywalberton.co.uk High quality ceramics, glass, wood, textiles, sculpture, jewellery, oils, watercolours, batiks and limited edition prints.

Petworth ARDEN AND ANSTRUTHER 5 Lombard Street, 01798 344411 www.ardenandanstruther.com Giacomo Brunelli Until the end of January Mixed Show Artists include Brian Griffin and Gilbert Garcin. Ongoing

Plymouth MICHAEL WOOD FINE ART 17 The Parade, The Barbican 01752 225533 www.michaelwoodfineart.com Specialising in West Country artists. Including Robert O Lenkierwicz, Sir Terry Frost, Fred Yates, Joan Gilchrest, Gill Watkiss, Lee Woods, Sarah Goldbart, Mary Stork, Nik Strangelove and Ian Tappy.

‘Composition – Yellow, Pink & Grey’, by John Wells, c.1948, at Jonathan Clark Fine Art

Websites ART REPUBLIC Contemporary prints, expert advice. www.artrepublic.com DEBORAH STERN Abstract sculpture in bronze www.deborah-stern.com SALLY MARIEN STUDIO Contemporary ceramics, paintings and sculpture. www.sallymarienstudio.co.uk VANESSA POOLEY Bronze sculptures by Vanessa Pooley. Visits to studio in Norwich, Norfolk, available by appointment only. www.vanessapooley.com

Tilford CCA GALLERIES Greenhills Estate, Tilford Road 01252 797 201 www.ccagalleries.com 20/21 International Art Fair 21–24 February Stand 44, at The Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London.

‘A Surfing seal, a few wheatears, a loud sea. Pendeen Watch’ by Kurt Jackson at Messums

‘Sleeping Starfish’ by Vanessa Pooley

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Outside In Prize Giving

Maggie Blanding, Manager of the Richmond Fellowship and Marc Steene, Head of Learning at Pallant House Gallery

If you appear in any of the photographs in these pages and would like to buy a copy (available in three sizes), please contact h.wailling@pallant.org. uk for further details.

Mandie Saw, Sussex Co-ordinator, Creative Responce and Mike Prinsep, Director, Creative Responce

Participants and Friends at the opening of Head Room

Edgar Holloway and Peter de Francia Private View

Peter de Francia, Sal Wilson and MJ Long

108

Jennifer and Edgar Holloway


In Camera: Snowdon and the World of British Art Private View

Grayson Perrry, Artist

Lord Snowdon

Toni and Paul Arden

Anna Harvey, Editorial Director of Vogue, India and Stefan van Raay, Director of Pallant House Gallery Mr and Mrs Hanno Kimer

Robin Muir, Curator of In Camera: Snowdon and the World of British Art

Rudolf von Hormannsthal, Lady Frances von Hormannsthal and Paul Lyon-Maris

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Silver Pop Party

Kate Burt, Debbie Alun-Jones and Emma Goad

Purple Melon

Paddy Walker and Tania Slowe

Lady Emma and James Barnard

Burkhard and Johanna von Schenck

Robert Brookes, Chairman, Bonhams

Guy Fletcher, Dire Straits and Mike Rutherford, Genesis

Lady Blake, Sir Peter Blake and Jan de Villeneuve

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Jamie Ritblat

David Gilmour, Pink Floyd

Countess of March

Kate and Hugh Dennis

Stefan van Raay, Director, Pallant House Gallery, Lady Nicholas Gordon Lennox, Chairman and Jans Ondaatje-Rolls

Patti Boyd

Naomi March

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Artwork of the Month Jillie Moss

Craigie Aitchison, Crucifixion IX, 1963, Oil on canvas, Wilson Loan

If you look hard enough at the face of Christ in Craigie Aitchison’s ‘Crucifixion IX’ (1963) you may be able to see His features slowly appear – blink and they are gone. This enigmatic quality is indicative of the fascination that this small artwork holds for many Gallery visitors. The pale, ethereal figure of Christ hanging on the cross emerges from the flat, midnightblue background and has a gentle innocence which is so characteristic of Aitchison’s work. The crown of thorns on His bowed head is more majestic than cruel, the star in its centre giving a jewel-like effect. In an interview at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival, the colourful Scottish-born artist explained how his fascination with the crucifixion, which he has painted constantly for the past fifty years, began. ‘I was only part-time at the Slade. To go in every day I had to produce work I’d done since I’d been there. Well, I hadn’t done much so I rushed back to my lodgings and found a picture of a Roualt crucifixion I liked and copied it. I saw this dreadful deputy professor and he said, “Oh, this is far too serious a subject for you” and I felt very hurt and I thought, Right, I’m going to do crucifixions of my own. It gets you going when people are like that.’

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To us this may seem a superficial reason for repeatedly painting the image of Christ dying on the cross, but for Aitchison the story of Christ’s death is one of the most horrific he has ever heard. The crucifixion is a familiar image to us all; we see it in churches and museums constantly. Rarely, however, do we see the portrayal of Man’s inhumanity to Man depicted with such compassion and tenderness. Jillie Moss will present a twenty minute Gallery talk on Craigie Aitchison’s ‘Crucifixion IX’ on Wednesday 26 March as part of the Artwork of the Month series of talks which take place on the last Wednesday of each month. 30 January Ben Nicholson, January 4 1953 (Thorpe, Wharfedale in Snow) (1953) 27 February William Coldstream, Portrait of George Bell, Bishop of Chichester (1954) 26 March Craigie Aitchison, Crucifixion IX (1963) 30 April Michael Andrews, Colony Room 1 (1962) 28 May R.B. Kitaj, The Architects (1981) 25 June Patrick Caulfield, Reserved Table (2000) For further details about the Artwork of the Month Gallery talks, see page 97.



& DRAWINGS MODERN WORKS ON PAPER

art fair

WATERCOLOURS

THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, 6 BURLINGTON GARDENS, LONDON W1S 3EX

31 J ANUA RY – 3 FE BR UA RY 2 0 0 8 P r e v i e w We d n e s d a y 3 0 J a n u a r y

Modern and contemporary prints, posters, photographs Drawings and watercolours from every period and

COVERED!

The Artists' Book Show

www.worksonpaperfair.com 01798 861 815

By arrangement with the Royal Academy of Arts, 6 Burlington Gardens


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