RA Magazine Spring 2016

ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS MAGAZINE NUMBER 130 SPRING 2016 PAINTING THE MODERN GARDEN: MONET TO MATISSE IN THE AGE OF GIORGIONE LONDON ORIGINAL PRINT FAIR

ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS MAGAZINE NO. 130 / SPRING 2016 / £4.95

Ali Smith on Giorgione Tracy Chevalier short story The future of art schools 001_Cover_11A.indd 1

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GALLERY PANGOLIN Sculptors’ Prints & Drawings 22nd February - 1st April Our annual exhibition of works on paper by Modern and contemporary sculptors.

Part of IMPRESS 16 Stroud

Nature of the Beast 18th April - 27th May An alternative look at the animal world through sculpture prints and drawings by a diverse group of artists.

CHALFORD - GLOS - GL6 8NT 01453 889765 gallery@pangolin-editions.com www.gallery-pangolin.com

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16th March - 30th April Pangolin London presents their first solo exhibition of Jeff Lowe’s sculpture, jewellery and works on paper.

SCULPTURE IN THE GARDEN 13th May - 9th July An ambitious transformation from gallery to sculpture garden, complete with woodland and walled gardens.

PANGOLIN LONDON, Kings Place, N1 9AG Tel: 020 7520 1480 www.pangolinlondon.com IMAGES: (clockwise from top) Jeff Lowe, Breathing Squares, 2015; Jon Buck, Ship to Shore Maquette, 2007; Jeff Lowe, Janus, 1982; Michael Cooper, Baboon, 2014.

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PANGOLIN

JEFF LOWE: OBJECT LESSONS

LONDON

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RA Giffo

Andrew Gifford Street Paintings: Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo

John Martin Gallery 38 Albemarle Street London, W1S 4 JG

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T +44 (0)20 7499 1314 info@jmlondon.com

Art Central Hong Kong: 21st (preview) – 26th March Download catalogue at www.jmlondon.com

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ANTHONY WHISHAW RA Paintings from mid-1960s late 2015 2 March – 31 March 2016 Monday to Friday 10-5.30 Saturday 11-2.00

19 Cork Street London W1S 3LP Tel: 020 7734 7984 art@browseanddarby.co.uk www.browseanddarby.co.uk Blue Road - Northwards I, 1967, oil on board, 152 x 160 cm

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CIRCA Gallery 80 Fulham Road, London SW3 6HR +44 (0)20 7590 9991 www.circagallerylondon.com A partnership with Everard Read Galleries, South Africa and John Martin Gallery, London

Opening Group Show 18 March – 23 April 2016

Caryn Scrimgeour Dead songbirds make for a sad meal (Chinese proverb) 2015 oil on canvas 150 x 150 cm

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Elizabeth BLACKADDER

Elisabeth FRINK

David HOCKNEY

& others

Collectors of Contemporary American & British Art

Elizabeth Blackadder

Elizabeth Blackadder

W.J.Occhiuzzo +001 323.432.0223

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John Piper

21 - 22 peters court, porchester road, london, w2 5dr tel: 020 7229 1669/8429 www.manyaigelfinearts.com email:paintings@manyaigelfinearts.com by appointment only RA Salter ad_Jan2016_05

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REBECCA SALTER RA NEW WORK: PAINTINGS, PRINTS AND DRAWINGS

27 April — 27 May 2016

Untitled AH47, 2015, mixed media on muslin on linen,100 !105 cm

Beardsmore Gallery 22–24 Prince of Wales Road London NW5 3LG +44 (0)20 7485 0923 www.beardsmoregallery.com

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ANNE ROTHENSTEIN New Work

4 March - 9 April 2016

Clara 1 2015, Oil on wood, 23.5 x 17.75 ins

Beaux Arts 48 Maddox Street London W1S 1AY

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info@beauxartslondon.co.uk www.beauxartslondon.co.uk

Tel +44 (0)2074931155 Mon-Sat, 11am - 6pm

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Royal Academy of Arts Magazine No. 130 / Spring 2016

Contents 48

S COT T IS H N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY, ED I N B U R GH . B EQ U ES T O F M A RY H A M I LTO N CA M P B EL L , B A R O N ES S RU T H V EN , 1885, I N V. N G6 9 0/ P H OTO © S COT T IS H N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY.© PAU L W I NS TA N L E Y/ P R I VAT E CO L L ECT I O N . © N A DAV K A N D ER

The enigma of Giorgione ‘Is this a picture of an archer, or a picture of a lover, of a soul in a hard shell?’

ALI SMITH

Features 48

The enigma of Giorgione As ‘In the Age of Giorgione’ opens, Ali Smith explores the artist’s curious genius

54

Going for gold Sarah Dunant evokes the richness of Venetian painting through Giorgione’s peers

58

Watch these spaces As art education faces its toughest challenges Anna Coatman asks what future for art school?

64

The rules of the radical A new book on maverick architects prompts Hugh Pearman to consider their radical traits

66

Collectors’ choice Standouts at the London Original Print Fair

58

Watch these spaces ‘We are really heading back now not to the 1960s but to the ’30s, when art schools were only for the elite’ BOB AND ROBERTA SMITH RA

Regulars 11 15 17

Exhibition Diary Editorial Contributors and Competition 06

20

Preview UK including Hilma af Klint, Delacroix, Flavin Botticelli and video art, plus Glasgow in focus 31 Preview International Four good reasons for art-lovers to visit Paris 35 Preview Books Velázquez, Freud and the best new art books

80

Photo opportunity ‘Last year’s inaugural Photo London fair saw the city regain its place at the forefront of the photography market’ ZELDA CHEATLE

38

Academy Artists Yinka Shonibare RA’s studio, Basil Beattie RA, Joe Tilson RA, Ann Christopher RA’s drawings, Mary Ramsden and Marina Abramovic

70

Debate Should we care about attribution? Learning through making; public and Friends events

80

Listings Photography focus

94

Academy News St Christopher’s Hospice, the RA in America, the annual report, plus news from across the RA 102 Readers’ Offers 106 Short Story

‘The Apple Tree in the Garden’

by Tracy Chevalier

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Michael Craig-Martin, Fragments, 2015 a series of six screenprints © Michael Craig-Martin and Alan Cristea Gallery, London

Royal Academy of Arts · Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 May 2016 · 31st Edition

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What’s on at the Royal Academy this spring

YA L E U N I V ERS I T Y A R T G A L L ERY, CO L L EC T I O N O F M R . A N D M RS . PAU L M EL LO N , B . A . 1929, L . H . D. H 1967/ P H OTO © YA L E U N I V ERS I T Y A R T G A L L ERY. I M AGE CO U R T ESY O F T H E A R T IS T © A N N CH R IS TO P H ER . KU NS T H IS TO R IS CH ES M US EU M , KU NS T K A M M ER , V I EN N A , I N V. 7471/ P H OTO © K H M - M US EU MS V ER B A N D

RA Diary

The Lines of Time – 8, 2014, by Ann Christopher RA

The Artist’s Garden at Giverny, 1900, by Claude Monet

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse Main Galleries until 20 April

Bacchus and Ariadne, c.1510, by Tullio Lombardo

In the Age of Giorgione The Sackler Wing 12 March to 5 June

We recommend that Friends book a time slot in advance. Visit http://roy.ac/moderngarden or call 020 7300 8090

Bringing together seminal works by masters such as Titian, Bellini and Giorgione, this exhibition sheds new light on a pivotal period in the history of art – Venice in the first years of the 16th century. These sumptuous pieces chart the development of the idealised beauty, expressive force and sensuous colour that are the hallmarks of Venetian Renaissance art. The first great painter during this period is the most mysterious: little is known about Giorgione’s life, yet the poetic quality of his work is profoundly felt.

2009-2016 Season supported by JTI. Supported

by Maserati

Friends Private Views Every Friday, 9am–10am 9 March, 6pm–10pm 31 March, 6pm–10pm

Friends Preview Days and Private Views 9 March, 10am–6pm & 6pm–10pm 10 & 11 March, 10am–6pm 31 March, 6pm–10pm

Masterpieces including Monet’s Agapanthus Triptych and paintings by artists such as Cézanne, Klee, Kandinsky and Van Gogh reveal the role of gardens in avant-garde art from the 1860s to the 1920s. Gardens offered artists the freedom to break new ground. Sponsored by BNY Mellon, Partner of the RA. Exhibition co-organised by the RA and the Cleveland Museum of Art

Ann Christopher RA: Drawing – The Lines of Time Tennant Gallery 25 February to 29 May

A new series of drawings by Ann Christopher RA continues the sculptor’s exploration of line.

A monograph, Ann Christopher (RA Publications), accompanies the exhibition.

London Original Print Fair Main Galleries 5 to 8 May

This fair is Europe’s largest works-on-paper event, covering all printmaking periods, from the early woodcuts of Dürer to the graphic work of contemporary artists such as Michael Craig-Martin RA and Grayson Perry RA. Continued on page 12

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RA Diary Mavericks: Breaking the Mould of British Architecture

Coming soon

The Architecture Space & Gallery Café until 20 April

Main Galleries 13 June to 21 August

This installation spotlights British architecture since the 16th century, seen through the work of 12 maverick architects, including John Soane RA, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Zaha Hadid RA. The display is accompanied by a new book on this topic by Owen Hopkins (RA Publications).

Supported by Turkishceramics

This annual exhibition has long been a highlight of the London art calendar, showcasing a variety of work in all media. See recent work by everyone from emerging artists to the biggest names in art and architecture. This year, the Summer Exhibition is co-ordinated by the celebrated sculptor Richard Wilson RA. Sponsored by Insight Investment

The Keeper’s House until 24 April

Co-ordinated by Barbara Rae RA, this selling exhibition focuses on the rich responses of contemporary painters and printmakers to the landscape, coastline and sea.

Diana Armfield RA and Bernard Dunstan RA The Keeper’s House until 24 April

An exhibition exploring the figurative paintings of two Senior Academicians, focusing on landscapes, still-lifes and interior portraits.

Urban Jigsaw The Architecture Space 27 April to 29 May

Friends Preview Days & Private Views 10 & 11 June, 10am–6pm & 6pm–10pm 12 June, 10am–8pm (booking opens 2 March)

David Hockney RA: 79 Portraits and 2 Still Lifes The Sackler Wing 2 July to 2 October

After his monumental exhibition of landscapes at the RA in 2012, Hockney began to return to the quiet contemplation of portraiture. Each painting in this new series shows the sitter in the same chair, against the same blue background, and each was painted over three days. Yet Hockney’s skill and sensitivity allows the different personality of each subject to leap off the canvases.

Friends Preview Days & Private Views 29 June, 10am–6pm & 6pm–10pm 30 June & 1 July, 10am–6pm (booking opens 2 March)

The Academy relies on the generosity of its Friends and supporters to continue its programme of exhibitions, debate and education. The RA is a charity that receives no revenue funding from the Government.

Friends benefits Friends enjoy free entry to all RA exhibitions with a guest, access to The Keeper’s House – which includes lounges, a restaurant, cocktail bar and garden – and a programme of events, including Preview Days. Friends also receive the RA Magazine each quarter, and benefit from a 10 per cent discount at the RA Shop, in-store and online. Please note, Friends must show their membership card along with valid ID (such as a driving licence, bank or credit card) at the gallery entrance. Friends cards are nontransferable. Call 020 7300 8090, visit royalacademy.org.uk/friends or follow @friendsofthera on Twitter

Visitor information Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD 020 7300 8000; www.royalacademy.org.uk Opening hours Royal Academy of Arts

Sat-Thur 10am-6pm (last entry 5.30pm); Fri 10am-10pm (last entry 9.30pm) John Madejski Fine Rooms

Tue-Fri 10am-4pm; Sat-Sun 10am-6pm; closed Mon

While attention turns to London’s Green Belt to help cope with the capital’s population boom, many brownfield sites remain empty or unused.

In 2015 the RA launched a competition inviting architects to develop speculative proposals for these sites. Four are displayed in this exhibition.

Supported by Turkishceramics

The Keeper’s House: Sir Hugh Casson Room and Belle Shenkman Room

Friends have access from 10am, general public from 4pm. Mon-Thur 10am-6pm; Fri 10am-10pm; Sat-Sun 10am-6pm

The Keeper’s House: Shenkman Bar

Mon-Sat 10am-11.30pm; Sun 10am-6pm

The Edge of Printing

The Keeper’s House: Restaurant

Mon-Sat noon-11.30pm (to book call 020 7300 5881)

The Keeper’s House 28 April to 23 October

RA Shop

Closes Sat-Thur 6.15pm; Fri 10.15pm

A group exhibition co-ordinated by Tess Jaray RA exploring developments in printmaking practice.

RA Grand Café

Sat-Thur 10am-5.30pm; Fri 10am-9.30pm

Academicians in Focus: Ken Howard RA

Access See page 74. Visually impaired

visitors can access large-print labels in the galleries and on the RA website.

The Keeper’s House 28 April to 23 October

Small paintings by Ken Howard RA from his travels in Switzerland.

To buy art from the RA call 0800 634 Lord Jacob Rothschild, 5-6 February, 2014,

by David Hockney RA

6341 or visit royalacademy.org.uk/artsales

© DAV I D H O CK N E Y/ P H OTO: R I CH A R D S CH M I DT

Between the Land and the Sea

Summer Exhibition

Friends of the Royal Academy

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Half tide, Pin Mill Signed; titled on the reverse Oil on board: 20 × 30 in / 50.8 × 76.2 cm EXHIBITION OPENS 12TH APRIL 2016 AT 147 NEW BOND STREET

147 New Bond Street, London W1S 2TS Telephone: +44 (0)20 7493 3939

www.richardgreen.com Email: paintings@richardgreen.com

Detail of

Parliament Square Signed; titled on the reverse Oil on canvas: 20 × 24 in / 50.8 × 61 cm RICHARD GREEN IS THE SOLE WORLDWIDE AGENT FOR KEN HOWARD OBE RA

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THE SCOTTISH SALE Tuesday 12 April 2016 Edinburgh

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Introducing this issue

S Z ÉP M Ü V ÉS Z E T I M ÚZ EU M , B U DA P ES T. GI F T O F A R CH B IS H O P JÁ N OS L ÁS ZLÓ P Y R K ER , 18 36 , I N V. 94/ P H OTO © M US EU M O F F I N E A R TS , B U DA P ES T

Editorial

Portrait of a Young Man (Antonio Brocardo?) by Giorgione

Shifting sands The Venetian artist Giorgione may not be as well known to the general public as the triumvirate of Renaissance masters Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, but he has a special place in the story of art, and not just for the extraordinary beauty and intelligence of his paintings.

Giorgione achieved cult status because he burned brightly rather than fading away: he died, probably of the plague, at the height of his powers in his early 30s, leaving a remarkable but small body of work, much of which has been lost. Little is now known about him, and scholars disagree about which works are by his hand, leaving paintings in limbo, attributed to him tentatively or reattributed to his peers, including Titian, who was a young artist in Venice at the same time.

The RA exhibition ‘In the Age of Giorgione’ travels back to the first decade of the 16th century, when Bellini was the city’s pre-eminent painter and young Turks such as Titian and Giorgione were vying for prominence. The city was on the cusp of a golden age, and Ali Smith argues that this cultural wealth found

its expression in Giorgione’s enigmatic art (page 48): ‘surely the undeniable synthesis of originality and poetry in his work is born of an environment of fertile explosion in all the creative industries… a time of a prevailing humanism which brought the arts into fusion with each other and with the city’s own architectural and aesthetic versions of itself.’

Titian is now recognised as Venice’s definitive artist in the history books, but ‘fortune as well as talent had a hand here’, says Sarah Dunant (page 54). ‘Had one been placing bets in the early 1500s, the clever money might have gone to Giorgione… What-ifs don’t come more enticing than this one: had Giorgione survived the plague, that battle of the young Turks could well have gone into middle or old age. What further artistic wonders might that have produced?’

The shifting sands of scholarship concerning which paintings are by Giorgione raises a more general question: does attribution really matter? After all, a painting remains the same, even if we sometimes have to change our idea about who painted it. Art historian David Ekserdjian and artist Doug Fishbone debate the issue (page 70).

We should also be sceptical about the mystification of art. It is tempting to think of figures such as Giorgione as somehow untethered to circumstance – artistic geniuses whose accomplishments were gifts from above.

But Giorgione developed his skills through years of training, even though we don’t know in which workshop he was apprenticed. The idea that artistic achievement is a product solely of talent, rather than thorough tuition, is dangerous.

As Anna Coatman reports (page 58), since 2010 the Government has removed teaching grants for arts and humanities courses at university while retaining them for subjects such as sciences. The Department of Education also plans to roll out the English Baccalaureate to secondary schools – this performance measure of seven GSCEs excludes a compulsory creative subject such as art. We seem to have forgotten that becoming an artist is a difficult and laborious path that requires well-resourced teaching.

Britain has of late enjoyed its own golden age in terms of art, but are we becoming complacent?

— SAM PHILLIPS, EDITOR

EDITORIAL Publisher Nick Tite Editor Sam Phillips Assistant Editor Anna Coatman Design and Art Direction Design by S-T Sub-Editor Gill Crabbe Editorial Intern Daisy Clery Events Listings Editor Asha McLoughlin Editorial Advisers Richard Cork,

Anne Desmet RA, Tom Holland, Fiona Maddocks, Mali Morris RA, Eric Parry RA, Charles Saumarez Smith, Mark Seaman, Giles Waterfield and Sarah Whitfield Digital content Harriet Baker, Louise Cohen and Amy Macpherson To comment on RA Magazine

reply.ramagazine@royalacademy.org.uk Follow us online

Twitter @RA_Mag @royalacademy Facebook /royalacademy www.royalacademy.org.uk EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES

020 7300 5820 ramagazine@royalacademy.org.uk ADVERTISING AND PRODUCTION Advertising Manager

Jane Grylls 020 7300 5661 jane.grylls@royalacademy.org.uk Business Manager

Kim Jenner 020 7300 5658 kim.jenner@royalacademy.org.uk Production Manager Sarah Bolwell Listings Editor

Charlotte Burgess 020 7300 5657 charlotte.burgess@royalacademy.org.uk Classifieds

Irene Michaelides 020 7300 5675 irene.michaelides@royalacademy.org.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS

RA Magazine is published quarterly in March, May, September and November and mailed to Friends of the Royal Academy of Arts as part of their Friends membership.

To become a Friend

£107 Standard Friends (£97 Direct Debit) £150 Joint Friends (£140 Direct Debit) £50 Young Friends (aged between 16 & 25; £45 direct debit) Friends enquiries 020 7300 5664 friend.enquiries@royalacademy.org.uk www.royalacademy.org.uk/friends To subscribe to RA Magazine

£20 for one year in UK (£30 outside UK) Magazine subscriptions: 0800 634 6341 (UK only) 0044 20 7300 5841 (outside UK) mailorder@royalacademy.org.uk Colour reproduction by Wings. Printed by Wyndeham Group. Published 29 February 2016. © 2016 Royal Academy of Arts ISSN 0956-9332 The opinions in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the RA. All reasonable attempts have been made to clear copyright before publication

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CHRIS STEVENS The Age of Reason 14 April - 21 May 2016

The Age of Reason or Salem’s Lot, 2011, Oil on canvas, 170 x 180 cm

Beaux Arts 48 Maddox Street London W1S 1AY

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info@beauxartslondon.uk www.beauxartslondon.uk

Tel +44 (0)2074931155 Mon-Sat, 11am - 6pm

09/02/2016 15:08

Who’s who in this issue

Contributors MATILDA BATHURST is a journalist and copywriter based in London.

STEVEN CAIRNS is a writer and an associate

curator at the ICA, London.

MARTIN GROß is a student at the RA Schools.

LOYD GROSSMAN is a broadcaster and Chairman of The Heritage Alliance

HUGH PEARMAN is an architecture critic and author, and Editor of the RIBA Journal.

MICHAEL PRODGER is an art historian and a senior research fellow at the University of Buckingham.

ZELDA CHEATLE is a curator of photography.

KELLY GROVIER is author of 100 Works of Art That Will Define Our Age (Thames & Hudson).

TRACY CHEVALIER is a novelist. Her new book

EMMA HILL is the founder of the Eagle Gallery,

is At the Edge of the Orchard (Harper-Collins).

London, and its publishing imprint EMH Arts.

AMY SHERLOCK is Reviews Editor of frieze.

RICHARD CORK is a critic. His latest book is Face to Face: Interviews with Artists (Tate).

ALISON HISSEY is Project Editor at the RA.

ALI SMITH is a fiction writer and essayist. Her latest collection of short stories is Public Library and Other Stories (Penguin).

ANNA M. DEMPSTER is Head of Academic

Programmes at the Royal Academy.

ANN DUMAS is a curator at the Royal Academy.

SARAH DUNANT is a writer and broadcaster,

whose novels include Blood and Beauty (Virago).

DAVID EKSERDJIAN is Professor of Art and

Film History at the University of Leicester.

STANLEY JONES is a master printmaker.

FIONA MADDOCKS is a journalist, broadcaster and Classical Music Critic for the Observer.

DEBRA N. MANCOFF is the author of several books about art and fashion.

TIM MARLOW is the Artistic Director of the Royal Academy.

of Liberalism: The Life of an Idea (Princeton).

MALI MORRIS RA is a painter. Her work is featured in ‘Shapes, Scrapes and Breaks’ at Seventeen, London (5 March–9 April).

DOUG FISHBONE is an artist based in London.

MARTIN OLDHAM is a freelance art historian.

EDMUND FAWCETT is a journalist and author

NAME THE ARTIST COMPETITION 06

The RA’s Artistic Director TIM MARLOW introduces one of his favourite artworks (below). Name the artist and you could win two RA exhibition catalogues

MARK SHEERIN is an arts journalist.

EMMA STIBBON RA is an artist and senior lecturer in Fine Art Printmaking at the University of Brighton.

ROY STRONG is an art historian, curator and landscape designer.

LIZ WELLS is Professor in Photographic Culture at Plymouth University.

SIMON WILSON is an art historian and former

Tate curator.

JOANNA WOOD is an interior designer.

A modest little etching caught my eye at the London Print Original Fair three years ago.

It was full of wonderful contradictions: the etched lines seemed fast and furious but the effect was delicate, tender even; its subject matter – a street scene in Houndsditch – was mundane but somehow universal. I had recently become a father and I found the print’s understated, no-nonsense suggestion of maternal care almost overwhelming.

I have long thought the artist to be one of the most underrated of the 20th century. My reaction to the print would have appalled this painter, whose lack of sentimentality is what I love most about him, but I had to buy it.

TO ENTER Send the name of the artist to RA Magazine, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD – or reply.ramagazine@royalacademy.org.uk – by 18 March. Please include contact details. Three correct entries chosen at random receive catalogues for ‘Painting the Modern Garden’ and ‘The Age of Giorgione’. For full T&Cs, visit http://roy.ac/catcomp COMPETITION 05 Last issue Jock McFadyen RA chose Skinny’s 21 (1961) by Billy Al Bengston

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John Piper, Abstract, 1955, screenprinted rayon, published by David Whitehead Ltd, Lancashire, private collection © The Piper Estate / DACS 2015

John Piper The Fabric of Modernism 12 March – 12 June 2016

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What’s new this spring in London, the UK and abroad

Preview

A L L I M AGES CO U R T ESY O F S T I F T ELS EN H I L M A A F K L I N TS V ER K

LEFT Group IV, No. 3, The Ten Largest, Youth, 1907, by Hilma af Klint OPPOSITE Af Klint’s Group I, No. 7, Primordial Chaos, 1906-07

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Preview UK

The spirit moved her

A L L I M AGES CO U R T ESY O F S T I F T ELS EN H I L M A A F K L I N TS V ER K

The Swedish painter Hilma af Klint was making abstract art before Kandinsky but her spiritualist methods have undermined her standing in art history. Now her work is reassessed at the Serpentine Galleries. AMY SHERLOCK reports Hilma af Klint received her calling in 1904.

During a séance, a spirit power told the Swedish artist that she was to execute paintings ‘on the astral plane,’ representing man’s transcendental truth rather than mortal likeness.

Af Klint began work on her spirit commission in 1906. Between November and the following March, she produced a series of 26 small-scale oil paintings titled ‘Primordial Chaos’ (Group 1, No. 7; right). Executed largely in blues, greens and yellow-golds – an elemental palette of water, earth and light – these canvases served as preliminary sketches for a body of work that would occupy Af Klint until 1915. By the time she had finished, these ‘Paintings for the Temple’ comprised 193 works depicting a vast personal cosmology. They are the focus of the largest survey of Af Klint’s work in the UK to date, which brings a number of these paintings to London for the first time.

Af Klint graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm in 1887, producing landscapes and portraits in the romantic style popular at the time. However, with the first ‘Primordial Chaos’ canvas, she entirely abandoned representation in favour of a richly symbolic vocabulary of abstract forms and looping letters.

Five years before Kandinsky claimed to have made the first abstract painting, Af Klint’s works – made in near-complete isolation – uncannily anticipate his statement, made in 1912 in Concerning the Spiritual in Art, that painting must communicate, ‘the internal truth that only art can divine, which only art can express by those means of expression which are hers alone’.

Though born into a Lutheran family, Af Klint attended her first séance at the age of 17. By 1896, she was meeting with four women spiritualists, and together they called themselves ‘The Five’.

In trance-like states, they experimented with automatic drawing and writing – techniques that the Surrealists would turn towards three decades later in an attempt to access the drives of the unconscious. The group were early adherents of Madame Blavatsky’s theosophy, one of a number of esoteric doctrines positing realities beyond the observable world that gained traction as the 19th century passed into the 20th – when

electromagnetic waves had just been discovered, atomic structure was being theorised and the church was in convulsions following the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species.

In August 1907, after the completion of ‘Primordial Chaos’, Af Klint began work on the monumental series on paper ‘The Ten Largest’, which charts the four ages of man (Youth; left). Snail-shell spirals, concentric circles and zygote-like forms nestle amongst coiled fronds and splayed petals (she also produced intricate botanical drawings), all dancing against radiant tempera backgrounds from terracotta orange to faded lilac. Forms bulge, overlap, conjoin in what an eye informed by contemporary science might liken to celestial bodies or cell mitosis; they are extraordinary pictures, immense and ecstatic.

Af Klint painted prolifically, completing the series by December 1907, but in secret.

She showed almost no-one her work. She noted that she was hardly conscious of what she was painting, acting instead as a medium, a receiver: ‘The pictures were painted directly through me, without any preliminary drawings and with great force. I had no idea what the paintings were supposed to depict; nevertheless, I worked swiftly and surely, without changing a single brushstroke.’ The following year, Af Klint was visited by the Swiss philosopher and founder of anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner, who was on a trip to Stockholm. He observed that it would be another 50 years before the world developed enough to understand her art. Later that year, she gave up her studio in order to care for her blind, widowed mother and painted nothing – with the exception of a single portrait – until 1912.

When Af Klint returned to her brushes, she was less directly influenced by spirit guidance.

Crisper geometric forms emerge in the paintings; her palette is less diluted, her symbols more deliberate. The ‘Paintings for the Temple’ culminate with the large ‘Altarpiece’ trio. Two of these depict stepped equilateral triangles, one pointing upwards, the other standing on its apex; they flank a central panel containing a gilded orb whose thick black outline, like a protective membrane, almost touches the edges

of the canvas. The theosophist’s six-pointed star, surrounded by a circle, looks out from the centre.

The physical world aspires upwards, towards the ethereal rays of light; the spirit world descends, becoming darkened by form.

When Af Klint died age 81, in 1944, none of her esoteric paintings had ever left the studio. She bequeathed everything – over 1,000 paintings and drawings, and 150 books filled with diagrams, sketches and notes – to her nephew Erik, stipulating that nothing be shown until 20 years after her death. In fact it took many more decades, and the work of some enlightened curators, for Af Klint’s art to be acknowledged for what it is: an important chapter in the history of modernism. Her dazzlingly original work can now take its place in an age-old artistic tradition of media in the service of higher messages, which has given us so many of history’s greatest works.

Hilma af Klint: Painting the Unseen Serpentine Galleries, London, www.serpentinegalleries.org, 020 7402 6075, 3 March–15 May To see more images of Hilma af Klint’s paintings, visit http://roy.ac/klint

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CHRISTOPHER RICHARD WYNNE NEVINSON A.R.A. Troops Resting, 1916. Estimate £150,000–250,000.

To be sold in the Modern & Post-War British Art Auction, June.

BRITISH AND IRISH ART LONDON AUCTIONS 2016 Made in Britain March & September Modern & Post-War British Art June & November Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art July & December Irish Art September Scottish Art November To book your complimentary and confidential valuation please contact Modern British Art +44 (0)20 7293 6424 rachel.ross@sothebys.com Victorian, Irish & Scottish Art +44 (0)20 7293 5718 britt.roberts@sothebys.com 34–35 New Bond Street, London W1A 2AA. Sothebys.com © IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM, LONDON, UK / BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

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Light years MATILDA BATHURST on an illuminating survey of the pioneering work of Dan Flavin

© T H E M E T R O P O L I TA N M US EU M O F A R T, N E W YO R K / H . O. H AV EM E Y ER CO L L ECT I O N , B EQ U ES T O F M RS . H . O. H AV EM E Y ER , 1929/(29.10 0.131). © 2016 S T EP H EN F L AV I N /A R T IS TS R I GH TS S O CI E T Y ( A RS), N E W YO R K /CO U R T ESY O F DAV I D Z W I R N ER , N E W YO R K / LO N D O N

Christ on the Sea of Galilee, 1853, by Eugène Delacroix

Revolutionary fervour As an exhibition opens on Delacroix and his legacy, MARTIN OLDHAM draws out three qualities that mark him as a modern artist DEFYING CONVENTION

Spurning the repressive doctrines and practices of traditional academic training, and the cool neo-classicism favoured by the art establishment, Eugène Delacroix adopted a highly individualistic and experimental approach to painting. Although some of the French artist’s works addressed sacred or historical subjects, his method of depicting them was revolutionary, taking the feelings evoked by the stories as a stimulus for his imagination and creative expression. He painted at least six versions of Christ on the Sea of Galilee (1853; above), for example, reworking the subject as a personal exploration of its emotional power.

‘Delacroix was passionately in love with passion,’ observed the poet and critic Charles Baudelaire, ‘and coldly determined to seek the means of expressing it in the most visible way.’

untitled (to Cy Twombly) 1, 1972, by Dan Flavin

productions of most of his peers, and notably those of his arch-rival, Ingres. But Delacroix believed that vagueness of execution gave room for the viewer’s imagination to ‘finish’ the painting.

For him, the materiality of the paint was, he said, ‘only the pretext, only the bridge between the mind of the painter and that of the spectator’.

COMMAND OF COLOUR

Delacroix was revered by subsequent generations of artists for his innovative manipulation of colour. He experimented with colour theory, observing that no hue existed in isolation, but would always be altered by neighbouring complementary or contrasting colours. His bold deployment of colour in Christ on the Sea of Galilee had a profound impression on Vincent van Gogh, who saw the painting in a Paris saleroom in 1886. The Dutch artist later recalled: ‘Ah – E. Delacroix’s beautiful painting – Christ’s boat on the sea of Gennesaret, he – with his pale lemon halo – sleeping luminous – within the dramatic violet, dark blue, blood-red patch of the group of stunned disciples. On the terrifying emerald sea, rising, rising all the way up to the top of the frame.’ Delacroix’s conviction, taken up by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, that sentiments could be expressed through the arrangement of colours, forms and painterly gestures would ultimately lead the way to nonnarrative and then abstract art.

DYNAMIC BRUSHWORK

Delacroix conveyed his emotional engagement with the drama he was depicting through his vigorous and loose handling of paint. The sketch-like quality of some of his paintings stood in radical opposition to the highly finished

Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art National Gallery, London, www.nationalgallery.org.uk, 020 7747 2885, until 22 May To see an image gallery from the Delacroix show, visit http://roy.ac/delacroix

What qualifies as a medium for sculpture?

Moving away from the materiality of wood, clay and stone, the American minimalist Dan Flavin (1933-1996) made light his medium. The fluorescent light works he created from the 1960s to the ’80s are now the subject of a major exhibition titled ‘It is what it is and it ain’t nothing else’, at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham.

The title, a quote from the artist, exemplifies Flavin’s rejection of representation in art. He focused instead on the importance of colour, composition and the way an artwork is experienced in architectural space. The works in the Ikon show are all homages to other artists, including Alexander Calder, Jasper Johns Hon RA and Donald Judd. His fluorescent monuments to Vladimir Tatlin’s unbuilt tower – the 400m-high spiral structure that never materialised – imply the ephemerality of his own medium.

Many of his works, such as untitled (to Cy Twombly) 1 (1972; above), appear to follow the same logic as Malevich’s Black Square: installed in corners, they take the traditional place of the domestic Russian ikon. However, in Flavin’s denial of symbolism and spirituality, his works strive to be nothing more than what they are: in the artist’s words, ‘real materials in real space’.

It is what it is and it ain’t nothing else Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, 0121 248 0708, www.ikon-gallery.org, until 26 June

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A touch of the divine Botticelli was a huge success, then virtually forgotten before his resurrection by the Pre-Raphaelites, reveals SIMON WILSON ahead of a lavish V&A show One of the most fascinating phenomena in the history of art is the cycle of taste. Artists ignored in their own time are elevated by later generations, and artists who reached a pinnacle of acclaim are thoroughly buried and then resurrected. The early Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli was famed in 15th-century Florence, mainly for his (admittedly ravishing) Madonnas. After his death he was forgotten for two centuries, and then underwent an astonishing revival in the 1800s to become one of the most admired and best-loved of all Renaissance artists.

His Birth of Venus (1482-85) has a place in the popular imagination equalled only by the Mona Lisa (c.1503-19), and frankly is an infinitely more compelling work of art.

The whole extraordinary story is the subject of a major new exhibition at the V&A, ‘Botticelli Reimagined’, which examines Botticelli himself, the phenomenon of his eclipse and revival,

and his subsequent increasing grip on the imagination of both artists and public. Among his other achievements Botticelli was the father of modern, secular book illustration. In the 1480s he produced an astonishing cycle of nearly 100 large illustrations, drawn on vellum in metalpoint and pen and ink, for Dante’s Divine Comedy. A group of these is a feature of the V&A exhibition, but by the wonders of the zeitgeist the Courtauld Gallery is also showing no less than 30 of them in its show of treasures from the collection of the 12th Duke of Hamilton.

So why was Botticelli forgotten? One answer is that, together with his precursors in the early Renaissance, he was completely overshadowed by the great triumvirate of the next generation, Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo, who took naturalism, the convincing representation of three-dimensional reality on a two-dimensional surface, to a new peak of perfection. The Pallas and the Centaur, c.1482,

by Sandro Botticelli

earlier artists were made to look stiff, awkward, technically unsophisticated and naive in their simple religious faith. They were given the pejorative label of ‘Primitives’.

And then, how and why was Botticelli resurrected? The idea that Raphael represented the absolute pinnacle of art went entirely unchallenged until, by the mid-1800s, its possibilities had been so exhausted that artists started to question the whole premise. Rather gratifyingly, for readers of RA Magazine, this revolt – the beginning of what was to become known as modern art – had one of its starting points at Burlington House itself, at the 1849 Summer Show. This was when the 20-year old John Everett Millais (later Sir John, PRA) exhibited a painting, Isabella, that in style, spirit and in some specific details borrowed from Botticelli. It was signed with the mysterious initials PRB, for Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and marked the launch of a hugely influential movement that explicitly rejected Raphael and looked instead to the early Renaissance.

In 1867 another of the original PRB, Rossetti, bought for £20 (about £2,000 today) a portrait

by Botticelli of a young woman called Smeralda Bandinelli. Now in the V&A collection, it lies at the heart of this exhibition, where its feminist force and luminous beauty offer a retrospective rebuke to Leonardo’s similarly posed and sized but simpering and shadow-shrouded sitter. It was also at about this time that the railways reached Florence and a new public discovered Botticelli’s Venus and Primavera in the Uffizi. These are not religious paintings, but highly imaginative pagan mythologies with love as their true subject. And this, as ‘Botticelli Reimagined’ makes clear, is the real reason for our modern response to him.

The curators of this show have been rather clever in that it tracks Botticelli’s influence through the English Pre-Raphaelites and their Continental Symbolist followers to their Surrealist and Pop Art successors. We see these artists reworking the tradition with a vision that was fresh, highly imaginative, highly sensuous and often sensual. The exhibition then finally gives us Botticelli himself in a climactic selection of about 50 works. The Birth of Venus and Primavera can never travel but, among many other goodies, we have two of his large-scale masterpieces, the life-size standing Venus (1490), from Berlin, in which Botticelli presents the figure from Florence in splendid solitary grandeur, and Pallas and the Centaur (c.1482; left), his great mythology, almost equal in its magic and mystery to Primavera. Its meaning remains obscure – why, for example, is Pallas entwining her fingers in the centaur’s hair? Is she about to kiss him or kill him? Do not miss the opportunity to see this exhibition and speculate for yourself.

Botticelli Reimagined V&A, London, www.vam.ac.uk, 020 7942 2000, 5 March–3 July Botticelli and Treasures from the Hamilton Collection Courtauld Gallery, London, www.courtauld.ac.uk, 020 7848 2777, until 15 May

© G A L L ER I A D EGL I U F F IZI , F LO R EN CE , 2015/ P H OTO S CA L A , F LO R EN CE – CO U R T ESY O F T H E M I N IS T ER O B EN I E AT T. CU LT U R A

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The Alan Cristea Gallery at 31&34 Cork St. London W1S 3NU Telephone +44(0)20 7439 1866 Email: info@alancristea.com Website: www.alancristea.com

JOE TILSON Words and Images: The Notebooks 21 March – 7 May 2016 at 31 Cork Street

PAUL WINSTANLEY Art School New Prints and Panel Paintings 34 Cork Street 17 March – 7 May 2016

The Alan Cristea Gallery at 31&34 Cork St. London W1S 3NU Telephone +44(0)20 7439 1866 Email: info@alancristea.com Website: www.alancristea.com

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Next stop Glasgow The art world is beating a path to the Scottish city this spring and the International festival is just one reason why. MARK SHEERIN gives us the lowdown GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR’S PROGRAMME TRAMWAY (8–25 APR)

For two-and-a-half weeks in April, Scotland’s second city becomes a hub of the art world for the Glasgow International festival. This year’s biennial event focuses on making and materials, and at its core is a group exhibition curated by festival director Sarah McCrory, who co-designs the show with Turner Prize-winning sculptor Martin Boyce in this former tramshed. Six artists line up in his dynamic environment; among them, and not to be missed, is American artist Shelia Hicks. She has woven, crocheted, dyed and spun her way through a career dating back to the 1950s, and we can expect textiles of audacious colour and form (Foray into Chromatic Zones, 2015, 1).

JACK MCCONVILLE THE MODERN INSTITUTE (UNTIL 26 MAR)

Glasgow School of Art graduate McConville puts

gets more radical, as this review of his work over the past decade demonstrates.

TESSA LYNCH GOMA (8–25 APR)

on a solo show of new paintings at the Osborne Street space of the city’s leading commercial gallery. The artist’s previous form promises more of his fluent, elegant figurative work (Delayed Exit, 2015, 2), bringing to mind the sinuous lines of Jean Cocteau’s drawings of nudes. McConville has accomplishments that belie his relative youth.

The young Glasgow-based English artist Lynch works in performance, sound, sculpture and installation (Raising, Generation 25, 2014, 4), her work typically responding to built environments.

The post-industrial history of Lanarkshire has been grist to the mill, so don’t be surprised if her light-touch interventions respond to the iconic, neo-classical GoMA building and its interesting past as the home of a tobacco magnate and a centre for commercial exchange.

RICHARD SLEE: WORK AND PLAY TRAMWAY (UNTIL 20 MAR)

DON LEVY: TIME IS SWG3 (8–25 APR)

With his background in craft, artist Slee produces work that echoes Glasgow International’s emphasis on materials. Visitors to Tramway will soon discover that 21st century ceramics has taken a turn for the deeply strange in his sculptures. Along with Grayson Perry RA, this potter from Carlisle plies his trade on the boundaries of art and ornament, with colourful visual puns referencing household objects – for example, a ceiling rose becomes a wheel in Unicycle (2012, 3). Slee is 70 this year, but just

CalArts in California could just be an even more legendary art school than Glasgow. Past tutors include Allan Kaprow, John Baldessari and Judy Chicago. In the 1970s, that roll call was joined by Levy, who while completing a PhD in theoretical physics at Cambridge a decade earlier, joined the student film society and spent five years making Herostratus (1967), his best-known feature. Rediscover the films of this polymath, whose career was cut short by untimely death (still from The Glass Film, 1968-87, 5).

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Preview UK

Re-viewing the past STEVEN CAIRNS on three shows of video art that reinvent the documentary form OMER FAST: PRESENT CONTINUOUS Baltic, Gateshead 18 March–26 June

JOHN AKOMFRAH: VERTIGO SEA Arnolfini, Bristol until 10 April

Still from Vertigo Sea, 2015, by John Akomfrah

John Akomfrah’s socially and politically engaged art has gained momentum over three decades. A member of the now-disbanded Black Audio Film Collective (1982–98), he directed the acclaimed 1986 TV documentary Handsworth Songs on the 1985 Birmingham riots and has been more recently celebrated for an installation, and later cinematic adaptation, on the life of the cultural theorist Stuart Hall. His three-screen video installation Vertigo Sea (2015; left) now at the Arnolfini (and travelling to Turner Contemporary, Margate and the Whitworth, Manchester), is a meditation on our relationship to the sea, ecology and African diaspora, mixing archival and new footage into a haunting, contemplative narrative.

ELIZABETH PRICE: CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY AWARD Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 18 March–15 May

In works such as Sleep (2014; left), Turner Prizewinning video artist Elizabeth Price has collected and combined depictions of seemingly unrelated objects, sounds, texts and other paraphernalia, in punchy, attention-grabbing videos. At the Ashmolean, the documents and photographs of archaeologist and former custodian of the museum, Arthur Evans, are employed by Price in a new digital narrative. Evans is best known for his excavation of the Bronze Age site of Knossos on Crete – bringing the past into the present, Price gives a contemporary twist to his archive.

Still from Sleep, 2014, by Elizabeth Price

To watch clips of videos from all three artists, visit http://roy.ac/videoart

© O M ER FAS T. © S M O K I N G D O GS F I L MS/CO U R T ESY L IS S O N G A L L ERY. CO U R T ESY T H E A R T IS T A N D M OT I N T ER N AT I O N A L LO N D O N & B RUS S ELS

Still from Continuity (Diptych), 2012-15, by Omer Fast

Berlin-based artist-filmmaker Omer Fast tells social and political stories with consistent rigour.

CNN Concatenated (2002) knits a video collage of one-word snippets, clipped from news channel CNN’s broadcasts, to reflect upon society’s relationship with 24/7 news. More recent works in his Baltic retrospective include Continuity (Diptych) (2012-15; left), in which a middle-aged couple displace the loss of their son to war by inviting surrogate young men into their lives.

And a new installation Spring (2015) offers multiple perspectives on a political assassination, with the drama shot from various angles on mobile phones, putting the political in the hands and minds of the viewer.

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e a r ly s p r i n g e x h i b i t i o n s at 28 C ork St reet, L ondon W1S 3NG

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Jean-Marie Toulgouat Garden paintings 16th March – 1st April 2016 Thanks in part to Jean-Marie Toulgouat’s first-hand knowledge of Giverny, in 1980, the gardens were returned to their original splendour. Monet’s great-grandson by marriage, Toulgouat was a garden designer in Paris before he returned to Giverny and devoted himself to painting Monet’s “living palette”.

Iris Mauves et Jaunes, Chez Monet oil on canvas

40 x 40 cms 153⁄4 x 153⁄4 ins

JAMES DODDS

Exhibition 6th – 22nd April 2016 Exhibition catalogue available £15 inc p&p

Colchester Fishing Smack

oil on board in 5 panels 153 x 610 cms 601⁄4 x 2401⁄8 ins

Renowned on both sides of the Atlantic, James Dodds is a painter of working boats.

“What all my paintings are fundamentally about is the balance between the known and the unknowable: the boats with all my knowledge about how they are made matched by the dialogue with the paint; using what skill I have to create a piece of art that contains more than just the sum of its parts but, hopefully,

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something of the human spirit also. It’s about using head (idea), heart (feelings) and hand (skill) – a creative holy trinity. And I do think that work is a form of prayer or meditation. I long for that timeless out-of-body moment when everything is working well.”

James Dodds

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Exhibitions 2016

Exhibitions open daily from 10am to 6pm Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James’s Street, London SW1A 1LR

LYDIA HARDWICK & FREYA DOUGLAS-MORRIS

Twofold

14 January - 24 April

HILARY HOPE GUISE

Blue

4 May - 28 August

Be part of a club with a passion for the arts Over-Seas House is the London clubhouse home of the Royal Over-Seas League; a not-for-profit, international, private members’ club. We bring like-minded people together to socialise, support the arts and contribute to a variety of education projects across the Commonwealth. For information about forthcoming exhibitions or to find out about becoming a member contact 020 7408 0214, quoting RA or visit www.rosl.org.uk

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Preview International

Retourner à Paris There are four good reasons for art-lovers to go to Paris this spring.

Below MALI MORRIS RA entices us to a show of the painter and lifelong friend of Matisse, Albert Marquet, while overleaf Rousseau is reassessed, the Rodin Museum reopens, and Picasso’s sculpture comes to town

© D ÉP ÔT AU M US ÉE CA R N AVA L E T – H IS TO I R E D E PA R IS / A DAGP, PA R IS 2015/ ACH AT V I L L E D E PA R IS , 1936

I first heard of Albert Marquet in 1970. A postcard from a friend showed an unfussy kind of painting, a high studio-like space, almost empty, with the Tricolore and a trapeze hanging from the rafters. I slowly fell in love with it, not really understanding why, hoping one day to track it down. When I did, its scale was surprising, a small work with big impact. I have seen many Marquets since then, always on the lookout when travelling, as they are scattered across the world.

I have discovered other admirers and now feel part of an unofficial fan club, aware too that many people don’t know of him, or if they do,

View of Notre Dame under Snow, c.1928, by Albert Marquet

are rather dismissive. I think those who revere Marquet’s paintings see beyond the charm of the scene, the seductive palette and light touch.

They see through to his insistent enquiry into the fundamentals of painting.

The underlying structures are usually geometric, the touch direct but without flourish.

The paintings I prefer are of the Seine gliding through a dark city, passing from edge to edge of the canvas. And there are the workaday harbour scenes, tugs criss-crossing the picture plane, or pale turquoise seas that fill the whole space, reaching down to a sliver of a North

African shore. They are not descriptive of human detail, but are true to how the world looks, how it is inhabited, and I sense that Marquet felt this to be ordinary and marvellous, all at the same time.

Their subject, for me, is the sensation of light and air as rendered in paint. This near impossibility is achieved without special effects, just a carefully selected motif, and a willingness to build a painting through perceptual experience.

The spaces Marquet finds and paints, in Paris, Marseilles or Tunis, fill up with airy light because of his perfect pitch with colour and tone.

The paint reaches the canvas in a way that looks casual, but he was a master of fast drawing, as his graphic works on paper show, so every mark is useful. The colour chords that he orchestrates to construct luminosity are anything but casual; nothing is cosmetic in this quite ruthless economy. And at the same time there is what I can only describe as an objective tenderness, a feeling that comes when acknowledging the world through observation, inseparable from the urge to extend or at least explore a language which expresses this, collapsing the what and the how of depiction into each other.

Marquet and Matisse were lifelong friends; they worked alongside each other, made each other laugh and, when apart, they exchanged letters, postcards and drawings. They met as rebellious students, wanting to change painting, and it’s well known now how Matisse did that.

But he always acknowledged Marquet’s role in helping him face the difficulties and mysteries of their vocation, especially in terms of how drawing with paint carries colour, articulating space as well as feeling. He linked Marquet with Monet (as recorded by Pierre Schneider in his monumental study, Matisse, 1948), recognising how they had both reached a point of tension between observation and composition that would lead to a more conscious abstract thinking. They painted the world, but each had subtly shifted away from traditional forms of naturalism, foregoing perspective, tipping up space, exploring different ways of making and reading paintings, suggesting new possibilities.

As the old arguments between figurative and non-representational art fade away, the meanings of abstract and depiction are being questioned. There is a broader debate now about pictorial structures, how we understand them, sense them, feel them. In terms of a European painterly tradition, those giants of the past, Titian, Velázquez, Goya, Manet and Matisse, have recently been exhibited in London, and Continued on page 32

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Preview International paused to paint the specifics of light, place and time, over and over again, arriving at a constant present, a constant here and a constant now.

I was hoping to see a major show of his work in London some time, but perhaps Paris is the right place for it, after all. I am looking forward to a long day at this exhibition, maybe in late March; I am imagining leaving the museum and crossing the Seine on a silvery grey evening, having seen what Marquet made of it all, and then seeing it afresh myself.

Continued from page 31 we have been shown again that trick of time, how both painting and feeling are renewed in front of the real thing. Contemporary writing on art continues to examine greatness, finding it full of surprises – but there is also an excitement in discovering lesser-known artists who in quiet or marginalised ways were dedicated, radical, in thrall to what painting can do. Marquet is a good model for this; he is being looked at today with renewed interest by all generations. He pared things down, pleased himself, loved painting and he kept it going. He was the traveller who

Algiers, Harbour, 1929, by Albert Marquet

Albert Marquet: Painter of Time Pending Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, www.mam.paris.fr, 25 March–21 Aug

MORE PARIS SHOWS TO DAZZLE THE EYE

THE DOUANIER ROUSSEAU: ARCHAIC CANDOUR Musée d’Orsay 22 March to 17 July

MUSÉE RODIN Reopened after a three-year restoration

Last winter the Museum of Modern Art in New York staged the first version of this ‘must-see’ travelling show of Picasso’s sculpture, presenting around 150 works that revealed a less familiar side of this great artist. With an astonishing array of materials – wood, clay, string, plaster, sheet metal and found objects – Picasso broke all the rules, rejecting conventional notions of sculpture and changing the course of modern art.

Highlights of the New York show were the groundbreaking Guitar reliefs in paper and string, sheet metal and wire (1912-14) – Cubism in three dimensions – as well as all six of the painted bronze and tin Glass of Absinthe works (1914), monumental plaster heads of Picasso’s lover of the 1930s, Marie-Thérèse Walter, and the brilliantly inventive sheet metal sculptures made in the 1950s and ’60s, such as Chair (1961; below). If you missed the New York show, visit the new iteration of this spectacular survey at the Musée Picasso, which emphasises the artist’s use of enlargement and repetition. Ann Dumas

On a December evening in 1908, the luminaries of the Parisian avant-garde gathered in Pablo Picasso’s studio to salute Henri Rousseau (18441910) for his contribution to modern art. This exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay offers a new way to look at the work of the customs official-turnedpainter that clarifies this puzzling endorsement.

Recasting Rousseau’s simple aesthetic and imagined jungle motifs as sincere and elemental – rather than fantastical and naïve – the exhibition presents his work as a return to an essential expression, a pure point of origin for the era’s often startling formal experiments.

First presented at the Doge’s Palace in Venice in 2015, the show situates 25 of Rousseau’s classic works, including the evocative Snake Charmer (1907; below), within a comparative context of 20 works by such contemporaries as Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky and Paula Modersohn-Becker, shedding light on their mutual objective to strip back painting to its archaic roots and develop a new art for a new century.

Debra N. Mancoff

‘My dear great friend, you should see this beautiful building and the room I have occupied since this morning,’ wrote the poet Rilke in 1908, describing Hôtel Biron, an 18th-century Paris townhouse where artists such as Cocteau and Matisse had also been renting rooms. ‘Its three bay windows open expansively onto an abandoned garden, where trusting rabbits can sometimes be seen leaping through the trellises like figures in an ancient tapestry.’

Rilke’s ‘great friend’ was Rodin. Not long after receiving the poet’s letter, the French sculptor had moved in too, presenting his plasters, bronzes and marbles for friends and patrons in elaborately decorated drawing rooms. In 1919, two years after the artist’s death, Hôtel Biron became the Musée Rodin, and soon the rabbits were leaping past his sculptures in the building’s grand gardens.

A three-year renovation project, now complete, has restored the interiors to their former glory, and allowed a radical rehang that serves as an exhilarating introduction to the pre-eminent sculptor of the age. Sam Phillips

Chair, 1961, by Pablo Picasso

The Snake Charmer, 1907, by Henri Rousseau

Rodin’s The Age of Bronze, in the restored Musée Rodin

M US ÉE N AT I O N A L P I CAS S O – PA R IS/© 2015 ES TAT E O F PA B LO P I CAS S O/A R T IS TS R I GH TS S O CI E T Y ( A RS), N E W YO R K . PA R IS , M US ÉE D ’ O RS AY/ © R M N - GR A N D PA L A IS (M US ÉE D ’ O RS AY )/ H ER V É L E WA N D OWS K I . AGEN CE P H OTO GR A P H I Q U E M US ÉE R O D I N /J ÉR Ô M E M A N O U K I A N .

PICASSO SCULPTURE Musée Picasso-Paris 8 March to 28 August

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MARK JOHNSTON RECENT PAINTINGS

Pale Sands, 2016, oil on linen, 100 x 100cm

18 - 30 April 2016 Private view: Sunday 17 April 12 - 3.30pm WIMBLEDON FINE ART

41 CHURCH ROAD WIMBLEDON VILLAGE LONDON SW19 5DQ +44 (0) 208 944 6593 | +44 (0) 7836 296 737 andrew@wimbledonfineart.com | www.wimbledonfineart.com

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5 March – 3 July 2016 BOOK NOW V&A Members go free Victoria and Albert Museum vam.ac.uk #BotticelliReimagined Andy Warhol, Details of renaissance Paintings (Sandro Botticelli, birth of Venus, 1482(detail), 1984. Collection of The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh.©2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London.

The exhibition is organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Gemäldegalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Young Mr. Turner

The First Forty Years, 1775–1815 Eric Shanes

Aubrey Beardsley A Catalogue Raisonné Linda Gertner Zatlin

Deftly interweaving an account of Turner’s early life with profound scholarly and aesthetic appreciation of his work, this abundantly illustrated new biography supersedes much of the existing literature and will be the standard reference on Turner’s life and work for many years to come.

A comprehensive presentation of the provocative graphic work of Britain’s most influential contributor to Art Nouveau and early modern art, this superbly designed and illustrated two volume catalogue is both an essential reference for specialists and an accessible delight for Beardsley enthusiasts.

Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art 350 colour + 100 b/w illus.

Hardback £85.00

Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art 75 colour + 1145 b/w illus.

2-Volume Boxed Set £175.00

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Imaginatively packaged and stunningly illustrated, this book provides an unprecedented side-byside look at the art and practice of Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei, two of the past century’s most iconic artists.

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Published in association with the National Gallery of Victoria 192 colour + 89 b/w illus.

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Preview Books

Tales of the unexpected

P H OTO: L I T T L E R ED PA N DA . I L LUS T R AT I O N BY G A B R I EL L A B OY D F R O M T H E F O L I O S O CI E T Y ED I T I O N O F I N T ER P R E T I N G D R E A MS .

A disappearing Velázquez prompts an art-historical detective story. EDMUND FAWCETT enjoys the mystery

The Vanishing Man is the story of a celebrated lost Velázquez. Or is it? Laura Cumming, the art critic of The Observer, keeps us guessing.

Her absorbing tale begins in October 1845 at an English country-house auction, where a Reading bookseller who also traded in prints bought a grubby early-17th-century portrait for £8.

His name was John Snare, and the brilliant guess he made about his purchase led to artworld fame and abuse in roughly equal measure, to a high-profile law suit for defamation that he

won, and to self-exile in New York as an angry bankrupt. He was ambitious but prickly, a selftaught connoisseur, a showman and sleuth. From Snare’s strange life, Cumming has woven a detective mystery, a social micro-history and a loving account of perhaps Spain’s greatest painter.

It would give too much away to tell the whole story, which becomes clear only in the last chapter.

But no plot-spoiler warning is needed to describe the mystery with which Cumming starts.

The portrait Snare bought showed a youth in ceremonial armour. It was attributed to Van Dyck and its avowed subject was the young Prince Charles, later Charles I. Through the grime, Snare spied a masterly hand, but not, he reasoned, that of Van Dyck. For Van Dyck had settled in England from Holland only in 1632, six years after Charles became king and the face was clearly that of a younger man. Snare’s hunch was that the portrait was a forgotten work by Velázquez from 1623, done in Madrid during Prince Charles’s failed visit to marry the Spanish Infanta. Velázquez’s father-in-law and biographer, Pacheco, had mentioned such a work. English royal accounts showed a large payment made

by Charles for a portrait before leaving Madrid.

Snare had a London restorer reline the picture and, after cleaning, one collector offered £1,000 for it – equivalent to around £1m today.

Emboldened, Snare showed his prize in 1847 in Bond Street. Society art lovers, the Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne in exile and the London press welcomed a Velázquez masterpiece.

Always follow your dreams Dreams are strange. At once universal and personal, they can be hard to remember, difficult to forget and impossible to describe. For Sigmund Freud, the unconscious images that are roused during sleep were rarely what they seemed, and so, in 1900, he began writing what would become the seminal work on the subject, Interpreting Dreams. Combining anecdote and analysis, it was a controversial study that changed the way we think about ourselves.

The Folio Society’s stylish new edition of Interpreting Dreams illuminates Freud’s theories with ten original illustrations by Royal Academy Schools student Gabriella Boyd. These arresting images are inspired by dreams reported in the book, such as one patient’s dream of riding a

But the Fine Arts Journal rubbished the painting, as did the dean of Spanish art in Britain, William Stirling Maxwell, a Scottish grandee.

Buoyed nevertheless by the popular response, Snare showed his picture in Edinburgh, where it was seized by bailiffs from the Earl of Fife’s estate. Their writ claimed that it had been taken illegally from the Earl’s collection and that Snare was in possession of stolen goods. Snare’s lawyers successfully contested the writ and recovered the picture. But Snare then sued for defamation.

Lawyers for the Fife estate were caught.

To justify having seized the picture, they had to present it as a valuable masterpiece. To avoid heavy damages if they lost, they had to dismiss it as worthless. The jury found unanimously in favour of Snare, who was awarded £1,000.

In his triumph, Snare now vanished. He had, it seems, been living on air and was bankrupt.

He reappeared in New York, showing his picture to wide but not universal acclaim. In 1883, soon before his death, he became a US citizen, perhaps to spare his heirs death duties on his masterpiece.

You can read The Vanishing Man with equal pleasure for its picture of an elusive upstart from Reading in a world of connoisseurs or for its fine evocation of Velázquez and his work, which serves as steady background to a tangled tale. Either way, Cumming has penned a highly enjoyable art-historical detective story.

The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Velázquez

by Laura Cumming, Chatto & Windus, £18.99 hbk

horse (left): ‘I now feel better and better all the time on this highly intelligent horse; I am sitting comfortably and increasingly feel very much at home here’.

The people in Boyd’s images are never presented whole. She uses the frame to sever a head or cut off a calf and believes this allows her paintings ‘to become fragments for the viewer to grasp and work from, like a fragment of a dream’. She collapses the difference between real and imagined space as she seeks to create, in her words, ‘a believable atmosphere, one that you could almost inhabit’ but not quite believe. The result is a collection of enigmatic images that complement and complicate Freud’s ideas. Daisy Clery Interpreting Dreams by Sigmund Freud, illustrated by Gabriella Boyd, Folio Society, £44.95 hbk To see more images of Gabriella Boyd’s illustrations from Freud’s book, visit http://roy.ac/boyd

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Preview Books Buy these books from the RA Shop online at http://roy. ac/reviewed – Friends receive a 10 per cent discount (enter code SPRING16 at checkout)

Spring collection MICHAEL PRODGER leafs through the latest art books to find the inspirational, the educational and the unusual

Kandinsky: The Elements of Art Philippe Sers Thames & Hudson, £60

Sketchbooks: Grayson Perry Particular Books, £40

This exceptionally handsome monograph traces Kandinsky’s progress from Russia, via Munich, to Paris, and shows how his art changed from first folkloric and figurative to abstract and numinous.

It unpicks too the influence on his work of peers such as Duchamp and Klee and groups such as the Dadaists and Der Blaue Reiter.

Above all though it demonstrates how, when he reached abstraction, he carried on experimenting.

As Grayson Perry RA has become ever more ubiquitous in his public personas, the sheer strangeness and inventiveness of his artwork seems just part of the package, rather than something that has developed over time. Sketchbooks collects 30 years of his drawings, from art student days to frilly-frocked eminence, and is a reminder of the consistent seriousness of his themes – sexuality, class, gender. Yet whatever the subject matter, the drawings retain a sense of joyousness.

Lartigue: Life in Colour Martine d’Astier and Martine Ravache (eds.)

Abrams, £21.99

Italian Renaissance Courts: Art, Pleasure and Power Alison Cole Laurence King, £19.95

Although Jacques Henri Lartigue started photographing aged eight and is acknowledged as one of the 20th-century’s great photographers, he was only ‘discovered’ at the age of 69. Throughout his life he worked with colour film as well as blackand-white and this volume collects more than 100 of his more rarely seen colour photographs – of friends (Picasso and Cocteau), family, lovers, places, passing scenes – into a beautifully atmospheric, entirely informal and offbeat album.

Artists played a part in every aspect of Italian courtly life – from the production of paintings and sculpture to designing architecture, entertainments and tapestries. The point was not just beauty but a way of expressing princely power and wealth and hence cementing them.

Alison Cole revealingly examines the fruitful co-dependence of the courts of Naples, Urbino, Ferrara, Mantua and Milan with figures such as Leonardo, Bramante, Pisanello and Mantegna.

Keeping their Marbles Tiffany Jenkins Oxford University Press, £25

The Spirit of Indian Painting B.N. Goswamy Thames & Hudson, £29.95

This book is both a lucid account of how the great world museums came by their treasures and a robust argument as to why (human remains such as bones aside) they should keep them. ‘If history can only be written by the victims,’ Tiffany Jenkins notes, ‘or if it can be rewritten to make them feel better, it will not be history.’ What is on display with the Elgin Marbles and other artefacts is not just the object but its long and mixed story.

In this thrilling and novel survey, B.N. Goswamy chooses 101 works covering the period 1100 to 1900 to show the distinctiveness and continuities of Indian painting.

The book focuses on his conviction that what binds his chosen pictures (mostly small in scale) is that they present ‘a layered world of meaning’, whether they depict visions, passions or scenes of contemplation. This is a wonderful primer to an unfamiliar world of art.

Where’s Warhol?

Catherine Ingram & Andrew Rae Laurence King, £9.95

Dangerous Moves Coco Fusco Tate Publishing, £24.99

Where’s Wally? goes arty in this collaboration between the art historian Ingram and illustrator Rae, which invites the young reader (or hipster) to spot the artist when taken out of his Studio 54 milieu and hidden instead in 12 moments from art’s past. He is there somewhere as Michelangelo paints the Sistine ceiling, he lurks in the Bauhaus and is summoned up in Salvador Dalí’s dreams. Other celebrities also making appearances include Alfred Hitchcock, Vladimir Putin and Madonna.

Subtitled ‘Performance and politics in Cuba’, this book is a study of the island’s experimental contemporary artists. Richly illustrated with photographs of artworks and street performances, as well as photojournalism, the author – winner of an Absolut Award for art writing – brings to her topic a refreshing clarity of thought and expression. Fusco examines how a centralised, revolutionary state has given free rein and free art education to its artists, and explores what has emerged.

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17/02/2016 12:48

Image: Daphne Todd OBE PPRP NEAC Man with a pink wall: Martin Gayford

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The RA’s painters, printmakers, sculptors, architects and art students

Academy Artists

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In the Studio

Living in the material world As Yinka Shonibare RA prepares to wrap the Academy’s Burlington Gardens façade in his bold designs, FIONA MADDOCKS visits the sculptor at his warehouse studio in east London. Portrait by JULIAN ANDERSON Less than a decade ago, when Yinka Shonibare RA bought his studio fronting on to the Regent’s Canal in east London, the neighbourhood was still, in his words, ‘distinctly rough at the edges and slightly scary’. Now this area of Hackney is alive with artisan cafés and the whizz-ding sound of expensive bicycles speeding along the regenerated towpath. Shoninbare is at the epicentre of urban gentrification. Elegant in sharp blue suit, he presumably set the trend rather than followed? He chuckles gently at the idea. ‘As if. This was always an area with a lot of studios and a lot of artists, still affordable back in 2008.’

The building used to be a carpet warehouse.

Shonibare opened up the roof space, had the partition walls pulled down, sand-blasted the wood floor and instructed his architect to ‘renovate it so that it is still like a warehouse and feels as if nothing has been done’. Exposed brick, whitewash and a big skylight achieve exactly that. The first-floor space, airy and well ordered, is where he develops most of his projects, and where his team of three work. ‘And it’s where I meet with sculptors, costumiers, photographers, printmakers – the people I collaborate with.’ He draws and makes other work on paper either here, or at his studio at home in Bow. His series of prints about twins are displayed on the wall (left).

‘In Nigeria twins are considered special and have magic powers in folklore. I’m doing these for a show in Singapore about childhood memories.

It’s also a metaphor for dual cultures.’

At once African and British, Shonibare has been shaped both by colonialism and postcolonialism, and explores these themes in his work. His forthcoming commemoration of the First World War for Turner Contemporary, Margate, will focus on refugees and immigration past and present. An old blue-and-white china plate with the inscription ‘The Unity of Empire’ hangs on the wall behind where we sit. Nearby is the maquette for Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle (2010), his sculpture that occupied the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. On the floor stands a figure of a child, with globe head and blowing a trumpet, dressed in one of the richly coloured African Dutch-wax textiles he often uses in his work.

‘I’m interested in where people come from,’ he says. ‘I can’t be defined without the Britishcolonial experience of my birth and background.

I don’t exist without it. My biggest preoccupation is with the idea of universal humanism. We all influence each other. Can you imagine Picasso without African art?’

Born in Britain in 1962, Shonibare moved with his family back to Nigeria as a child. His father was a corporate lawyer, his mother looked after the four children. At 17 he returned to the UK and went to Wimbledon College of Art for his foundation year. ‘Three weeks into the course I fell ill with transverse myelitis and was in a coma for a fortnight. It affected my spinal cord. When I woke up I was paralysed from the neck down.’

Eventually he gained some movement on one side and returned to art school, progressing to an MA at Goldsmiths. Charles Saatchi bought his early work and Shonibare came to prominence after his inclusion in the RA’s ‘Sensation’ show in 1997. Elected an Academician in 2013, he has just finished a vast artwork that wraps around the front of the Burlington Gardens building, while the façade undergoes restoration work as part of the RA’s redevelopment project. ‘I’ve dug into the archive and found hundreds of photos from the early 20th century showing how the building has changed. Until I was a Member I always thought the Academy was quite mysterious. With this work I’m trying to bring the inside outside.’ In addition, his bejewelled designs feature on the new Friends cards, in blue, gold or black.

At his canal-side studio he also hosts supper parties for artists. His manner may be quiet but his nature is flamboyant. ‘I wanted this space to be not just for me, but for others to try things out. So I have a proposal box outside the building where artists can post their ideas. The best ones get a residency in the studio for a month.’ When we meet, an Afro-Caribbean theatre group is in situ. As we talk South African songs waft up from below. ‘Yes, it’s quite a sociable space,’ Shonibare says, as the harmonies grow louder and threaten, in the nicest way, to drown us out.

Yinka Shonibare’s wrap artwork can be seen outside the RA at Burlington Gardens from April End of Empire Turner Contemporary, Margate, 01843 233000, www.turnercontemporary.org, 22 March–30 Oct Childhood Memories Pearl Lam Galleries, Singapore, www.pearllam.com, until 20 March To listen to Yinka Shonibare speaking at a Friends event, visit http://roy.ac/shonibare

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J.M.W. TURNER & THE ART OF WATERCOLOUR Free Entry Saturday 10th October 2015 to Sunday 10th April 2016

The Higgins Bedford Castle Lane, Bedford MK40 3XD Call us on

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J.M.W. Turner (1775 - 1851) The Great Falls of the Reichenbach, 1804, courtesy of the Trustees of Cecil Higgins Art Gallery

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MA in the History of Art: the Renaissance to Modernism October 2016 – September 2017

A one-year, London-based, programme of ten evening seminars and an individual research-project, offering an overview of Western art from the Renaissance to the late 20th century, with lectures by a series of internationally acclaimed art historians, artists, and gallerists.

Others wishing to attend the seminars, but not intending to take the MA degree, may join the course as Associate Students at a reduced fee.

Lecturers for 2016/17 include: Martin Kemp MaryAnne Stevens Xavier Bray Martin Gayford Each seminar takes place in central London and is followed by a dinner during which participants can engage in a

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general discussion with the guest expert on the issues raised by the seminar.

Examination is by a research dissertation, on an approved art history topic chosen by the student, of not less than 20,000 words.

Course enquiries and applications: Claire Prendergast Humanities Research Institute University of Buckingham Tel. 01280 820204 or via email to the Course Director, Michael Prodger: michael.prodger@buckingham.ac.uk

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Academy Artists

Beyond these portals

CO U R T ESY O F B AS I L B E AT T I E A N D H A L ES G A L L ERY, LO N D O N /© B AS I L B E AT T I E . CO U R T ESY J O E T I LS O N A N D A L A N CR IS T E A G A L L ERY

As MIMA celebrates painter Basil Beattie RA, EMMA HILL explores the visual and metaphorical thresholds in his art

Broken Promises, 2015, by Basil Beattie RA

Basil Beattie RA comes from a generation of British artists that was profoundly affected by American Abstract Expressionism as seen in the late 1950s through exhibitions at the Whitechapel and Tate. Beattie has never forgotten what he sensed then, on viewing Rothko’s work: that the paintings’ physicality gave visibility to something that was not visible, and powerfully alluded to human emotion and thought. Beattie’s approach

remains faithful to this visual imperative, and attached to the monumental scale and range of gesture associated with what was then the new vanguard. But he long ago moved on from formal abstraction, towards the resonant, metaphor-laden images for which he is known today.

This spring, a retrospective at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) reveals how consistently Beattie has incorporated

Tilson’s thoughts in progress

from 1997, right). The personal notes, quotes, sketches, photographs and lists show that Tilson’s creative process is not linear – the books zigzag between sections on Greco-Roman history, texts by Ezra Pound and James Joyce, and images of birds and moths.

Vibrating with passion and ideas, these notebooks perfectly inform ‘Tilson: The Stones of Venice’, a show of new paintings at nearby Marlborough Fine Art (2 March–2 April; 020 7629 5161). Daisy Clery

A pioneer of British Pop art in the early 1960s, Joe Tilson RA has developed a visual language characterised by bold colours and dynamic geometric shapes. The accessible formal qualities of his works can belie the complex working processes and theoretical heft behind his art; this spring Alan Cristea Gallery reveals these inner workings in ‘Words and Images: The Notebooks’, an exhibition of the artist’s private notebooks dating back to 1970, alongside related works (17 March–7 May; 020 7439 1866; notebook

thoughts about how we read and relate to things in the world in his examination of painting’s processes and materials. The show is not arranged chronologically, instead opening with a tower of black-and-white drawings he made for his 1991 installation Drawing on the Interior at Eagle Gallery, London, where I am the director. The gallery’s walls were papered with almost 400 individual pictograms – of steps, ladders, arches and tunnels.

Beattie’s recurrent motifs are these basic components of lived space that carry suggestions of thresholds, ascent and transition. This visual repertoire provides him with the means to address the metaphorical force of words: titles often reflect the interplay between images on the canvas and the states of mind to which they might refer, such as Five Steps to Nowhere (2002).

Paintings from the late 1980s – in which formalist grids are disrupted by calligraphic marks, densities of paint and erosions – are hung together at MIMA with significant works that followed from the 1990s until now. Among the finest of these are examples from the elegiac series ‘Janus’ that from a distance read as landscape horizons, recessional spaces and train tracks, and Ladder (2015) whose thickly laden, totemic form inhabits the canvas as physical presence, indicative of its human subject.

Beattie’s paintings manipulate semiotic suggestion and are weighted by imagery that alludes to the human condition, but he is aware that if their ideas are overstated the works will lack a necessary spontaneity to reach what he describes as the ‘pitch of poignancy’ for which he looks. A recent work, Broken Promises (2015, left) is pared down to the essentials: a poised stack held in precarious equilibrium, about to topple. As with all Beattie’s motifs, it speaks eloquently of a secular sense of human endeavour, and threatens to collapse – comically and tragically – under the weight of its associations.

When Now Becomes Then: 3 Decades MIMA, Middlesbrough, 01642 931232, www.visitmima.com, until 5 June

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Soulscapes on paper Sculptor Ann Christopher RA’s new abstract drawings ignite a powerful inner landscape, writes KELLY GROVIER

The Lines of Time – 2, 2014, by Ann Christopher RA

Can art create a zone of its own, one that transmutes the perishable properties of this world into a transcendent sphere of endless elements? A new series of drawings by Ann Christopher RA asserts that art can do just that.

Collectively titled ‘The Lines of Time’, they are a poetic embodiment, as if a visual answer to Pablo Neruda’s plea for his soul to be rescued from the ravages of this world. ‘That is why you are endless,’ he wrote in Residence on Earth: ‘welcome me as if you were all solemnity, all nocturnal like a zone, until you merge with the lines of time.’

Conceived while Christopher was working near Albi in southern France during the unseasonably stormy summer of 2014, the drawings evoke lustrously turbulent climes all their own, alchemising the humid energy of the artist’s surroundings into flashes of imagination. Like the large-scale sculptures for which Christopher is best known, the 26 pastel, graphite, crayon and collage works on paper merge in their measured yet haphazard surfaces the insoluble clashes of mechanism and fragmentation, calibration and chaos, the body and the soul. Such tensions are especially vivid in the ghostly architecture that invigorates the drawings, many of which rely on eerily meticulous axes stencilled across them. These spectral crossbars organise a hailstorm of slanting freehand lines and intersecting angular rays into geometrically shattered fields of rigour and riot.

The result is a series of vaporous snapshots: soulscapes glimpsed gauzily as if through the lightning-sharpened frame of a window in a longforgotten childhood home. Much of the power of Christopher’s drawings is traceable to a sense of uncannily recaptured loss: the absence of presence and the presence of absence. Erasure is key to the effect. Lashes of scrubbed lines recur across the series and serve to unearth earlier textures and hues buried beneath the surfaces in the muggy archaeology of their making. These invest the drawings with literal depth and ensure that what is not there in Christopher’s work – what has been removed – competes powerfully with what is.

To engage with Christopher’s imagination, whether through the aperture of her drawings or through the polished slits of her sculptures, is to enlist oneself in a profound excavation of vision.

For her, the digging started early. The rich calcite soil of a rabbit burrow near her childhood home in Hertfordshire was the first medium in which the young artist’s hands scrabbled, fumbling for timesculpted fossils that she and her mother would take to London for identification. Sixty years on, Christopher is still resurrecting – still brushing away the surface debris of everyday experience to expose an essential energy vibrating beneath.

Ann Christopher: Drawing – The Lines of Time Tennant Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts, London, www.royalacademy.org.uk, 020 7300 8000, until 29 May. A new monograph, with an introduction by Richard Cork, is available from RA Publications, £29.95. See Readers’ Offers page 102

The Lines of Time – 12, 2014, by Ann Christopher RA

To see a video interview with Ann Christopher, visit http://roy.ac/christopher

P H OTOS: S T E V E RUS S EL L / I M AGES CO U R T ESY O F T H E A R T IS T/© A N N CH R IS TO P H ER / P R I VAT E CO L L ECT I O NS

Academy Artists

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READING ART

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Academy Artists

Now showing Our guide to the current art and architecture projects of Royal Academicians

Sculptors ● Phyllida Barlow takes part in a show at

©A L IS O N W I L D I N G 2015/A L L R I GH TS R ES ER V ED/ P H OTO P E T ER W H I T E . ©J EN N I F ER D U R R A N T/A R T F I RS T, LO N D O N . © D B OX F O R ER I C PA R RY A R CH I T ECTS

Terrestrial, 2003, by Alison Wilding is on show in ‘Extra Terrestrial: Tess Jaray and Alison Wilding’ at East Gallery, Norwich University of the Arts, until 19 March

Painters and Printmakers ● Eileen Cooper’s RA show ‘Hide and

Seek’ travels to Swindon Museum and Art Gallery (20 April–10 Sep). She also has a show at Rook and Raven, London (16 March–13 May) ● Michael CraigMartin and Richard Long contribute to ‘Conceptual Art in Britain 1964-79’ at Tate Britain, London (12 April–29 Aug) ● ‘Contemporary Prints’ at Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk, includes Fred Cuming, Peter Freeth, Mali Morris, Barbara Rae

and Emma Stibbon (7 May–4 June) ● Tracey Emin has a solo show at Lehmann Maupin and White Cube Hong Kong (21 March–21 May) ● Works by Anthony Eyton are on view with those of his family, including his mother Phyllis, at Heatherley’s, London

Fondazione Prada, Milan (until 19 June), and the inaugural exhibition of abstract sculpture at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel gallery, Los Angeles (13 March–4 Sep), as well as ‘Making It: Sculpture in Britain 1977-1986’ at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre (7 May–3 July). Barlow’s work joins the Artist Rooms collection and is now on display at Tate Modern, London ● Stephen Cox’s sculpture Ganapathi and Devi has been relocated at the Broadgate Plaza, London ● Richard Deacon has a solo show at Lisson Gallery, Milan (18 March–29 April)

are two of the cultural figureheads whose work is celebrated on the designs of the new British passport. Gormley has a solo show at Galleria Continua, Beijing (19 March–20 Aug), and in April completes a site-specific sculpture for MIT in Boston ● David Mach shows his sculpture Golgotha (2011) at Chester Cathedral (18 March–1 May) ● Conrad Shawcross’s sculpture, Paradigm, has been installed at the new Francis Crick Institute in St Pancras, London. He is now completing Lenticular Dazzle Camouflage, a commission for the Greenwich Peninsula ● Rebecca Warren takes part in ‘Plasters: Casts and Copies’ at The Hepworth Wakefield (2–8 May).

Ghirlanda series, after Latvia no. 5, 2014, by Jennifer Durrant, on show at Art First, London, until 9 April

(4–8 April) ● Bill Jacklin shows at Marlborough Fine Art, London (6 May– 7 June). Bill Jacklin’s New York (Scala Arts Publishers) is published in April ● Chris Orr’s show ‘Painting and Engraving Tower Bridge’ is at Jill George Gallery, London (until 27 Feb) ● Rebecca Salter shows at Beardsmore Gallery, London (27 April–27 May) ● Terry Setch has a solo show at Flowers Gallery, London (15 March–16 April) ● Sean Scully has an exhibition at the Museum of the Nanjing University of the Arts (8 April–8 May) ● Wolfgang Tillmans has a solo show at the Serralves Museum, Porto, Portugal (until 25 April). Works from his ‘New World’ series are at GoMA, Glasgow (until 7 Aug) ● Christopher Le Brun exhibits new paintings at ARNDT, Singapore (until 27 March) ● Anthony Whishaw shows paintings at Browse and Darby, London (2–31 March).

Architects

Eric Parry has unveiled a proposal for a 73-storey tower, 1 Undershaft, which if realised would be the tallest building in the City of London, rising to 309.6m

● Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor

● Will Alsop’s studio, All Design, has unveiled plans for a 15-storey residential building, The Beacon, near Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery in Vauxhall, London. Alsop also shows paintings at the British School at Rome (2–16 March) ● David Chipperfield Architects is renovating the Haus der Kunst museum in Munich ● Edward Cullinan Studio and The Hyde Group have gained planning approval for the Emerald Circus housing scheme in north-west London ● The Zaha Hadid-designed Investcorp Building, part of Oxford University’s Middle East Centre at St Antony’s College, has won

the Oxford Preservation Trust Award 2015 ● Thomas Heatherwick Studio is designing the Institute of Imagination, a new cultural centre for children and families in London ● Eva Jiricna has revealed plans to transform the Henry Luce III Centre for Study of American Culture at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan ● Eric Parry is working in partnership with the Museum of London on the project ‘Revealing the Charterhouse’, which includes a new museum and a newlylandscaped Charterhouse Square in the City of London ● Chris Wilkinson’s firm Wilkinson Eyre is designing an apartment and hotel complex in Melbourne, which includes the second tallest tower in Australia.

SPRING 2016 | RA MAGAZINE 45

Academy Artists RA Schools layers underneath the black here – I wanted them to appear and disappear as the light plays off the surface and so pushed them back under the black by painting over them.

How did you create the white ‘smeared’ effect in this painting?

I wanted it to feel grubby, as if the marks could be wiped off, so I applied the residue of paint left on the rags I had been using, which gave the surface a chalky appearance. I like the fact that the remains of the paint went on to become a part of the final work.

How did you know when the painting was finished?

TITLE *hurls not girls ARTIST RA Schools alumna Mary Ramsden COMPLETED 2015 ON SHOW AT Tate Britain INTERVIEW BY Anna Coatman Your painting evokes smears on touchscreen phones and internet browser windows. Why do you choose to depict digital technology using a traditional medium?

I see it more as a theft or quotation from technology rather than a depiction. There is a playful space between the traditional medium of painting and the slick light of the LCD screen, for instance. Painting and images created by new technology run at two very different speeds, so the way in which they play off one another is generative for me.

Did you work from a visual source?

Not specifically, but I do mentally archive the

What materials did you use?

I work with oil on board when I need a tough, heavy surface that I can sand and reveal layers of paint. However, when I need my work to have a lightness, as is the case with this piece, then I will use acrylic on a thin support so the paint can sit casually on the surface. I see these two types of paintings as having different speeds; when my works are installed together in a cluster they can appear fast-paced in places and more lingering elsewhere.

How did you apply multiple layers?

With brushes and rags. It’s useful to wait for layers to dry as you’re forced to spend time with decisions before acting on them. You feel you know how the next layer will behave but it never turns out how you’d expect, so then this forces the next covering of paint and on it goes. There are

CAFFEINE FOR THE MIND

The New York-based performance artist Marina Abramovic Hon RA gave a talk at the Royal Academy Schools this winter, as part of its programme of weekly talks by artists. Known for extreme performance pieces that often require her own suffering, Abramovic suggested her difficult upbringing in Serbia shaped her work, adding, ‘The worse childhood you get, the better artist you get, because nobody makes any good work from happiness.’

Other recent speakers have included avantgarde British film-maker John Smith, American painter Lari Pittman and Assemble, the design

How do you feel about the work now?

I made this work in a dirty, sunny studio during a residency in Connecticut, and its current location on a large white wall in Tate Britain is so different. Now I’ve had time to absorb it as part of a hang, I am keen to push, in future work, the relationship between the black and the pink, which I see as like a stand-in for flesh but with an inorganic form. Last year, I made a piece on board called Mattress, which addressed similar concerns. With *hurls not girls you see a wiped drag mark on the pink, but with Mattress I sanded between black and white layers. So the tonality was the same but the process was more physical.

I’m interested to see how these two approaches might work side by side.

Ramsden shows in Vanilla and Concrete Tate Britain, London, 020 7887 8888, www.tate.org.uk, until 19 June To read more about the work of Mary Ramsden, visit http://roy.ac/ramsden

collective who won last year’s Turner Prize.

All artists are invited to speak by the students.

Another weekly event on the Schools programme are lectures by invited academics, writers and thinkers about thought-provoking often non-visual art subjects. A recent talk by novelist and cultural historian Marina Warner examined ancient and medieval water systems.

In the words of Eliza Bonham Carter, Curator and Head of the RA Schools, these events ‘kick off the week for students with an incredible hit of intellectual caffeine’.

To watch highlights of Abramovic’s talk, visit http://roy.ac/abramovictalk

CO U R T ESY: P I L A R CO R R I AS G A L L ERY, LO N D O N . P H OTO: DA M I A N GR I F F I T HS .

How I made it

relationships between objects or marks from different sources around me, both digital and physical. I then push these objects and marks around and slot them into different works to see where they might be activated.

The two canvases of this diptych were originally placed in the opposite sequence, so that the pale rectangles intersected in the middle, but the work only got interesting when I hung them like this (left). It made sense for me this way, as if a lot more of the work had escaped on the left hand side of the piece; suddenly there was a sense of mobility.

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Image: Nicholas Verrall RBA ROI The Ochre Cliffs of Roussillon

Painting Norway: Nikolai Astrup (1880–1928) has been organised by Dulwich Picture Gallery with Henie Onstad Kunstsenter and Kunsthalle Emden. Principal Collaborator: The Savings Bank Foundation DNB Nikolai Astrup, Midsummer Eve Bonfire, After c.1917, Oil on canvas, 60 x 66 cm, The Savings Bank Foundation DNB/The Astrup Collection/KODE Art Museums of Bergen. Photo © Dag Fosse/KODE

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11/02/2016 11:11

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Il Tramonto, c.1502-05, by Giorgione

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Giorgione left few clues to his life, yet he was at the heart of a creative explosion in 16th-century Venetian painting that changed the course of European art. As the Academy opens its exhibition ‘In the Age of Giorgione’, Ali Smith brings to life the fusion of originality and poetry in his work

T H E N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY, LO N D O N , B O U GH T, 1961, I N V. N G 6 307/ P H OTO © T H E N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY, LO N D O N

The enigma of Giorgione What is this a picture of? It’s called Il Tramonto (The Sunset). Its title was given to it just last century, by the great Renaissance critic and writer, Roberto Longhi. But the painting existed for 400 years or so without this title.

Is it of, or about, a sunset? Below centre, in the shade under a spare and spindly poplar or mountain ash, a couple of men, an older man and a younger, are sitting on rocks and on the ground.

The younger man seems to be looking pensively down or maybe writing something in the actual earth or on the rock surface on which he’s sitting.

The older man, below him – is he a servant?

He seems to be massaging the younger man’s leg.

There’s a stick on the ground – a walking stick? – and what looks like a little barrel, maybe water or wine. Is this a picture of a rest-stop on a journey?

Behind and above, to the right of the couple on another rocky little promontory or stage, there’s a knight on a horse, made tiny by perspective, and it looks like St George, since he’s lancing a (rather unimpressive sized, if creepily tentacled) dragon to death, and there, behind this in the shadows, there’s a figure emerging from a cave.

Is it a St Anthony? There’s a great deal going on in the shadows. Below, in the murky pond next to the old and young man, there’s what looks like a pig poking out of its own water’s-edge cave (which would comply with St Anthony, since pigs, caves and St Anthony often come together in Renaissance stories and figurings), but the pig is the least of the water’s beastliness, since those dark rocks in the foreground of the water might

be a monster and there’s a Bosch-looking bird with an angry beak emerging at the shore near the men. The rocks on the other side of the men, under a sheaf of very dark foliage, have ghoulish faces. Or is it just random rock alignment?

Is this a picture of saints, then? Of hell?

Of a psychological landscape? Of a realism edged with and ignoring icons and omens?

Of a mythical story where an old man tends to a young lame man? Is it about servitude? Innocence and learning, hidden grotesqueries and dangers?

Leaving a mark on a landscape, or on nature, as we pass through it, or, more correctly, below it?

Putting all this adventuring, iconographing and questioning in the shade, even with so very few leaves and branches to do it, is the figure held at the true centre of the picture, the spindly, graceful curve of a tree, aloft above realisms, allegories, nightmares and saints with a kind of untouchable elegance, behind it a rolling tawny landscape of fields, buildings, a harbour, an opening wedge of brightness where the picture suddenly surges off to the side into blue, a blue that’s brighter and more uncanny than the sky’s blue which is itself lit with an underscore of gold, and the promise of an intenser gold just slipping out of it at its left edge.

There’s no denying it – this slimmest of trees, and the slabs and waves of colour that open behind and above it, are the subject of this painting, regardless of all its dramas, above its realisms, stories, religious and psychological iconographies, in fact making them all seem small, approximant, near laughable, and

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What a witty dimensionalising. This telling of it by Vasari echoes Pino’s earlier version, one of trees with mirrors propped against them to reveal an ingenious simultaneity, except that Pino says the figure Giorgione depicts standing in the stream is St George. In Vasari’s version the saint has become just a man, one whose nakedness is reflected in his own armour, and this is somehow even more apt when you consider the transparent opacity, the enigmatic openness, the mix of strength, reflection and unadorned nature in the brand new and many-aspected dimensionality that Giorgione brought both to the narrative of landscape and the handling of portraiture in the very short time of his working career. If this playful picture ever existed, it’s now nothing but dust. So much of Giorgione’s work is lost, so much of what’s attributed to him is unprovable, so few of the works we call Giorgione’s can be attributed because so little was signed and so little verification remains in other forms.

But from so few extant works, what a tradition of open possibility has arisen, not just in terms of Giorgione’s new figurations and his innovations in tonal structuring, but in terms of continuing, centuries-long, aesthetic and philosophical discussion about what a painting is and how to read images at all. It’s a tradition that’s still fertile in its very quarrelsomeness about the mystery man himself, the mysteries of attribution and

worth, and the mysteries all through his works, still all the centuries later emanating their magnetic elusiveness.

A sense of myth began to develop round this mysterious, hugely influential young painter almost from the moment of his death, which was in the autumn of 1510 and probably of the plague.

He was in his early 30s, and seems to have been working as a painter in Venice since the turn of the century, though with no verified master or workshop and with only a couple of public commissions; his work seems largely to have been privately commissioned. (And in this he is a heralder of the private work and the private collection industry: a few days after his death, Isabella d’Este tries her best to buy a Giorgione painting she’s heard about, but her contact in Venice reports back how difficult it will be to get hold of anything since all the pictures he knows of are privately held by people who loved Giorgione so much that they’re unlikely to want to sell.)

Vasari’s versions of Giorgione’s life differ so dramatically in the different editions of the Lives that this is itself literal proof of the recognised and growing importance, decade by decade across the 16th century, of Giorgione’s posthumous stature. He tells us he was born ‘of humble background’ in the late 1470s in Castelfranco, not far from Venice where he grew up; it seems Giorgione was as much an inheritor of Venice as Venice was of him. Surely his love of reflection, of the shift of light on surfaces, comes from the glittering city itself; surely the undeniable synthesis of originality and poetry in his work

‘The knight has turned for that moment, slightly jaunty, towards us, caught to one side, which makes him a little dandified, vulnerable even’

Adoration of the Shepherds, c.1505-10, by Giorgione, on display at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

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G A L L ER I A D EGL I U F F IZI , F LO R EN CE , I N V. 911/ P H OTO © 2016 . P H OTO S CA L A , F LO R EN CE – CO U R T ESY O F T H E M I N IS T ER O B EN I E AT T. CU LT U R A L I

Giorgione argued to the contrary that in a single scene the painter could show to an observer standing still in one place various aspects of the one figure …

He painted a man in the nude with his back turned and, at his feet, a limpid stream of water bearing his reflection. To one side was a burnished cuirass that the man had taken off, and this reflected his left profile

(since the polished surface of the armour revealed everything clearly); on the other side was a mirror reflecting the other profile.

(1476/8-1510)/ N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY O F A R T, WAS H I N GTO N D C , US A / B R I D GEM A N I M AGES

making even things happening in the picture’s foreground, in front of the tree, act like background to it.

So: is this a picture of a tree? Is it of the painted tree as a triumphant yet subtle mirror of the real, and of nature’s dominance when it comes to notions of reality, meaning, image and narrative? Of art’s relationship with fixed narratives? Of the dying light of certain aesthetic practices and the rising grace and splendour of new ways of seeing, new ways of painting?

We don’t know much for sure about its painter, the early 16th-century Venetian, Giorgione. We don’t even know for definite that this picture is by Giorgione (and there’s also evidence of fairly recent substantial restorative retouching by others to take into account). But there’s one story told – and there aren’t that many about him, so it’s interesting that this one turns up twice, once in Paolo Pino’s 1548 Dialogo di Pittura and once 20 years later in a slightly different form, in Giorgio Vasari’s second edition of his Lives (1568) – where the painter is having an argument with some sculptors, who insist that sculpture is the superior art since painting can only ever ‘represent only one aspect of any given subject’:

G A L L ER I A D EGL I U F F IZI , F LO R EN CE , I N V. 911/ P H OTO © 2016 . P H OTO S CA L A , F LO R EN CE – CO U R T ESY O F T H E M I N IS T ER O B EN I E AT T. CU LT U R A L I

(1476/8-1510)/ N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY O F A R T, WAS H I N GTO N D C , US A / B R I D GEM A N I M AGES

Knight and Groom, attributed to Giorgione

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‘Each painting, rather than being of someone or something, seems to have been made on its own terms and to be looking at us, rather than the other way round’

could ask you to read it, to come to its language open, to accept not knowing everything yet and to find yourself engaged with and questioning both the art and the life in it. What it means to encounter a portrait by Giorgione is to encounter a vision of a person as a faceted being, aspect after potential aspect, mysterious and readable/ unreadable at once – as we truly are to each other. Portraits attributed to Giorgione have a tendency to emphasise a living moment, be lit with a transience that fills it with vitality – maybe a person caught on the edge of a word, often mouth open on that word, maybe someone turning for a moment towards the viewer or paused in throwing a glance or holding a gaze just slightly askance. The knight in one portrait attributed to Giorgione, Knight and Groom (page 51), has turned for that moment, slightly jaunty, towards us, caught to one side, which makes him a little dandified, vulnerable even,

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G A L L ER I E D EL L’ACCA D EM I A , V EN I CE , I N V. 272 / P H OTO © A R CH I V I O F OTO GR A F I CO D EL P O LO M US E A L E D EL V EN E TO/ P H OTO GR A P H Y: Q UA R TA N A , S U CO N CES S I O N E D EL M I N IS T ER O D EI B EN I E D EL L E AT T I V I TÀ CU LT U R A L I E D EL T U R IS M O

swells into a myth of its own with versions of doomed romantic Zorzi dying of despair at the death of his beloved) but never mind, Vasari says, because he left us his ‘accomplished pupils’, one of whom was Titian, who ‘far surpassed’ Giorgione’s talent in the course of his own life (or Life).

There’s a sense in which Vasari almost enjoys the succumbing of the young too-delightful groundbreaker whose style was unencumbered by the old styles and free from everyone else’s styles, and whose work, born so much of ‘his own fancy’, was so annoyingly strange, original, unlike anyone else’s as to be puzzling, elusive: ‘I for my part have never been able to understand his figures… heaven knows what it all means.’

What it means to look at a Giorgione landscape is to see a painting that acts at the same time like other arts – as if a painting could be at the same time a piece of music you experienced sensorily, or a book, or a poem, and

S COT T IS H N AT IO N A L G A LLERY, EDINB URGH . B EQ UES T O F M A RY H A M ILTO N CA M P B ELL , BA RO N ES S RU T H V EN , 1885, IN V. N G690/P HOTO © S COT T IS H N AT IO N A L G A LLERY. GEM Ä LDEG A LERIE , S TA AT LI CH E MUS EEN ZU B ERLIN , IN V. 12 A / W I T H K IND P ERM IS S IO N O F T H E GEM Ä LDEG A LERIE , B ERLIN/© P HOTO: JÖ RG P. A N DERS

is born of an environment of fertile explosion in all the creative industries, the printing revolution, new possibilities in glass, ceramics, textile colour and colour-making itself, and a time of a prevailing humanism which brought the arts into fusion with each other and with the city’s own architectural and aesthetic versions of itself.

Vasari stresses his delightfulness, that he loved love itself, and women, society and music, that he was so good a lute player and singer that he kept getting invited to entertain ‘gatherings of noble persons’, and that though he picked up notions of how to use darkness and light from Leonardo, he went on to become so strikingly original, working ‘directly from life’, that his paintings sent shock waves through all the painters in Venice, ‘greatly surpassing’ them all and rivalling those concerned with ‘creating the modern style’.

The story ends when he contracted the plague from a ‘certain lady’ (this unsourceable story later

BELOW LEFT Portrait of an Archer, attributed to Giorgione BELOW Portrait of a Young Man (Giustiniani Portrait), c.1497-99, by Giorgione

G A L L ER I E D EL L’ACCA D EM I A , V EN I CE , I N V. 272 / P H OTO © A R CH I V I O F OTO GR A F I CO D EL P O LO M US E A L E D EL V EN E TO/ P H OTO GR A P H Y: Q UA R TA N A , S U CO N CES S I O N E D EL M I N IS T ER O D EI B EN I E D EL L E AT T I V I TÀ CU LT U R A L I E D EL T U R IS M O

S COT T IS H N AT IO N A L G A LLERY, EDINB URGH . B EQ UES T O F M A RY H A M ILTO N CA M P B ELL , BA RO N ES S RU T H V EN , 1885, IN V. N G690/P HOTO © S COT T IS H N AT IO N A L G A LLERY. GEM Ä LDEG A LERIE , S TA AT LI CH E MUS EEN ZU B ERLIN , IN V. 12 A / W I T H K IN D P ERM IS S IO N O F T H E GEM Ä LDEG A LERIE , B ERLIN/© P HOTO: JÖ RG P. A N DERS

RIGHT La Vecchia, c.1508-10,

by Giorgione

regardless of the baleful beauty, the arrogance and determination in both his face and the display of his war tackle, his gold-silver shining armour and his apparent surety of belief, his hand on the cross of his rather fine sword. The boy standing or moving behind him (a reminder of the man’s own boyhood only just behind him) is either in midsong, or has seen, is seeing, something arresting and maybe even petrifying; either way, both are fixed on their courses, both in kinds of trance, and the knight is only throwing us the gift of a glance as he goes.

Portrait of an Archer (opposite, left) is more self-reflective, quite literally so with the gloved hand doubling in his armour on his chest in a parallelled strength and fragility even down to the ungloved finger, thumb and wrist-skin appearing through the material. Is this a picture of an archer, or a picture of a lover, of a soul in a hard shell? The armour itself is softened by

the red suggestion of the ribbon at the shoulder.

What is he saying, the man in the picture? He’s indicating himself, as if through himself to his true self, and all in that passing glance. Perhaps part of the mystery of Giorgione resides in the engima of such independent work – and the fact that each painting, rather than being of someone or something, seems to have been made on its own terms and to be looking at us rather than the other way round. Perhaps it comes from the freedom with which Vasari notes he painted, both in the technical action of the work and in the freelancing way he created work. Perhaps this double freedom resulted in work which is, at core, even free of its artist.

When he painted an Adoration, he had that freedom of vision and construction, both, to move the crib and holy family a little to one side and to focus his picture on the usually sidelined, the shepherds (Adoration of the Shepherds, c.1505–10;

page 50; not in the exhibition) – just like he had the necessary audacity to paint an old woman as a seeming allegory of passing time, but with such a life, unsentimentalised, seen at the same time quite ungrotesquely, that for the first time a portrait, usually a space reserved for the ennobled and the known, features a real, aged, poor woman seen in all her paucity and all her rich and full and ruinous humanity (La Vecchia, c.1508–10; above).

Regardless of the allegorical label attached to her – the words col tempo, with time – she points, for that Giorgione moment, to her heart.

In the Age of Giorgione The Sackler Wing, Royal Academy of Arts, London, www.royalacademy.org.uk, 020 7300 8000, 12 March–5 June. 2009-2016 Season supported by JTI. Supported by Maserati. See Public Events page 74 To join a debate about Giorgione’s attribution, visit http://roy.ac/portraitdebate

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T H E R OYA L CO L L ECT I O N / H M T H E Q U EEN P H OTO R OYA L CO L L ECT I O N T RUS T/© H ER M A J ES T Y Q U EEN EL IZ A B E T H I I 2016

Portrait of a Man (Pietro Bembo?), c.1505, by Giovanni Bellini

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T H E R OYA L CO L L ECT I O N / H M T H E Q U EEN P H OTO R OYA L CO L L ECT I O N T RUS T/© H ER M A J ES T Y Q U EEN EL IZ A B E T H I I 2016

Giovanni Bellini The elder statesman of Venetian art was painting some of his most powerful portraits in the first decade of the 16th century By the early 1500s Giovanni Bellini, whose workshop was home to some of the brightest new talent, was already in his seventies. Yet according to Albrecht Dürer, himself an eager visitor to Venice, though ‘very old’ Bellini was ‘still the best in painting’.

A palpable sense of serenity and compassion lights up Bellini’s religious work; tender Madonnas and dead Christs to make your

heart bleed. But he was also a magnificent portrait painter, bestowing a kind of immortality onto mere mortals. This luminous figure (opposite) may be Pietro Bembo, the Venetian humanist scholar and poet. Certainly those patrician good looks and dreamy air (he feels both intimately close and distant at the same time) are a perfect fit with Bembo, who would have been 35 years old in 1505 when the picture was painted and a rising literary star, thanks to his acclaimed edition of Petrarch’s sonnets and his epic poem, Gli Asolani, on the wonders and dangers of love. It’s a subject Bembo knew a lot about, having recently seduced a young Venetian widow and having had an intense (platonic?) affair with Pope Alexander’s daughter, Lucrezia

Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara. On closer study, is there perhaps a hint of a cool lothario inside the studious gaze?

Bellini would be creatively active right up to his death in 1516, his energy surely piqued by the challenge of young bloods like Giorgione and Titian. One of his last works – painted at the age of 85 – was of a beautiful naked woman at her toilette. It was a clear nod to both of the younger artists, who had already undressed lovely ladies in paint, the erotic charge of the images heightened by the fact that the women appear unaware they are being looked at. In the rich story of Renaissance art, another kind of Venus was being born. What more fitting place than Venice?

Going for gold The first decade of the 16th century saw Venice become a creative cauldron, as a glittering array of painters put the city on the cusp of an artistic golden age. Sarah Dunant celebrates some of the most influential figures featured in ‘In the Age of Giorgione’, as well as some new discoveries SPRING 2016 | RA MAGAZINE 55

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‘Titian’s fluency in oil and his innate sense of drama allowed him to create visual feasts out of essentially static moments’

Saint Agatha, c.1510-15, by Giovanni Cariani

Jacopo Pesaro Being Presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter, c.1508-11, by Titian

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M US ÉE D U LO U V R E , D ÉPA R T EM EN T D ES P EI N T U R ES , I N V. M I 164/ P H OTO © R M N - GR A N D PA L A IS (M US ÉE D U LO U V R E)/GÉR A R D B LOT

At a time when lovely unclothed women were finding their way into Venetian art, this plain Jane figure (right), by Giovanni Cariani, might at first seem underwhelming. The power, however, is as much in the detail as the face.

The martyr’s palm leads the eye down to the glass dish where the sitter’s right hand cups one of a pair of lovely – and it must be said, rather perky – women’s breasts.

The iconography of Catholic saints is the key. Any contemporary Venetian would have immediately recognised the story of Agatha, the third-century Roman saint who serenely withstood the most horrendous tortures, including the slicing off of her breasts. It is likely that Cariani’s painting had a double function, working as a devotional aid in the contemplation of suffering and steadfastness at the same time as offering a portrait of a young woman rich in virtue and spiritual aspiration, if not in looks.

Cariani, who was probably born in Bergamo but lived and worked in Venice, is an unexpected discovery of the Royal Academy show. His reputation has been somewhat trampled in the historical stampede of famous names to come out the first decades of 1500s and, like Lorenzo Lotto (opposite), he earned much of his living outside the city. But based on the eight paintings by (or attributed to him) on show, he deserves to be better known. His portraits have a sombre, one might say unflattering, realism; he can paint the most affecting visions of Christ (a debt to Dürer); and, like many Venetian-trained artists of his time, his sense of colour lights up the material richness of the age. To misquote Milton mischievously: ‘They also serve who only stand and absorb the influences…’

S COT T IS H N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY, ED I N B U R GH , I N V. N G 2494/ P H OTO © S COT T IS H N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY. KO N I N K L I J K M US EU M VO O R S CH O N E KU NS T EN , A N T W ER P, I N V. 357/ P H OTO © R OYA L M US EU M O F F I N E A R TS , A N T W ER P/ W W W. LU K AS W EB . B E – A R T I N F L A N D ERS V Z W/ P H OTO GR A P H Y: H U GO M A ER T ENS

Giovanni Cariani Although overshadowed by his peers, Cariani had rare skills for both realistic portraiture and luminous religious work

M US ÉE D U LO U V R E , D ÉPA R T EM EN T D ES P EI N T U R ES , I N V. M I 164/ P H OTO © R M N - GR A N D PA L A IS (M US ÉE D U LO U V R E)/GÉR A R D B LOT

S COT T IS H N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY, ED I N B U R GH , I N V. N G 2494/ P H OTO © S COT T IS H N AT I O N A L G A L L ERY. KO N I N K L I J K M US EU M VO O R S CH O N E KU NS T EN , A N T W ER P, I N V. 357/ P H OTO © R OYA L M US EU M O F F I N E A R TS , A N T W ER P/ W W W. LU K AS W EB . B E – A R T I N F L A N D ERS V Z W/ P H OTO GR A P H Y: H U GO M A ER T ENS

Lorenzo Lotto A deeply religious man, Lotto created moving devotional paintings, and would have known of Giorgione’s works that set small figures in sumptuous landscapes

Saint Jerome, 1506?, by Lorenzo Lotto

Titian The young Titian was at the heart of the creative tumult in Venetian painting – first rivalling, then outliving and surpassing Giorgione At the most cursory glance, Jacopo Pesaro Being Presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter (opposite) is an impressive painting, its exquisite colour palette and dynamic composition going hand in hand with a clear commercial nous: the patron/donor may be the one kneeling but there is no doubt who is footing the bill.

How much more impressive then to discover it is a relatively early work of the young Tiziano Vecelli. When he painted it in c.1508-11, Titian would have been only around 20 years old and his accomplishment vividly reflects the tumult of creativity and talent of this decade in Venetian art. Both he and Giorgione (born about ten years earlier) had already taken everything they needed from the work of great Giovanni Bellini and the battle of the young Turks was on.

Titian would become a master of this type of devotional art whereby, under the excuse of encouraging prayer, wealthy patrons got near equal billing with the saints. His fluency in oil and his innate sense of drama allowed him to create visual feasts out of essentially static moments, balancing spiritual gravitas with earthly eminence – a fitting celebration for a city, which according to contemporary diarist and Venetian senator Martin Sanudo ‘was built more by divine than human will’.

His effortless brilliance in so many genres meant that Titian was hailed as an artistic colossus in his own lifetime. But fortune as well as talent had a hand here. Had one been placing bets in the early 1500s, the clever money might have gone to Giorgione, who at the same time was showing at least as much range and originality.

By 1510 it was all over. What-ifs don’t come more enticing that this one: had Giorgione survived the plague, that battle of the young Turks could well have gone into middle or old age. What further artistic wonders might that have produced?

A saint dwarfed by the majesty of nature: Saint Jerome (left) is a bold interpretation by Lorenzo Lotto of the saint at prayer (prizes for anyone who can make out the lion in the darkness on the left) and a powerful example of how the most fecund periods of art are as much a relay race as any spontaneous combustion of genius.

Jerome’s sojourn in the desert was a popular subject in Venetian art, and when the young Lotto painted it in around 1506 he would have been drawing on many influences. He would have known Bellini’s paintings of both St Jerome and St Francis and may have been familiar with Leonardo da Vinci’s passionate ideas on the importance for artists in studying nature. Venice was rediscovering the classical tradition of the pastoral and he would certainly have witnessed the brilliance of Giorgione’s haunting compositions, which placed small, often inconsequential, figures inside lush poetic landscapes and blazing skies. But if Lotto’s Jerome is partly conscious quotation – the rock, the naked stark tree, the moody sky – that doesn’t distract from its daring; his dramatic colliding planes of rock poetically emphasise the humility and vulnerability of man inside God’s uncompromising handiwork.

Given the hothouse of emerging competition at the time (Lotto was working alongside Giorgione, Titian and Sebastiano del Piombo), it is perhaps not surprising that he chose to leave Venice early, making his name in the cities of Treviso, Bergamo and Rome. He shared some of Bellini’s tranquil acuity in the art of portraiture, which assured him no shortage of commissions. And his evident skills along with his own deep religiosity marked him out as a fine creator of devotional paintings and altarpieces.

He ended his life as a lay brother in the sanctuary of Loreto, but his years of training in the creative furnace of Venice never left his brush.

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As Britain’s art schools experience an era of radical change, what do students stand to gain and lose?

Anna Coatman explores the past, present and future of art education. Paintings

by Paul Winstanley

away from purely practical studies, the DipAD included an art history element, and encouraged more experimentation across different media.

Coldstream also introduced a crucial ‘let-out clause’ that allowed students who showed exceptional artistic promise, yet who did not have the required educational qualifications, to be admitted into art schools. Art school became a haven for a small number of lucky school-leavers who hadn’t fitted comfortably within the conventional academic system.

These new art schools were shaped by the cultural climate of the time, which in many ways couldn’t be more different to our own. In his most recent Spending Review, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Obsorne announced that Arts Council England would receive a small increase in funding (in cash terms), yet its budget had already been slashed by 36 per cent between 2010 and 2015. On top of this, austerity cuts to councils mean that local arts funding often loses out when pitted against other essential services.

In contrast, the 1960s saw unprecedented growth in investment in arts and humanities.

The pioneering Labour Arts Minister Jennie Lee set the tone in 1965, when she produced the only government White Paper on the arts there has ever been (51 years on, minister for culture Ed Vaizey is about to produce the second such White Paper – it will be interesting to see how it compares). Buoyed by a post-war spirit of optimism and altruism that had made the development of the modern welfare state possible (incidentally, Lee was married to Nye Bevan, the Labour Minister who spearheaded the creation of the NHS), Lee declared: ‘[in] any civilised community the arts and associated amenities… must occupy a central place. Their enjoyment should not be regarded as something remote from everyday life.’ This seminal document described the key role that the arts play in a healthy society, stressing that they should be accessible to people of all classes, up and down the country.

This positivity went hand in hand with widespread political upheaval. Now-legendary protests were sweeping the world in 1968, and at Hornsey Art College students staged a six-week sit-in as a response to the withdrawal of Student Union funds, among other grievances. Over ten days, they took charge of the administration of the college, and called for a review of the curriculum. Other art schools across the country soon swelled the wave of protests. The 2015 occupation of the Cass – and a similar sit-in that took place at Central Saint Martins earlier that year – recalls this rebellious, bygone era.

A number of the artists who came through the new polytechnics of the 1960s and ’70s would go on to teach in the institutions that rose to prominence in the 1980s, such as Goldsmiths College, where the emphasis was on Conceptualism, theory and experimentation.

Michael Craig-Martin RA, who taught at Goldsmiths, wrote in his recent book On Being An Artist, ‘Goldsmiths was the first art school I knew that was clearly the product of my own generation… All of the traditional attitudes, procedures and structures that were taken for granted in most art schools were questioned and, if found irrelevant, abandoned.’

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Watch these spaces

As night fell on 14 December 2015, the lights at the art school came on. If you happened to walk by, you’ll have seen the silhouettes of over 100 students appear, some waving, some with hands on hips, framed by the brightly-lit grid of windows. This was more than just an art project – it was a visual protest. The students pressed against the glass wanted to make their presence felt; they were occupying the £50 million building in Aldgate in an attempt to halt London Metropolitan University’s plans to sell it off to property developers.

If these plans go ahead, the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design will be relocated to Holloway, joining the main campus of its parent institution. The sale will provide much-needed funds for the university. But campaigners are concerned that it will also mean less studio space, fewer courses and less creative autonomy for the Cass, pointing out that – among other benefits – the architecture of the school’s current home encourages students from different disciplines to share ideas and collaborate.

Concerns were also aired when Central Saint Martins announced that it was relocating to a state-of-the-art, converted granary depot in King’s Cross, which opened in 2011. For a while after the students had left its historic Lethaby building in Holborn, mournful slogans – ‘R.I.P.’ – were still daubed on the walls and windows.

Though the Lethaby had many problems, including severe leaks, some were sad to see it go, fearing they might lose the unique kind of education once offered within it.

Another London art school, the Royal Academy Schools, is unusual in being independent and charitably funded, and therefore sheltered from pressures to expand or move.

It is not immune, however, from change. The institution is planning to restore and modernise its 19th-century building on the Royal Academy of Arts site in Mayfair, to mark its 250th anniversary in 2019. These plans coincide with a larger redevelopment project at the RA by David Chipperfield Architects. But they are also about creating work spaces suitable for the 21st century.

Change is in the air, prompting questions about what art schools are for, what they will look like in the future – and what they were like in the past. Looking beyond the campaigns and heated commentary surrounding the relocations of the Cass and Central Saint Martins – not to mention the earlier move of Chelsea School of Art in 2005, and the restoration of the Glasgow School of Art after a fire in 2014 – to a recent plethora of talks and books on the history of art schools, nostalgia for what has gone is the keynote. So what is it, exactly, that we have lost, or stand to lose? Should we feel positive about leaving any of it behind?

And what do we stand to gain in its place?

The foundations of art schools as we now know them were laid in the 1960s, when many small, local colleges merged to create tertiarylevel polytechnics. Students were treated more like independent artists rather than pupils learning a craft. Here they could study for a Diploma in Art and Design, an innovative qualification developed by painter William Coldstream, the Head of the National Advisory Council on Art Education. Marking a shift

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Art School 14, 2013, from Paul Winstanley’s series of paintings ‘Art School’, which documents art school studio spaces empty between school years

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The idea that the 1960s, the ’70s and, to a lesser extent, the ’80s represent a ‘golden age’ for art schools is seductive, and it is easy to see why it is gaining traction. But it is important to understand that there is a mythic element to it. As with any dominant narrative, it is safe to assume that there are other, dissenting voices that have not been heard. For instance, today, course sizes are much larger than they used to be – meaning that one-to-one tuition and large studio spaces are virtually things of the past. Yet these things were only possible in the first place because just 5 per cent of young people went on to higher education in the 1960s, as compared to the 45 per cent who do so now. And though grants, in theory, enabled young people from working class backgrounds to go to art school, the demographic of these institutions was even then, in reality, predominantly middle/upper class.

The flipside of those days of unlimited freedom of expression was a lack of guidance and support. The ‘anything-goes’ teaching style that characterised the ‘golden age’ did not suit everyone, leaving some adrift. Last, but certainly not least, arts faculties were held much less accountable for their actions than they are in 2016 and – going by first-hand accounts – were by no means free from institutional sexism, male chauvinism and casual misogyny.

Things have changed a lot in the past 50

Art School 37, 2013

years socially and politically, and art schools have adapted accordingly. A significant shift came in 1992, when John Major’s Conservative government passed the Further and Higher Education Act, allowing polytechnics to become universities. While some art schools, such as Leeds College of Art, the Royal College of Art and Glasgow School of Art, remain independent, most now belong to larger universities – and have thus been grappling with the same issues that those universities have had to face ever since.

For instance, government teaching grants for arts and humanities courses were withdrawn between 2010 and 2014, meaning that many art schools and faculties faced serious financial challenges.

Art courses are now largely funded by fees, and art students – like all university students – can now expect to pay up to £9,000 a year. The fear of leaving with huge debt and uncertain career prospects makes the decision about whether to go to art school high risk. At the same time, if you want to work in the creative industries, the competitive job market means that graduating – ideally from ‘a good place’ – is more important than ever.

Yet in terms of future generations, aspiring young artists – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds – face greater obstacles before they get to art school, as well as when they leave. In primary schools, especially

those with poorer catchment areas, there’s a risk that time spent studying the ‘key’ subjects of English, Maths and Science could overtake other subjects, including Art. In secondary schools, plans to roll out the new EBacc qualification could mean that virtually every 16-year-old would have to study for GCSEs in English Literature and English Language, Maths, double or triple Science, a modern and/or ancient language, History and/or Geography. As pupils take, on average, eight GCSEs, this means that Art, Dance, Design, Drama, Music and other subjects relevant to the creative industries will likely be squeezed out. Realising this, more than 23,000 individuals and 160 organisations – including the Royal Academy of Arts – have supported the campaign against the proposals.

Meanwhile, sixth-form colleges are feeling the strain of local government cuts, and arts courses have often been the first to suffer.

Hackney College, for instance, last year axed three arts courses, including the Foundation Diploma – a pre-requisite qualification for those applying to study fine art degree courses.

As Neil Griffiths, the co-founder of Arts Emergency (a charity that aims to tackle social inequality in the arts) explains, ‘there is a real risk that art could become a luxury subject accessible only to the privileged.’ Bob and Roberta Smith RA – a tutor at the Cass and a leading campaigner to

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Art School 8, 2013

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‘The fear of leaving with huge debt and uncertain career prospects makes the decision about whether to go to art school or not high risk’

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save it – agrees, cautioning, ‘we are really heading back now, not to the 1960s, but to the ’30s, when art schools were only for the elite.’

For those young people who do get to go, art school is no guarantee of a career as an artist.

Ironically, though there is more money than ever before to be made as a successful artist, it is also much harder for recent graduates to survive – thanks to soaring rents and the shrinking of benefits support and funding.

It has always been difficult to make a living as an artist, meaning that it has always been more risky for the underprivileged than the privileged.

But the safety nets that were in place in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s have been whipped away. The days of developing art while eking out an existence on the dole in cheap rented accommodation are gone; it is now practically impossible to live in London and make a living as an up-and-coming artist without the financial support of a wealthy family behind you.

All of this brings to mind the 1995 Pulp single Common People, about a rich girl from Greece who studies sculpture at St Martins College, and wants to be one of the ‘common people’, but calls her dad to ‘stop it all’ when reality starts to bite.

The song charmingly skewers the notion that art schools are little utopias, where all are equal.

Many art schools, however, are doing their best to prepare students for the tough world

beyond their walls – including Central Saint Martins. Here students are encouraged to develop practices that will be sustainable after they graduate. As Alex Schady, leader of its fine art programme, explains, ‘We have to think creatively about how we are preparing our students for the world beyond. It is not appropriate to prepare them by giving them the most enormous studio and no financial worries and endless one-to-one tutorials, because what they are facing when they leave here, especially if they are staying in London, is having a peripatetic studio, if a studio at all, and having to develop elastic practices that can work alongside having to have a job, and showing work erratically.’

The new campus plays an important role in shaping these ‘elastic’ practices, with its impressive, large-scale, temporary exhibition spaces, available to students on a rotating basis, and its open, communal areas. As Mick Finch, course leader of the BA in Fine Art, enthuses, ‘The thing we love about this place is that it’s open, it’s public, we actually meet people from other courses. It’s a fabulous collaborative environment, a really lovely place to work.’

While it is undoubtedly true that art students need to be as well-equipped as possible for the tricky contemporary art world they are about to be thrust into, having the time, space and financial freedom to develop as an artist has its

own inherent value. Seventeen very fortunate artists are given that chance each year at the RA Schools, embarking on the country’s only threeyear, entirely fee-free postgraduate programme.

The RA Schools, founded in 1769, is the longest established art school in Britain. In the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, the RA Schools had a reputation for being conservative, valuing traditional skills such as life drawing – the antithesis of the more progressive art schools of the ‘golden age’. But in 1998 the programme was transformed into a contemporary course, similar to the best offered elsewhere at the time. Today, with Eileen Cooper RA as the Schools’ Keeper (the Academician responsible for the art school), the emphasis is still on creating forward-looking work – just as it is at most art schools across Britain. But it is now one of the few places where students can develop their ideas in an environment similar, in some key respects, to that associated with the ‘golden age’ of art schools.

In addition to removing the fear of debt, and providing a generous amount of personalised tuition, one unique thing that the RA Schools programme offers is time. Most art schools offer one-year masters courses and, as Eliza Bonham Carter, Curator and Head of the Schools explains, ‘the best thing that happens on a one-year MA is that your brain is totally blown apart by new thinking and new ideas. But you don’t have time

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‘In response to high fees, commercialisation and rigid assessment criteria, independent, guerilla-style art schools are starting to pop up’

Art School 4, 2013

financial pressures that other art schools have to contend with, the RA Schools is a sanctuary for those lucky enough to attend (as well as being a prestigious addition to their CVs). But the obvious downside to the Academy’s model is that so few students can benefit.

The RA Schools is not the only place that offers an alternative to most art schools. In response to high fees, commercialisation and rigid assessment criteria, independent, guerrilla-style art schools are starting to pop up. One notable example is Open School East. Based in a former library and community centre in De Beauvoir Town, east London, the school offers a free, experimental, collaborative study programme for emerging artists, as well as events and activities open to the local community. Funding comes from trusts, foundations, individuals and art galleries, as well as Arts Council England.

‘Associates’ at the school come together for two days a week to meet mentors and work together on projects. The emphasis is on supported, self-led development, rather than tuition as such. As with the RA Schools, the programme is non-accredited, and some seminars and workshops and presentations are open to the public.

John Lawrence was an associate at Open School East in 2015 and found the experience liberating. ‘It was great to work in a truly

collaborative fashion, and to have real agency in providing cultural activity at the highest level to local audiences and the London community.

A DIY ethos requires a lot of energy from all involved, but it also allows for the possibility to engage and react to things on the fly.’ While initiatives like this are exciting, it is unlikely that they can or will usurp mainstream art schools – nor is this something we should hope for.

As Lawrence admits, ‘Ideally, alternative art school models wouldn’t need to exist.

Really, they are papering over the cracks that some mainstream education models overlook and providing free education at a time when £9,000 in tuition fees simply isn’t a viable option for many.’ Griffiths agrees: ‘Art schools and universities are hundreds of years old and they’ve got great value as they are – we should fight to defend them, not just create alternatives.’

The campaign to reform the EBacc is supported by the Royal Academy; visit www.baccforthefuture.com Paul Winstanley, Art School: New Prints and Panel Paintings Alan Cristea Gallery, London, 020 7439 1866, www.alancristea.com, 17 March–7 May To watch a video interview with Bob and Roberta Smith RA about art education, visit http://roy.ac/artforall

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then to really act on those, whereas a three-year programme allows you to do that, embedding those ideas into your practice.’

Another thing is space. The RA Schools was designed in 1868 by an alumnus, Sydney Smirke RA, and later extended by Norman Shaw RA between 1881 and 1885. The fact that the building was created by a student for students is, Bonham Carter believes, the key to its enduring success: ‘Apart from the fact the roof leaks and that there are big radiators on all the walls, it’s perfect.

‘The light is fantastic and it’s all on one floor, which is delightful because it means everyone is in the same place. And because each studio has two doors you can move through the school in a very open way, without interrupting anyone.

It’s really interesting to think about how much all of that informs the work that happens here.’

In his plans to modernise the Schools David Chipperfield RA intends to work with Smirke’s original floor plan, removing the temporary walls and features that were installed subsequently and building new, up-to-date workshops suitable for contemporary art practices.

The RA Schools is funded by individual patrons, companies and trusts and foundations, plus an annual Schools Auction and some of the proceeds from the Summer Exhibition, as well as being supported by Newton Investment Management. Thus cushioned from the

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MODERN BRITISH AND IRISH ART

DAME ELISABETH FRINK R.A. (1930-1993) Easter Head II signed and numbered ‘Frink/3/6’ (at the base of the neck) bronze with a light green/brown patina and partially painted face 50.2 cm. (19 3/4 in.) high Conceived in 1989 £80,000 - 120,000

Wednesday 15 June 2016 New Bond Street, London Entries now invited

ENQUIRIES +44 (0) 20 7468 8295 britart@bonhams.com Closing date for entries Friday 29 April 2016

Our Specialists will be travelling throughout the U.K. this Spring offering free, confidential valuations and advice.

The market for Modern British Art is stronger than ever and we are seeing an increased demand from international buyers for quality examples ‘fresh’ to auction. Artists such as Lynn Chadwick, Ben Nicholson, L.S. Lowry, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore are particularly sought after.

bonhams.com/modernbritish Prices shown include buyer’s premium. Details can be found at bonhams.com

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RIGHT Heydar Aliyev Centre, Baku, Azerbaijan (2007-12), by Zaha Hadid Architects

The rules of the radical

From Robert Smythson in Elizabethan times to Zaha Hadid today, some of Britain’s best-known architects have been mavericks, their highly original works changing the face of the profession. As the Royal Academy publishes a new book on 12 such radicals, Hugh Pearman has some tips for how to spot a maverick in the making

This may become a self-fulfilling prophecy if you get too much of a reputation for maverick tendencies. But it served Cedric Price (19342003), Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) and the guys behind FAT (1993-2014) very well. Price in particular spent most of his life avoiding having to build, and this produced some excellently maverick ideas, such as paving over the Thames at the South Bank. Price also claimed to like the idea of the few buildings that he actually realised being demolished.

Unfortunately one of them, the Snowdon Aviary at London Zoo, is now listed. Mackintosh built some masterpieces, but after the Glasgow School of Art, where do you go? Nowhere much, in his case. And as for FAT (Fashion, Architecture, Taste), they were architecture’s equivalent of the comedian Stewart Lee: beloved of broadsheet critics like me, baffling to everyone else. Before they split up they built a few good things, culminating in the colourful ceramic loveliness of A House for Essex with Grayson Perry RA – a rentable holiday home which also happens to be a pilgrimage chapel for the fictitious Essex Girl Julie, built by her equally fictitious grieving husband.

2. THEY HAVE A PRIVATE (OR ALTERNATIVE) SOURCE OF INCOME

It’s hard to make money out of architecture, especially if you’re going to get all mavericky with prospective clients, which can be bad for the bank balance. Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel (18871959), best known for his Art Deco-ish Hay’s Wharf HQ at London Bridge, could do what he liked, in whatever style he fancied, because he was wealthy. James Stirling RA (1926-92), architect of Stuttgart’s famous Neue Staatsgalerie, wasn’t, but had a highly paid job teaching at Yale to make up for it. John Vanbrugh (1664-1726), designer of Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace, was a courtier with a nice little sideline in roister-doister plays. You would be surprised how common this still is in architecture: it helps if your wallet doesn’t depend on it.

3. THEY ARE OBSESSIVE (REALLY, REALLY OBSESSIVE) ABOUT THE DETAILS

If you stand your ground, this can give you a reputation for being difficult. John Soane RA (1753-1837) designed at a level of subtlety and complexity that left his peers looking lumpen. The refined neoclassicism of his Dulwich Picture Gallery is a key reference

for today’s architects. Mackintosh and Charles Holden (1875-1960) designed every last little light fitting and doorknob… it can all get a bit much for the clients, that kind of thing. Though not in Holden’s case, since he found a no less obsessive client in Frank Pick of the London Underground.

4. THEY ARE OUT OF STEP WITH FASHION

Which of course, if you play things right, means that you set your own style. FAT, with its larky stick-on façades, was brilliant at championing and reinvigorating postmodernism when nearly everyone else thought it was a dead-and-buried style, and anodyne bleached-wood, palelimestone-and-glass late modernism was ruling our streets. Goodhart-Rendel, a fine church architect who invented the phrase ‘Rogue Goths’, saw great merit in Victoriana when his modernist peers thought it was just so last century. And when Stirling went postmodern at Tate Britain’s Clore Gallery and his No. 1 Poultry building in the City, nobody else did it quite like he did.

5. THEY ARE LUDICROUSLY AMBITIOUS

Elizabethan architect Robert Smythson (c.15351614) married the lightness and boniness of gothic cathedrals with a neoclassical sensibility

© I WA N B A A N

1. THEY DON’T BUILD MUCH

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to make his astonishing glassy ‘prodigy houses’ such as Longleat, Wollaton and Hardwick. This was proper hi-tech, and nobody had seen houses like these before. Zaha Hadid RA (b. 1950) falls into the same category. At first this counted against her (hence the tragedy of her neverbuilt Cardiff Bay Opera House); now the world can’t get enough of it. Stirling came a cropper in mid-career because his aesthetic ambition was not matched by the technical abilities of the British building industry and some of his buildings started falling to bits.

Then he switched to building in Germany and, strangely, they didn’t fall to bits.

6. THEY HAVE A FIRST-RATE SIDEKICK

Stirling again – he had Michael Wilford to cover for his legendary bloody-mindedness.

At meetings with clients he would let Wilford present projects while he remained at the back of the room, grunting occasionally. Vanbrugh didn’t really know how to design buildings but he moved in the right wealthy circles and had Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736; also a maverick, but a technically competent one) as his assistant to rely on. Hadid has Patrik Schumacher, high priest of the Parametricism movement.

Mackintosh depended more than is ever usually acknowledged on the talent and support of his designer wife, Margaret Macdonald.

7. THEY ARE CHARMINGLY DISORGANISED

Everyone loves the charming architect – and James Wyatt PRA (1746-1813) was just that.

People are less happy when they just don’t turn up to supervise the work – which he didn’t, or at least not at the right times. No wonder William Beckford’s gothic-folly tower at Fonthill fell down – he was forced to supervise its building himself, in Wyatt’s protracted absences. This didn’t stop Wyatt from travelling 4,000 miles a year and charging clients a mileage rate, a first in architecture. C.R. Cockerell RA (1788-1863) fits somewhat into this category – he didn’t really want to be an architect, you understand, but an artist. However his intensive researches into antiquity with his artist friends paid off.

Cockerell more or less devised our idea of the museum with Oxford’s Ashmolean.

8. THEY HAVE NO FEAR

The true maverick architect has total self-belief.

Holden’s Senate House for University College London, a skyscraper in its time, was meant to

be the first part of a veritable Gotham City in the same manner. Soane designed a triangular royal palace in Green Park, just because he could.

Vanbrugh didn’t care that he wasn’t even an architect. Wyatt wasn’t bothered by boring things like structural integrity and saw no reason not to build a version of Rome’s huge domed Pantheon on Oxford Street. Stirling knocked a rough hole through the masonry of his Neue Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart when asked to put in a window he had not intended. Price invented his ‘Fun Palace’ with Joan Littlewood, an entirely new kind of theatre/cultural centre. And Smythson? He was designing shimmering walls of glass at the time actor-manager Richard Burbage was knocking together his Globe Theatre out of wattle, daub and thatch. Smythson did for architecture what Shakespeare did for literature: plunge headlong into the future.

Mavericks: Breaking the Mould of British Architecture by Owen Hopkins, RA Publications, £12.95.

See Readers’ Offers page 102. An installation coincides with the book in the Architecture Space Royal Academy of Arts, London, 020 7300 8000, www.royalacademy.org. uk, until 20 April. Supported by Turkishceramics.

To learn more about Britain’s maverick architects, visit http://roy.ac/12mavericks

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Collectors’ choice Every year print enthusiasts flock to the London Original Print Fair at the RA to see the vast range of works on sale, from Old Master prints to contemporary innovations.

Ahead of this year’s event we asked artists, experts and collectors to pick a standout print from those on display

Henry Moore Master printmaker Stanley Jones selects a lithograph he produced with the great sculptor Title ‘Eight Reclining Figures with Architectural Background’, 1963 Print technique Lithograph Edition Artist’s proof from an edition of 100 On view in LOPF at Osborne Samuel

My association with Henry Moore began in 1958 when he was working on his book Heads Figures and Ideas at the Curwen Press. We met in the premises of the new Curwen Studio, the press’s printmaking arm that I managed, and we began to make limited editions. Our co-operation was to continue for the rest of his life.

Moore is the rare example of a sculptor who discovered printmaking as a source of interest and imagination. He became his own publisher and governed personally what he produced in terms of etching and lithographic work. I would constantly journey to his studio at Much Hadham in Hertfordshire with plates and proofs. The day would be spent in discussion, with the walls of the studio covered with works in progress.

Eight Reclining Figures with Architectural Background (1963; opposite) represents a method of working that, among others, Moore pursued throughout his life. It is actually made of two separate lithographs: a dark background area printed twice and an arrangement of figures cut from several studies drawn on lithographic transfer paper. His earlier prints reproduced pre-existing drawings from his sketchbooks, so printmaking in this way was a new direction for him to explore. In fact, printmaking was to remain a constant practice alongside his sculpture, giving to his oeuvre added strength and meaning.

In 1941, aged 74, Matisse underwent surgery for abdominal cancer that left him chair- and bedbound and he was no longer able to paint. Instead he cut forms from coloured paper, collaging them to create his ‘cut-outs’, and these are among the most admired and influential of his works of art.

‘The Lagoon’ is a series of cut-outs included among many others in Matisse’s book Jazz (1947), accompanied by the artist’s written thoughts. The book was initially inspired by the circus, before incorporating other motifs and memories. The art historian Riva Castleman wrote that, with Jazz, Matisse ‘taught the eye to hear’. I have always loved these ‘Lagoon’ works, which conjure up the shimmering colours of Tahiti and the tropics with their animals and other forms, leaving one with the sensation of calm waters and peace.

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Title ‘The Lagoon II’ (pl. 18 from ‘Jazz’), 1947 Print technique Pochoir (stencilling) Edition 250 On view in LOPF at Galerie Martinez, Paris

© S U CCES S I O N H EN R I M AT IS S E / DAC S 2016/CO U R T ESY G A L ER I E M A R T I N E Z , PA R IS

Henri Matisse Interior designer Joanna Wood explains her love of the French master’s cut-outs

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Jacques Callot Broadcaster and chairman of Heritage Alliance Loyd Grossman selects an etching that evokes the strife of 17th-century Europe Title ‘The Temptation of Saint Anthony’,

after Jacques Callot, by Anton Meitingh, 1637

Print technique Etching On view in LOPF at Christopher Mendez

Callot is perhaps most celebrated for his series of etchings ‘The Miseries of War’ (1633), responding to the horrors of the Thirty Years War as they affected his native province of Lorraine. While the Miseries prefigured and certainly influenced Goya’s famous ‘Disasters of War’ (1810-20), as art historian Diane Wolfthal has pointed out, Goya’s emotionally charged work was in contrast to Callot’s more measured observation of the large-scale cruelty and mayhem engulfing Europe.

Callot was a magnificent technician, as could be seen in the delicacy of his copper plates on display recently at Nancy’s Musée de Lorraine. The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1617) is, I think, his greatest print and a remarkable example of Baroque visual imagination at its most overheated. Yet there is a discipline and control in how Callot has stage-managed his terrifying cast of characters. In this rare and faithful copy

by Anton Meitingh, St Anthony is under the stone arch on the left of the image taunted and tormented by a Satanic troop and protected only by his faith. But the saint’s success is hardly certain in Callot’s vision, which expresses the anxieties, and to a lesser extent the hope, of one of Europe’s darkest periods.

with pigment on paper Edition 10 On view in LOPF at TAG Fine Arts I am always impressed by the woodcuts of Japanese artist Katsutoshi Yuasa that I have seen previously at LOPF and this year I would love to buy this example. The image, from a photo he took in Boundary Gardens in Bethnal Green, has an atmospheric, haunted quality. He takes the title from the text of Dostoevsky’s 1868 novel The Idiot. ‘When Dostoevsky speaks of beauty,’ Yuasa explains, ‘it is not as an aesthete; beauty is not for him something precious, something affected.’

In making an image Yuasa marries digital photography with traditional Japanese woodcut techniques, transforming a snapshot into an otherworldly artwork. He speaks of the woodcutting process as ‘shedding light on the place of the world’ – by cutting highlights out of a dark plane of wood the artist illuminates the subject just as a camera lens catches light.

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Title ‘Can Beauty Save the World?’, 2015 Print technique Oil-based woodcut print

CO U R T ESY CH R IS TO P H ER M EN D E Z .© K ATS U TOS H I Y UAS A /CO U R T ESY TAG F I N E A R TS

Katsutoshi Yuasa Emma Stibbon RA selects a haunting work by the Tokyo-based woodcut printmaker

Title ‘April’, from the complete set of ‘The Months

of the Year’, c.1610-20

Print technique Engraving On view in LOPF at Elizabeth Harvey-Lee

As a practising gardener I love these early prints of gardens and I have a small room hung with them at my house, The Laskett in Herefordshire.

I used to go for a walk in prints such as these while I laid out The Laskett gardens in the 1970s and ’80s.

Here you see in one crisp image by Matthäus Merian from the early 17th century the Renaissance garden revolution, which was epitomised by the reorganisation of space in terms of single-point perspective – although the solitary tree in front of a medieval tunnel arbour shows that, like me, Renaissance gardeners would work around a mature feature rather than chop it down.

The beds hover between old-fashioned knots and the incipient parterre. The containers, filled probably with gillyflowers, are medieval. I envy the owner, who seems to have seven gardeners, one of whom is a weeder. No such luck!

Phillip King PPRA Martin Groß, a student at the Royal Academy Schools, picks a playful monoprint by the eminent sculptor Title ‘Untitled’, 2010 Print technique Monoprint Edition Unique work On view in LOPF at RA Editions

CO U R T ESY EL IZ A B E T H H A R V E Y- L EE . © P H I L L I P K I N G /A L L R I GH TS R ES ER V ED, DAC S 2016

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Matthäus Merian Art historian and horticulturalist Roy Strong chooses a 17th-century engraving that evokes his own garden design

This is one in a series of monoprints exploring the relationship between colour, form and space that were created by Philip King PPRA in the workshops of the RA Schools, where I am a second-year student – the sale of these and other prints from RA Editions supports the Schools.

King’s prints directly refer to the physicality of his sculpture as well as his longstanding interest in the idea of gravity. The layering of colours, shapes and structures in his prints creates various abstracted spatial arrangements, and transfers the characteristics of different sculptural materials from three dimensions into two. For example, in Untitled (2010; right), paint adopts the textural qualities of his sculptures and how their surfaces react to light.

In monoprinting, a plate is directly painted in a broad palette of hues, creating a single impression of a unique image, unlike other printmaking techniques which are used to achieve multiple originals in an edition.

London Original Print Fair Main Galleries, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 020 7439 2000, www.londonprintfair.com, 5–8 May. See Public Events and Lectures page 74.

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Critical issues in art and architecture

Debate

I L LUS T R AT I O N BY B I L L B R AGG

The Question Should we care about attribution?

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Yes… Knowing who made a work gives art its context and connections, says art historian DAVID EKSERDJIAN In the tricky and treacherous kingdom of attribution, Giorgione – the central subject of the Academy’s new show – represents a peculiarly acute challenge. Everything points to the fact that he had an exceptionally short career, he almost never did us the good turn of signing his works, and few scholars or experts seem to agree about what he produced. Our only real help is an early, and seemingly entirely reliable, listing of paintings by him – and other artists – compiled by a man called Marcantonio Michiel, which for example allows us to say with reasonable confidence that the Tempest in the Accademia in Venice is by Giorgione.

Put simply, there are certain benefits to be gained by seeing a particular painting, drawing or sculpture as part of a bigger picture. In a way, that is the primary purpose of the history of art.

Works of art never existed in a vacuum, and they never should.

Two of the most fundamental ways in which it is possible to give works of art a broad context is in terms of their approximate date and place of origin. Even if we cannot agree on exactly

No… Even experts can’t tell a fake from the real thing, so the name of the artist is irrelevant, says artist DOUG FISHBONE In 1957, the National Gallery purchased a work

by Rembrandt titled An Old Man in an Armchair.

About a decade later, the painting was demoted and attributed to a ‘follower of Rembrandt’ and then in 2014, it was reattributed to Rembrandt by one of the world’s leading authorities. Its authorship remains disputed.

In 2013, a landscape attributed to ‘a follower of Constable’ was sold by Christie’s on behalf of a client for £3,500. Later confirmed as an original, the new buyer off-loaded it for a cool £3.5 million.

Whatever these instances might say about due diligence and professional expertise, such stories, like tales of finding a masterpiece in a yard sale or in Grandma’s attic, capture the imagination of the public in a powerful way. People tend to be fascinated by the question of how art is valued.

Getting back to attribution, aside from financial implications, does it really matter who

‘How might cognitive bias towards an artist influence our experience of viewing art and forming opinions?’

what Giorgione painted, it seems fair to say that all of the works that are candidates look as if they belong to the Venetian school of art and were created around the early 16th century.

The third way of placing works of art is connected with individual authorship. In those cases – as for example with living artists – where there is in effect no uncertainty about which works are by them, it seems natural to want to chart their stylistic evolution across time, to make connections that are illuminating. Moreover, not all artists sign, but those who do presumably want us to know they were responsible for their works.

Especially in the past, the nature of artistic training meant that it was often possible to work out not just roughly where a given artist had learnt their craft, but specifically who had taught them.

Interestingly, around the time of Giorgione, a number of pupils of the greatest Venetian painter of the previous generation, Giovanni Bellini (who outlived Giorgione), actually included that information with their signatures, and refer to themselves as his ‘disciples’. Moreover, artists have often also spoken eloquently about the more general inspiration they have drawn from their great precursors or contemporaries. All of these links increase our understanding of the millions of individual pieces that go to make up the puzzle that is the history of art.

If we had a time machine and could go back and watch Giorgione and co. painting, it would solve all sorts of problems – and might put some

painted a given work? Would someone gazing at the Rembrandt in 1968, when the label indicated one thing, have a markedly different experience to someone seeing it after its demotion, in 1969?

In one famous experiment on wine drinkers at the University of Bordeaux in 2001, the same wine was presented with two different labels, one identifying it as a Grand Cru, and the other as cheap plonk. The very same wine triggered strongly opposite responses based on what people thought they were drinking, confirming that people think wine tastes much better when they are convinced it is expensive. (Another test revealed that many experts could not even distinguish between a red and a white that had been tinted red with food colouring, putting the lie, perhaps, to the notion of professional connoisseurship.)

It would be intriguing to conduct analogous tests in a museum setting, to see how such cognitive bias towards an artist might influence our experience of viewing art and forming opinions. How distinctly can we separate the context of what we are looking at, and the expectations and pretensions we bring to it, from the object itself?

Hard to say, but my own experiment ‘Made in China’ at London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2015, in which I replaced one of the collection’s masterworks with an inexpensive Chinese replica, might be suggestive. Almost 90 per cent of viewers who were polled – including several well-known art critics – were unable to spot the

‘Works of art never existed in a vacuum, and they never should.’ of us out of a job. No doubt it would reveal that we have got any number of attributions horribly wrong – already, discoveries of overpainted signatures or of legal contracts frequently prove similarly humbling. However, our fallibility does not mean we should not try to get it right, just that it is not always possible to succeed.

It is as well to admit there are drawbacks and two of them probably outweigh all the others.

The first obviously involves name worship – the bad habit of judging on the basis of the label and not the work. The second is connected with it, and concerns the commercial value of certain magic names in the art market. Oddly enough, especially when it comes to Old Masters, this is less of a problem than might be supposed, because the range of prices paid for different works by the same artist can be immense, and will depend on all sorts of non-name factors.

At the same time, a completely anonymous work of art can sell for a fortune. If what is an excellent candidate for that most mysterious old masterpiece of them all, the Wilton Diptych in the National Gallery, came up at auction, you can bet your bottom dollar it would break all the records.

David Ekserdjian gives a free talk on Giorgione and his World: Problems of Attribution at the RA on 18 April.

See Public Events and Lectures page 74

inauthentic painting among the originals, and one can assume that some visitors were unaware that my project was taking place, thus having an otherwise completely normal gallery-going experience. To them, will it have mattered who actually made the ‘Fragonard’ we swapped?

The question of forgeries makes the attribution issue even more difficult. One former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote that 40 per cent of all the works art he considered purchasing for the museum were inauthentic, and some suggest up to 20 per cent of work held by museums is misattributed.

Whatever the real figures are, it’s a fair bet to say we cannot necessarily trust that what we are looking at is what we are told it is. And this goes for many experts as well.

So at the end of the day, does it matter to whom an artwork is attributed? In the case of Congo the chimp, whose abstract paintings were exhibited at the ICA in 1957 to great acclaim, I would argue yes, at least from an ontological standpoint. After all, knowing it was made by a monkey might affect our ability to define it as art in the first place, since that category might only encompass things created by humans.

But in most other instances, if we are completely honest about it, probably not.

Does attribution matter? Visit http://roy.ac/debateattribution to vote online.

Last issue we asked: should the artist have the final say in the conservation of their work? 31 per cent in our poll said ‘Yes’, 69 per cent ‘No’

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Debate

Hands, mind and heart If you want to understand more about art, then try creating it yourself, says the RA’s Head of Academic Programmes ANNA M. DEMPSTER

A study of a Woman’s Hands, c.1490, by Leonardo da Vinci

In his recent book The Thinking Hand, architect Juhani Pallasmaa suggests that the hand operates as partner to the eye and the brain, enabling a type of interaction and understanding that would be impossible in a purely theoretical form. This is a critical yet indirect relationship between mind and body familiar to any musician, sportsman or surgeon who practises until their hands move faster than their mind.

Miltiadis Krokidis, Consultant in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at Cambridge University Hospitals, explains, ‘There is no doubt that hands-on experience is different from the best description in the world. No matter what you read or see, if you don’t do it yourself you will never obtain the complete experience of the task.’

Citing a roll-call of recent writers, artist and academic Warren Seelig convincingly argues that there’s a growing interest in the ‘materiality of things’ – both because of the sheer enjoyment and excitement of the physical process of making but also because this process can result in the creation of new knowledge and better understanding. ‘The hand is the window on to the mind,’ to quote Immanuel Kant.

Such ideas are echoed in the pioneering work of American philosopher and educationalist John Dewey (18591952) whose early theories still underpin much art education today. Dewey believed that every person is capable of becoming an artist and that the teaching of art had the potential to develop behavioural habits that enable the making of meaning in general.

For Dewey the making of art is an active process of discovery, assessment, decision-making and reflection, all elements of a wellrounded and thoughtful engagement within society. Furthermore, the method used is the means by which thinking happens: ‘The artist does his thinking in the very qualitative media he works in’, he writes. ‘A painter must consciously undergo the effect of his every brush stroke or he will not be aware of what he is doing and where his work is going… to understand such relations is to think, and is one of the most exacting modes of thought.’

Leading printmaker Anne Desmet RA has recently led the practical courses ‘Chiaroscuro Linocut Printing’ and ‘Wood

Engraving’ for the public at the Academy. She believes that making artwork is the best way to understand other artists’ works which rely on the same methods. ‘If you want to learn about art, it gives you a huge head start if you to try to make it. The experience of handling and using artists’ materials in some of the highly diverse practices within printmaking, painting or sculpture gives you a clearer understanding of how it is that many artists literally think through making.’

Painter and printmaker Rebecca Salter RA, a specialist in Japanese woodblock printing, teaches at the Royal Academy this spring.

Through her teaching and writing she highlights how water-based Japanese woodblock techniques are literally affected by weather. ‘It is almost impossible to understand such subtle changes without learning how to do it,’ she explains.

‘Understanding the complexities of the method, especially registration, enables the student to deconstruct a Hokusai print, for example, and fully appreciate the technical genius of the craftsmen behind it.’ Mark Hampson, Head of Materials Processes at the RA Schools, adds that ‘through practice comes focused discipline, and ultimately an understanding of essential knowledge that involves much more

‘Drawing is seeing, thinking, feeling. It is a form of living’ than hand-to-eye coordination or technical dexterity’. As such, ‘drawing is seeing, thinking, feeling. It is a form of living.’

So who in particular should be making art?

Certainly, the collector or connoisseur who longs to understand the significance and cultural value of their chosen objects of study – but also the newcomer or generalist who can gain an active and engaging entry point into something which we not only see and speak about but feel and react to.

Perhaps even more importantly, we should all try making art, because it is only through the active process of making that we create and make meaning, and understand not just art but who we are and the world around us.

The Royal Academy’s Academic Programmes include Courses and Classes that introduce traditional art-making processes, as well as perspectives on the history of art, culture and the art world. For details, contact Mary Ealden, Courses and Classes Coordinator, on 020 7300 5641 or mary.ealden@royalacademy.org.uk, or visit http://roy.ac/classes

R OYA L CO L L EC T I O N T RUS T/© H ER M A J ES T Y Q U EEN EL IZ A B E T H I I , 2016/ B R I D GEM A N I M AGES

Tied to our desks and our day jobs, we rarely get our hands dirty these days.

When we were children we might have had the luck of a nurturing parent or teacher who created a safe place for messy play, and as adults we might enjoy helping the kids with the odd show-and-tell science or art project. But many contemporary commentators have lamented that today we are more likely to interact with the world through a sanitised flat screen, making ‘friends’ and ‘creating’ online, rather than getting involved with anything as unpredictably physical as canvas, clay, paint or glue.

And yet there is a sense that something is lost without the combination of all the senses through which we understand the world around us – to explore through touching, sensing and testing, trying and possibly failing, but ultimately reaping the rewards of our efforts and learning from the process. In recent years a range of thinkers (philosophers, artists, architects, economists, sociologists and neuroscientists to name a few) have independently but in concert called for a unified understanding of the relationship between our intellect and the practical or physical experiences we enjoy while making something.

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Eugène Delacroix, Lion Hunt (detail), 1861 © The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois

New exhibition 1 March - 5 June

Poetry in Beauty

The pre-raphaelite art of

marie spartali stillman

17 February – 22 May 2016 Book now Members go free

Exhibition organised by the Delaware Art Museum Marie Spartali Stillman, The Enchanted Gard en of Messer Ansaldo, 1889 Watercolour and gouache on paper mounted on panel, Pre Raphaelite Inc., by courtesy of Julian Hartnoll

@wattsgallery wattsgallery.org.uk

nationalgallery.org.uk #Delacroix

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Debate

Public Events and Lectures Further information and a complete listing of all our events can be found at royalacademy.org.uk/events.

The full programme and new events will be released to RA Friends via email

Coffee Cup (Fragment), 2015 by Michael Craig-Martin RA, who gives a talk in May

INTOUCH AT THE R A Audio Described Tour and Handling Session: Painting the Modern Garden

Mon 7 March An event for blind and visually impaired visitors – an audio described tour of ‘Painting the Modern Garden’ followed by refreshments and a handling session.

Burlington House; 9–11am; £3 FREE TALK Ann Christopher RA in Conversation with Richard Cork

Mon 7 March Award-winning abstract sculptor Ann How to book public events and lectures

● Visit royalacademy.org.uk/

events, or call 020 7300 8090.

You can also visit the RA Ticket Office, or complete the booking form on page 79 and post to ‘Events and Lectures’ or fax 020 7300 8023. ● Booking is advised for free talks. Please arrive promptly as unclaimed seats will be released at the start of the talk. ● Reductions are available for students, jobseekers and people with disabilities with recognised proof of status. ● RA Friends and carers go free to Access events; pre-booking is advised. Disabled parking spaces and wheelchairs can be reserved on 020 7300 8028.

Christopher RA discusses her extensive body of work and current exhibition, a series of works called ‘Drawing - The Lines of Time’ with art critic Richard Cork, who has written the introduction for a new publication about the artist.

A book signing follows the event.

Reynolds Room; 1–2pm; free EVENING EVENT After the Age of ‘Starchitects’

Mon 7 March What might life be like after the signature-style, icon-obsessed and male-dominated age of the ‘starchitect’?

Our panel explores. With Karen Cook, founding partner of PLP and former partner of KPF; Hana Loftus, founder of HAT Projects; Catherine Pease, founder of vPPR; and chaired by Vicky Richardson, British Council’s Director of Architecture Design Fashion.

Geological Society; 6.30–8pm; £12/£6 reductions

painter Giorgione in this introductory talk. He also considers the idealised beauty, expressive force and sensuous use of colour that became the hallmark of Venetian Renaissance painting.

Reynolds Room; 1–2pm; free ACCESS CONFERENCE Why and How 2016 – Engaging Children with Special Educational Needs in Creative Learning and Making Art

Sat 19 March This conference provides a space for teachers and art educators to develop ideas around the nature and value of cultural and artistic engagement for children with special educational needs.

Join us for a day of talks, workshops, networking opportunities and discussions.

Burlington House; 10am–6pm; £75/£65 reductions. For more information, visit the Royal Academy website.

chairs this discussion exploring the different perspectives artists can bring to the making of architecture. With Maria Lisogorskaya, from the Turner Prize-winning studio Assemble, and the artist Pablo Bronstein.

Geological Society; 6.30–8pm; £12/£6 reductions EVENING EVENT Rafael Viñoly

Thur 31 March Renowned Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly talks with the RA’s Architecture Programme Curator Owen Hopkins about originality in architecture, the responsibilities of architects and the challenges facing cities in the future.

Geological Society; 6.30–8pm; £12/£6 reductions

April INTER ACT AT THE R A

INSTUDIO AT THE R A

INMIND AT THE R A

Creative Workshops for Access and Community Groups

Art and Conversation for People Living with Dementia

Tue 8 March and 10 May In these workshops based around RA exhibitions, individuals are supported to explore and respond to the artworks in the galleries and then guided to create their own responses.

Burlington House; 2.30–5.30pm; free (pre-booking essential)

Mon 21 March, 25 April and 23 May Artist and gallery educators facilitate these sessions for individuals living with early to mid-stages of dementia and their carers, friends and family members. Join us for coffee and conversation to discuss artworks from our permanent collection.

Burlington House; 11am–12.30pm; £3

FREE TALK

EVENING EVENT

An Introduction to ‘In the Age of Giorgione’

The Artist as Maverick Architect

Mon 14 March Curator Per Rumberg traces the birth of the golden age of Venetian painting and explores the legacy of the elusive

Mon 21 March Sean Griffiths, Professor of Architecture, University of Westminster and cofounder of FAT, one of the architects featured in the ‘Mavericks’ exhibition,

BSL Lecture: In the Age of Giorgione

Fri 1 April An event for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing visitors – art historian John Wilson leads this talk about ‘In the Age of Giorgione’ in British Sign Language.

Burlington House; 6.30–7.30pm; £3 INMOTION AT THE R A Exhibition Tour for Mobility Impaired Visitors: Giorgione

Mon 4 April An event for wheelchair users and mobility impaired visitors – an introductory tour of the exhibition ‘In the Age of Giorgione’, followed by coffee and conversation in the Fine Rooms.

Burlington House; 9–11am; £3

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Public Events and Lectures FREE TALK The Art of Horticulture: Planting and Painting the ‘Modern Garden’

Mon 4 April Drawing on her research as curatorial consultant to ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’, Clare A. P. Willsdon explores the fascinating links between art and the practice of horticulture in this free talk.

Reynolds Room; 1–2pm; free

from the art world to share their practice with others.

General Assembly Room; 6–8.30pm; free.

If you are interested in presenting at this event, contact access@royalacademy.org.uk or 020 7300 8090 EVENING EVENT In the Age of Giorgione: An Evening of Art and Music

Wed 6 April Join us for the first in our series of ‘relay dialogues’ with sociologist Richard Sennett and artist David Cotterrell as they discuss the potential of multiple and nuanced narratives within the urban environment and the obstacles to their creation.

Geological Society; 6.30–8pm; £12/£6 reductions

Fri 15 April Recorder quartet BLOCK4 is recognised for its innovative and fresh approach to an otherwise traditional ensemble. The quartet performs a varied repertoire including music from the medieval and Renaissance periods. In this concert, BLOCK4 present a programme inspired by the exhibition ‘In the Age of Giorgione’, introduced by the exhibition curator Per Rumberg.

The RA and the Royal College of Music are proud to present an evening of art and music, kindly supported by Dasha Shenkman.

Reynolds Room; 6.30–7.30pm; free

EVENING EVENT

FREE TALK

Provocations in Art: Portrayals of Age and Beauty

Giorgione and his World: Problems of Attribution

Fri 8 April Painted during his all-too-brief artistic career, Giorgione’s La Vecchia (page 53) is a rare example of a realistic portrayal of an elderly woman in the early 16th century. Using this painting as a starting point, feminist academic Professor Lynne Segal and fashion and art historian Aileen Ribeiro examine the representation of ageing alongside attitudes towards age and beauty in this discussion chaired by Dr Hannah Zeilig (University of the Arts).

Reynolds Room; 6.30–7.45pm; £16/£7 reductions (incl. exh entry), £12 (event only)

Mon 18 April Giorgione was one of the greatest artists who ever lived, yet it is difficult to establish exactly what he painted, not least because he had such a profound influence on a range of artists from that period, both in Venice and across northern Italy more generally. Art historian Professor David Ekserdjian (page 70) examines in detail the works

by Giorgione, as well as the artistic influence of this enigmatic master. He also explores the extent to which any attempt to reconstruct the outline of Giorgione’s career is hampered by the lack of documentary information about the artist.

Reynolds Room; 1–2pm; free

EVENING EVENT RA Dialogue: Richard Sennett and David Cotterrell on Urban Complexities

FREE TALK Easels in Eden: Monet’s Gardening and Painting at Giverny

Mon 11 April Dr Eric Haskell highlights the relationship between Claude Monet’s gardening aesthetic and painterly techniques as he practised and perfected them in his iconic garden at Giverny.

Reynolds Room; 1–2pm; free EVENING EVENT Francine Houben: People, Place, Purpose

Mon 11 April Francine Houben of Dutch architectural practice Mecanoo discusses her internationally acclaimed work and the way she orchestrates each building project for those who use it.

Geological Society; 6.30–7.45pm; £12/£6 reductions INPR ACTICE AT THE R A Access and Community Programmes Artistic Presentations

Fri 15 April At this event, we invite disabled artists and creative people at risk of exclusion

EVENING EVENT Britain’s Greatest Maverick Building – The Debate

Mon 18 April Do you have a favourite quirky or unusual building? Let us know on Twitter and it could be included in this debate looking for Britain’s greatest maverick building. Send us a message @royalacademy using #MavericksArchitects.

Geological Society; 6.30–8pm; £12/£6 reductions EVENING EVENT Innovation and Influence in the Age of Giorgione

Fri 22 April Focusing on a very specific moment in Venetian history, the exhibition ‘In the Age of Giorgione’ examines the rapid revolution in artistic style at the turn of the 16th century, when emerging artists such as Giorgione and Titian were working alongside Giovanni Bellini and other leading painters of the time.

Family Fun

Tours

FAMILY STUDIOS These drop-in workshops are supported

by Jeanne and William Callanan The Great Brush Up II: Sun 6 and 20 March Print Mania: Sun 17 April Cutting Edges: Sun 15 May 11am–3pm; free; no booking required

R A TOURS Explore the RA’s art, architecture and history in these free one hour tours.

12 noon Tue to Sun (subject to change)

EASTER FAMILY WORKSHOPS Tue 5 (5+) and Thur 7 April (11+) Bring your children, tweens and teens to the RA for artist-led workshops.

Learning Studio; £15/£5 children 5+ yrs; pre-booking essential on 020 7300 8090

OPEN SATURDAYS Delve into our boxes of artist materials and learn how the RA’s masterpieces were created.

Saturdays, drop in between 1–4pm; free Curator’s Collection Talks

3pm, first Tuesday of every month.

Painting the Modern Garden Tours

2.30pm Wed, 7pm Fri (until 15 April) ART MAKING WORKSHOP FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS Sun 3 April Places are limited and spaces must be reserved on access@royalacademy. org.uk or 020 7300 8090.

Burlington House; 11am–1pm; free; pre-booking essential Writer Sheila Hale and art historian Paul Hills discuss this decade with art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon, examining its significant developments in technique.

Reynolds Room; 6.30–7.45pm; £16/£7 reductions (incl. exh entry), £12 (event only)

In the Age of Giorgione Tours

2.30pm Tue, 7pm Fri (15 Mar–27 May) ONE-TO-ONE ACCESS TOURS Tours for wheelchair users and audio descriptive talks about our exhibitions Call 020 7300 5732 for details Access at the RA is generously supported

by Robin Hambro

.

will focus on his printmaking practice and creating editions, which have been integral to his iconic works, from etching and screen printing to 3-D printing and light-box installations.

Reynolds Room; 6.30–7.30pm; £12/£7 reductions (incl. LOPF entry)

EVENING EVENTS Public Presentations: Urban Jigsaw

EVENING EVENT

Fridays: 29 April, 13 May, 20 May, 27 May The four architects taking part in ‘Urban Jigsaw’ (Chetwoods, Alma-nac, Atelier Kite, and Maccreanor Lavington and East) present their projects in this series of free, informal talks.

Reynolds Room; 7–7.30pm; free (no booking required)

Centre or Suburb? Locating the Soul of 21st-century London

May

Fri 6 May Inspired by the RA’s ‘Urban Jigsaw’ project, a panel of speakers debate the most critical issues facing London over the next few decades – from housing and infrastructure to culture and community – and ask whether London’s future lies in the centre or the suburbs.

Royal Society of Chemistry; 6.30–8pm; £12/£6 reductions

EVENING EVENT RA Schools Annual Lecture: Olafur Eliasson in Conversation with Tim Marlow

INTOUCH AT THE R A

Wed 4 May Renowned Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is joined by the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow to discuss his extraordinary architectural projects and works in public spaces over the past 20 years.

The RA Schools Public Programme is supported by the David Lean Foundation.

Royal Institution; 6.30–7.30pm; £16/£8 reductions

Mon 9 May An event for blind and visually impaired visitors – an audio described tour of the exhibition ‘In the Age of Giorgione’, followed by refreshments and a handling session.

Burlington House; 9–11am; £3

EVENING EVENT London Original Print Fair Annual Talk: Michael Craig-Martin RA

Fri 6 May Acclaimed for his co-ordination of last year’s Summer Exhibition, Michael Craig-Martin RA is one of the bestknown artists of his generation. His talk

Audio Described Tour and Handling Session: Giorgione

R A LATES Venetian Magic

Sat 14 May Think 16th century Venetian opulence, mythological scenes and Renaissance theatre as we bring to life the city’s golden age – inspired by the legacy of Giorgione’s stylistic innovations. Explore the RA’s Fine Rooms and discover performances, installations and more.

Burlington House; 7–10pm; £22 (incl. a cocktail and exh entry)

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Friends Events at the RA An expanded programme of private views, talks, masterclasses and screenings exclusively for RA Friends, presented at the Academy and nearby. To book, visit royalacademy.org.uk/friendsevents or call 0207 300 8090 growing and production of premium teas and infusions, also shares his expertise.

The Sir Hugh Casson Room; 7–9pm; £15 (incl. Tregothnan Tea Tasting)

Masterclasses The Art of Tasting: Spiegelau Craft Beer

Sat 26 March Did you know that the shape of a glass can change the taste of beer? Join this craft beer tasting masterclass, where you will taste quality craft beers in specially crafted glasses from Spiegelau.

The Spiegelau Craft Beer Glasses have been approved by an expert tasting panel of master brewers and industry professionals. At the end of the masterclass, you can keep your glass set to continue your enjoyment at home.

The Sir Hugh Casson Room; 7–9pm; £23 (incl. Spiegelau glass set and tasting) Still from By Our Selves, 2015, by Andrew Kotting, presented at the RA Friends’ Film Club in April

Private Views ‘Painting the Modern Garden’ Morning Private Views

Every Friday morning Friends have exclusive access to ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’ before it opens to the public.

Enjoy the exhibition without the crowds during a Friends-only hour every Friday morning throughout the exhibition.

Burlington House; 9–10am; free ‘In the Age of Giorgione’ and ‘Painting the Modern Garden’ Evening Events

CO U R T ESY O F S O DA P I C T U R ES

Thur 9 and 31 March Join us for two evening private views of ‘In the Age of Giorgione’ and ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’.

Experience these exhibitions after-hours with live music and garden-inspired drinks from our resident cocktail experts.

Burlington House; 6–10pm; free The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours 204th Exhibition Preview

Tues 5 April A showcase of works in contemporary water-based media, covering a wide range of styles, by emerging and established artists from Britain and beyond.

Mall Galleries, The Mall, London, SW1; 9.30am–11.30am; £6 (incl. tea, coffee and illustrated catalogue)

Film Club The East End Film Festival, one of the UK’s largest film and multimedia arts festivals, is collaborating with the Royal Academy on a series of monthly film screenings for RA Friends Season 1: The Art of Cinema: Journeys from the Gallery to the Big Screen Matt Hulse: Dummy Jim + Short Work

Wed 3 March Matt Hulse has been making awardwinning films and artworks for 20 years.

He is currently developing projects in China and North Korea, and has just completed a Scottish tour with his latest feature film, Dummy Jim, a dramatic recreation of the journey of deaf cyclist James Duthie from Scotland to the Arctic Circle. Experimental, poetic and emotive, the film has also formed the subject for an exhibition and a book. For this event, we welcome Hulse to present Dummy Jim and a selection of short films.

The Sir Hugh Casson Room; 7–9pm; £12 (incl. welcome drink and popcorn) Andrew Kotting: By Our Selves

Tue 19 April Andrew Kotting is a radical artistic voice. The British filmmaker’s formally exploratory and aesthetically innovative

work has moved from the absurdist to the melancholy, to feature films exploring British landscape, history and literature, all infused with a pranksterish wit. For this event Kotting presents his latest film

By Our Selves (above), a recreation of the journey of the nature poet John Clare from Epping to Northampton in 1841, starring British actor Toby Jones.

The Sir Hugh Casson Room; 7–9pm; £12 (incl. welcome drink and popcorn)

Talks Rebecca Salter RA: ‘The Monk and the Camellias’ Tregothnan Tea Tasting and Talk

Mon 7 March We welcome Friends for a special evening of conversation with Rebecca Salter RA, who shares her unique experience of developing a friendship with a Zen monk in Japan and bringing his collection of rare camellias to the Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall. The estate is believed to have been the first place to grow ornamental camellias outdoors in Britain over 200 years ago. It was this wealth of experience combined with a pioneering spirit that led them to create the first teas actually grown in the UK. Jonathon Jones, who moved from Japan to join the estate as head gardener 18 years ago and is a specialist in the

The Art of Tasting: Wine Tasting with Riedel

Wed 20 April Learn about how the shape of a wine glass affects your enjoyment of drinking wine. Look at why shape matters when it comes to choosing your wine glasses and how the different shapes can enhance the bouquet and flavours of a particular wine. Matt Knight from Riedel guides you through an informative masterclass.

Riedel has been producing glass in Austria for over 260 years and is the leading manufacturer of varietal-specific stemware. Your ticket includes a set of Vinum Riedel glasses. A must-attend event for wine-lovers at any stage of their wine discovery journey.

The Sir Hugh Casson Room; 7–9pm; £65 (incl. Spiegelau glass set and tasting)

Friends Week Go behind the scenes at the Royal Academy

From introductions to our art collection and a chance to see the RA Schools to talks by Academicians and practical workshops, there is something for everyone in our dedicated annual events programme where we reveal the working life of the Academy for Friends. Booking opens 4 April; visit royalacademy. org.uk/friendsevents.

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Friends Excursions These events are generally very popular. We recommend you post in the booking form (opposite) as soon as you receive the magazine. Remaining tickets will be sold online and over the phone from 21 March

Loseley Park, which Friends visit on 7 June

Apothecaries’ Hall The House of St Barnabas, Soho

Mon 11 April and 16 May No. 1 Greek Street is home to London’s newest private members’ club, The House of St Barnabas. With untouched Rococo interiors and stunning hidden chapel, the club has an art collection that includes work by Roy Lichtenstein and Tracey Emin RA. We enjoy a talk with Dr Adam Scott, and tour with curator Katie Heller.

10.45am–12pm; £22; 1 Greek Street

Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Sat 9 April and 7 May Established in 1570 and still in operation, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry is Britain’s oldest manufacturing company, famous for the design and manufacture of the Liberty Bell in 1752 and Big Ben in 1858.

On our tour we learn about the history How to book Friends excursions

● Postal bookings open now. Post

● ●

●

●

●

●

●

the booking form opposite to ‘Events & Lectures’, or fax 020 7300 8023.

Friends may buy a guest ticket.

Friends Excursions forms are balloted; please list your choices in preference order.

When an event is running on more than one day and/or time and you forget to choose a time, we will select one for you.

Excursion coach leaves from outside the RA on Piccadilly and return times are approximate.

There is no discount if you choose to drive instead of travelling by coach.

For Friends membership enquiries, call 020 7300 8090 or visit royalacademy.org.uk/ friends For queries about these trips, please call 020 7300 8090.

the neo-gothic design also features period furniture from Holland and Sons.

10–10.45am; £35; directions with ticket Tue 19 April and 3 May The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries is one of the largest Livery Companies in the City of London, with some of the best-preserved 17th-century livery hall interiors. We learn about the history of the Worshipful Society, which was built on the site of the Black Friars Priory, and view artefacts from its collection.

11am–12.30pm; £28; Blackfriars Lane St Michael’s Church, Camden

Tue 12 April By kind agreement from the French Ambassador, Friends have the chance to visit her residence at 11 Kensington Palace Gardens. Built in 1840 for the Duke of Marlborough, stylistically the building marks the transition from Regency to Victorian. The house contains fine French furniture, Gobelin tapestries and Savonnerie carpets.

11am–12.30pm; £40; 11 Kensington Palace Gardens

Thur 21 April In 2014, St Michael’s Church commissioned photographer and RA Schools tutor Maciej Urbanek to create an art installation, HS, covering over 60 square metres of its west wall. Last year, HS was announced winner of the Art + Christianity Enquiry Award. Friends enjoy talks from both Father Tom Plant and Maciej Urbanek, exploring the historical fabric of the building, and contemporary enquiries into the juxtaposition of art and faith.

11am–12pm or 2–3pm; £19; Camden Road

Lindley Library, Victoria

Temple Church and Middle Temple

Wed 13 and 20 April To celebrate the RA’s exhibition ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’, Friends enjoy a tour of the Royal Horticultural Society’s main research library, which holds collections of early printed books on gardening, as well as the private archives of notable gardeners like Gertrude Jekyll. Friends learn about the history of botanical drawing and its relationship to the art world.

11am–12.30pm; £20; 80 Vincent Square

Fri 22 April and 10 June Friends explore the historic Temple Church, built by the Knights Templar and one of only three Norman round churches remaining in England. Revd Robin Griffith Jones, Master of the Temple, leads our introduction to the church’s history. Middle Temple was built between 1562 and 1573 and remains virtually unchanged to this day. Following a tour of the private reception rooms, we finish with lunch in the magnificent Middle Temple Hall.

10am–2pm; £68 (incl. three-course lunch, wine, coffee); Temple Church, Temple

French Ambassador’s Residence

Speaker’s House

Thur 14 April By very special permission from John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, Friends tour the sumptuous State Rooms of the Speaker’s House, led by the Speaker’s Trainbearer. Designed

by Pugin to echo the vaulted ceilings and gilt interiors of the Houses of Parliament,

The Fan Museum, Greenwich

Mon 25 April and 23 May Celebrating the history of fans and the art of fan making, the Fan Museum in Greenwich houses a unique and extensive collection from around the world.

Friends enjoy a curator-led tour of this charming museum, examining in particular some unusual fans decorated

by Paul Gauguin and Walter Sickert RA. Prior to tea in the museum’s beautiful Orangery, we also view an expert-led fan-making demonstration.

2–4pm; £32 (incl. tea); 12 Crooms Hill Chelsea Physic Garden

Thur 28 April and 2 June Friends explore Chelsea Physic Garden, a celebration of the beauty and importance of plants. This walled garden was founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries so that its apprentices could study the medicinal qualities of plants, and it became one of the most important centres of botany. By special arrangement, Friends enjoy a talk and viewing of archival material led by the head librarian, followed by a guided tour of the garden.

10.45am–12.45pm; £28 (incl. coffee); meet at garden entrance, Swan Walk The Red House, Bexley

Wed 4 May By popular demand Friends return to Red House, the only house commissioned, created and resided in

by William Morris. Morris lived in the house between 1860 and 1865 and regular visitors included artists Rossetti, Burne-Jones and Madox Brown. Friends enjoy a private tour of the house and explore the collection of Morris designs and decorative schemes.

10am–2pm; £46 (incl. coach, coffee); meet at the RA Crossness Pumping Station, Bexley

Wed 18 May Friends privately tour Crossness Pumping Station, a masterpiece of Victorian engineering. Crossness was designed by Joseph Bazalgette to alleviate the 1858 ‘Great Stink.’ Noted for its gothic interior and polychromatic brickwork, it also houses the four original pumping engines, the largest remaining rotative beam engines in the world. We enjoy a talk on its history and planned redevelopment. By special arrangement,

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T H E L I T T L E M ER M A I D S TAT U E BY EDVA R D ER I KS EN , CO P EN H AGEN

Thur 7 April To mark 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare, join us for this fascinating walk around Blackfriars and Bankside, visiting sites connected with the playwright. David Charles Pearce, Director of the Rose Playhouse, guides our tour. Following lunch, we visit the site of the Rose (the first purpose-built playhouse to stage any of Shakespeare’s plays) and see parts of the theatre that were uncovered by archaeologists in 1989.

11am–4pm; £55 (incl. coffee, lunch, gls wine); meet outside Blackfriars Station

and production of the foundry.

10–11.30am; £30; there are uneven floors and steep staircases, and children under 16 are not permitted. Directions with ticket.

P H OTO VA L ER I E R H EN I US

Walking Tour: Shakespeare’s London And the Rose Playhouse

Friends Worldwide Art Tours

the spires of the Rosenborg and Christiansborg Palaces grace the skyline.

Call 020 7873 5013 or visit coxandkings.co.uk/ra

Copenhagen: Danish Art and Design with Dr Anne Anderson

Events booking form For Friends Excursions, please list your event choices in preference order.

Event

Date

21–24 July 2016 Copenhagen’s galleries and museums offer a wealth of European art and design, with works showcasing Denmark’s own golden age, the Skagen Group and Scandinavian modern design. The city’s cobbled streets are lined with beautiful 17thand 18th-century buildings, and the pumping engines will be fired up for this visit.

12.15–6pm; £60 (incl. tea); meet at the RA. This visit is not suitable for people who experience vertigo or with limited mobility.

Rousham Park And Waterperry Gardens, Oxon

Tue 24 May Rousham was built in 1635 by Robert Dormer. In 1738 William Kent began transforming the house from a Tudor palace to a gothic-style mansion, and the house and gardens represent one of the best surviving combinations of Kent’s architecture and landscape design.

We also visit Waterperry Gardens, once a horticultural college. Friends can also visit the local church, which contains rare 12th-century floor tiles and lancet windows from 1220.

9am–7.30pm; £87 (incl. coffee, lunch, gls wine); meet at the RA Stanley Picker House, Kingston

T H E L I T T L E M ER M A I D S TAT U E BY EDVA R D ER I KS EN , CO P EN H AGEN

P H OTO VA L ER I E R H EN I US

Friends Excursions

Wed 25 May We visit the former home of art collector Stanley Picker (1913–1982) to explore the paintings, sculptures and objects he gathered throughout his lifetime. The collection is a fascinating account of London’s art market in the 1950s, as much was acquired through Picker’s personal relationships with gallery owners. The house is a latemodernist creation designed specifically to showcase this fabulous collection, which includes works by Chagall, Hepworth and Moore.

11am–1pm or 2–4pm: £28 (incl. coffee/tea); directions with ticket Loseley Park, Guildford

Tue 7 June Built in 1562, this charming Elizabethan house has been home to the MoreMolyneux family for over 400 years.

Our tour includes family portraits, 17thcentury Oudenarde tapestries and rare panelling from Henry VIII’s Nonsuch Palace. We also tour the exquisite walled garden, based on designs by Gertrude Jekyll, with the head gardener.

9.30am–7pm; £82 (incl. coffee, lunch, tea); meet at the RA

Number of Tickets

Cost

Total Cost £

Walking Tour: Inside Covent Garden

Thur 9 June and Mon 20 June On this walk, Friends gain privileged access to some of Covent Garden’s most unusual interiors. We explore four of the jewels in Covent Garden’s crown, some of which normally have restricted access. These include the world famous Rules restaurant, the Victorian landmark restaurant Simpson’s In The Strand, and two of the area’s most beautiful churches.

10.30am–12.30pm; £23; meet outside Covent Garden tube station

Reductions are available for students, jobseekers and people with disabilities with recognised proof of status. Please indicate your status if relevant Student

Jobseeker

Disabled

Please note that reductions are not available for Friends Excursions Please indicate any dietary requirements where relevant

Please debit my credit/charge card number (we no longer accept cheques)

Millwater Garden, Surrey

Tue 21 June Friends tour the stunning garden at Millwater, which was awarded the Grand Prize by the Society of Garden Designers in 2014. We enjoy the harmonious water features, richly planted spaces and an ancient mill race, home to a colony of kingfishers. We are extremely grateful to Jonathan and Gail Hughes-Morgan for inviting Friends for this private visit.

1.15–7pm; £45 (incl. coach, tea and cake); meet at the RA

Expiry date

Issue number/start date (Switch only)

Signature Title First name Surname Address

Postcode

Ascott House and Claydon, Bucks

Thur 23 June By kind permission of Evelyn de Rothschild, Friends privately tour his home, Ascott House, a much-extended Tudor manor house. We uncover the house’s history and explore the collection, which includes works by Gainsborough, Stubbs and Rodin, before enjoying a tour with the head gardener. After lunch, Friends visit Claydon to learn about its architectural history and the eclectic collection, which includes watercolours, historic clothing and instruments.

9am–7pm; £89 (incl. coach, coffee, lunch, tea); meet at the RA Edinburgh And The Scottish Borders

Mon 3 Oct–Fri 7 Oct This special visit includes a private tour aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, a visit to the Palace of Holyrood House, an exclusive tour of Dalmeny House and a private dinner at Abbotsford, the former home of Walter Scott.

For details contact Sue Stamp on 020 7300 5811

Daytime telephone Friends Membership no.

Email address

The Royal Academy reserves the right to refuse admission to any event

● Some of the venues we visit occasionally offer tours to the general public. By purchasing a ticket through the RA, you are supporting the Friends’ Events programme and other Learning initiatives and we are grateful for your patronage. ● There is a handling charge of £5 for all refunds. We regret that refunds cannot be made less than 14 days before an event.

● All events are correct at time of publication but are subject to change without notice. ● Send or fax your completed form to the booking address: Events & Lectures Visitors & Friends Experience Team Royal Academy of Arts Piccadilly London W1J 0BD Fax booking line: 020 7300 8023

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Exhibitions in London and the rest of the UK

Listings

Photo opportunity As the Photo London fair returns to Somerset House, photography curator ZELDA CHEATLE gives some guidance for those falling in love with the medium For most of the 20th century photography existed on the periphery of the British art world, as an adjunct to or as documentary evidence of other art forms. But late in the century museums reconsidered its status, and in 1989, when photography was 150 years old, the Royal Academy hosted an exhibition that charted its history – and the queues stretched all along Piccadilly.

The medium fully emerged from the shadows of other disciplines in

the 1990s and now new photography sits comfortably in the canon of contemporary art. Photographic legends of the 19th and 20th centuries are proudly exhibited by all of the national museums, and private collections are flourishing all over the globe. The early 21st century heralds a burgeoning of photography’s popularity.

A further sign has been the success of last year’s inaugural Photo London fair, which saw the city regain its place at the forefront

of the photography market.

Galleries brought excellent work to their stands, ranging across the entire spectrum of photography.

If this year’s Photo London, held in May, galvanises your interest in the medium, there are many ways to continue a journey into photography.

While major temporary exhibitions in public galleries may attract the most press coverage, there are vast numbers of exceptional photographs available to view, for free, in our national collections.

At the V&A, one of its galleries chronicles the history of photography, and visitors can request to see additional works from the collection, by appointment, at the museum’s Prints and Drawings Room. The V&A’s holdings will be augmented with fine art

photographs from the National Media Museum in Bradford, which holds three million works.

Highlights from the National Media Museum’s collection can be seen at the Science Museum’s Media Space.

If you go to a show at the Photographers’ Gallery in London, make sure you also visit the Print Room, which has more good work to view. And don’t overlook the auction houses. The viewings are a rich source of education, as are the catalogues you will receive if you join their mailing lists. Phillips, Sotheby’s and Christie’s all have big sales, but I would also recommend Bloomsbury Auctions, in London’s Maddox Street, where I have been able to purchase extraordinary British and European works at reasonable prices.

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Photography focus

PHOTO LONDON HIGHLIGHTS

1 Untitled, 2015, by Mary McCartney, who gives a talk at Photo London 2 By Night, Shining Wool And Towelling Heel, Suit

By Handmacher, Evelyn Tripp, New York, Harper’s Bazaar, c.1954, by Lillian Bassman, at Edwynn Houk Gallery 3 From the series ‘Given Names’, 1970, by Dieter Meier, at Galerie Thomas Zander 4 Audrey with Toes and Wrist Bent, 2011, by Nadav Kander, at Flowers Gallery

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FIVE QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE BUYING A PHOTOGRAPH What is the photographer’s reputation?

Those photographers who are associated with defining schools and styles command higher prices. To see how a photographer’s reputation is reflected in their price, check exhibition, publication and sales records.

When was the print made?

Prints can be made years – sometimes decades – after an original negative was produced. These are called modern prints, and, in the case of them being produced by an artist’s estate posthumously, estate prints. A vintage print is a work made within one or two years of the original negative, and is generally more valuable.

What is the edition size?

From the 1980s onwards photographs began to be commonly printed in limited editions. An edition size of 10, for example, means that only 10 prints of that image have been made through that print process at that scale – one might find other editions of the same image, but in different dimensions or made using another process.

All editions should be numbered. A print from a small edition size is more exclusive and therefore more valuable. Signed prints tend to be more expensive than unsigned. © M A RY M CCA R T N E Y. © L I L L I A N B AS S M A N ES TAT E . © D I E T ER M EI ER . © N A DAV K A N D ER

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Photomonitor is the best online listings magazine, publishing comprehensive information about exhibitions in the UK and further afield, as well as criticism and interviews that open readers’ eyes to current practice. British Photographic History is the website that gives the most insight into 19th- and 20th-century British photography. In the newspapers, FT Weekend Magazine publishes interesting work by very good photographers.

There are three key bookshops to browse in London – the Photographers’ Gallery Bookshop, Tate Modern Bookshop and Claire de Rouen Books in Charing Cross Road. The last of these increasingly includes artists’ books and limited editions in its photography stock.

What was the print process?

Keep an eye out too for Hoxton Mini Press, a publisher specialising in collectors’ editions and limited runs of hardbacks related to Hackney, such as a splendid series on Columbia Road’s flower market

by Johanna Neurath.

The biennial Format International Photography Festival in Derby, next up in March 2017, has an excellent record of important exhibitions and a broad ongoing education schedule with talks by significant photographers, while the annual Les Rencontre d’Arles, from July to September, is the world’s longest-running photo festival. Set in beautiful Provence, it is a perfect beginning to the summer.

Photo London Somerset House, London, www.photolondon.org, 020 7759 1169, 19–22 May

Introduced in 1885, the silver gelatin process remains the most common blackand-white process – light-sensitive silver is bound to paper with a gelatin adhesive.

Prints that use platinum, however, can have more value for their greater tonal range and rarity. Giclée prints, or archival pigment prints, are digital prints made using an inkjet printer, and should be avoided if made in large editions.

What is the condition?

Sidestep prints in bad condition (creased, marked or faded images) as well as poor images by famous photographers – the name itself does not have value. Vintage prints in good condition can be good investments, as long as you look after them.

All art photography should be mounted and framed with museum standard materials and kept away from direct sunlight, humid conditions and extreme changes in temperature.

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Edward King: A Life in Art From 25 March, Portsmouth Museum Museum Road, Portsmouth, P01 2LJ Open Tuesday-Sunday & Bank Holiday Mondays 10am-5pm (5.30pm April-September) ADMISSION FREE Enquiries: mvs@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

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Listings Photography focus

The Old Order and the New, c.1886, by Peter Henry Emerson

Winds of change Victorian photographer Peter Henry Emerson is one of the stars of a new show at Tate Britain on the conversation between painting and early photography.

LIZ WELLS introduces the man and his atmospheric images ‘The prejudice existing against photography arises from the fact that hitherto it has been worked merely as a mechanical process; but if by results it can show that it is worthy, it will rank as a fine art,’ wrote the 19th-century British landscape painter T. F. Goodall. ‘Dr Emerson was the first to advocate rationally the claims of photography to this distinction.’

Dr Peter Henry Emerson was celebrated for his photographs of life and land in East Anglia, his images indicating the nature of places ranging from woodlands and waterways to beaches and harbours. He advocated an atmospheric, or in his words ‘naturalistic’, style of photography in which mood was suggested as well as topographic detail – in his influential book Naturalistic Photography for Students of the Art (1890), he allied himself with painters such as the French Realist Jean-François Millet, and legend has it that in the late 1880s a German critic described Emerson as ‘the Courbet of England’. Tate Britain’s exhibition on the connections between early photography and British art, ‘Painting with Light’, links his work with that of his friend, George Clausen RA, a painter of rural life who argued that photography

was a less elevated discipline than painting or sculpture.

As with Clausen’s work, people were often Emerson’s starting point: portraits of Southwold fishermen or of those engaged in rural work. He experimented in differential focusing, using sharp focus to register detail; the men with their tools In the Barley Harvest (c.1887) seem self-consciously posed for the camera, but it is a scythe that is most clearly defined. Emerson also often included texts in his portfolios, and his titles varied from statements of type or location to the more poetic. In The Old Order and the New (c.1886; above), we see chimney smoke in the distance beyond men rowing a square-sail boat; the title draws attention to steam vs sail, and by extension the Industrial Revolution.

Emerson was born in Cuba in 1856, where his American father owned a sugar plantation; in 1864 the family relocated to Wilmington, Delaware, in the south of the US. Agriculture, including rural (slave) labour, would have been familiar to him from an early age. After the death of his father in 1869 he moved to England with his Cornish mother, and later studied

medicine at Cambridge, before embracing photography in the 1880s.

Emerson’s position shifted during his lifetime; in the end he turned against the notion of photography as art. He profoundly disagreed with photographer Henry Peach Robinson, an advocate of ‘pictorialism’, which saw photographers orchestrating subjects and manipulating images. Robinson’s work included scenarios referencing medieval or religious myth – for instance, The Lady of Shalott (1860-61) – and scenes made of two or more exposures that Emerson dismissed as ‘contrivances’. Emerson emphasised single shots and what he described as ‘an honest attempt to probe the mysteries of nature and art’; as such his work might better be viewed as a precursor to 20th-century documentary movements.

Debates about whether Emerson’s photography was an art form have distracted from critical discussion of his treatment of his subject matter: rural life and landscapes. He was interested in the orderly routines of English agrarian society, perhaps by contrast with Cuba; his harmonious scenes in effect deny histories of tension in agricultural relations in East Anglia.

Nonetheless, in terms of the camera as historian, Emerson’s extensive social survey of rural East Anglia at the end of the 19th century continues to fascinate us.

Painting with Light: Art and Photography from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Modern Age Tate Britain, London, 020 7887 8888, www.tate.org.uk, 11 May–25 Sep

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PRESS READY

RA MAGAZINE QUARTER PAGE 131 x 98mm

ELIZABETH HARVEY-LEE Dealer in Old Master prints and 19th & 20th century artists’ etchings, engravings, woodcuts and lithographs

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9 April to 4 June 2016

Two new stock catalogues are published each year to subscribers.

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Painting by numbers?

We prefer to support artists by name

Interior, Bright Day

oil on canvas

80 x 105 cm

COLONSAY

An Exhibition of New Paintings

10 March – 2 April 2016 PIERS FEETHAM GALLERY 475 Fulham Road, London SW6 1HL 020 7381 3031 www.piersfeethamgallery.com Tues-Fri 10-6; Sat 10-1

Please Note: Gallery is closed for Easter weekend 25 – 28 March

Untitled-1 1

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Self portrait (Adelaide Road), Sir Stanley Spencer Private Collection / Bridgeman Images © Artist’s Estate

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06/01/2016 16:34

Frank Auerbach, Lucian Freud, Maggi Hambling, Gerald Laing, Dame Laura Knight, Dame Barbara Hepworth, Edward Seago and Sir Stanley Spencer are just some of the many artists and estates that prefer the personal ACS approach to managing and administering their Artist’s Resale Right.

The only numbers we look at are the ones that we ensure you receive for the works of art that you create.

We wouldn’t want it any other way – and neither would our artists.

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Listings Photography focus

Photography calendar

February

April

‘Performing for the Camera’ Tate Modern

‘Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize’ Photographers’ Gallery

Bankside SE1, 020 7887 8888, www.tate.org.uk Examines the relationship between photography and performance, from the medium’s early days to the selfie culture of today (18 Feb–12 June).

Ramillies Street W1, 020 7087 9300, www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk Erik Kessels, Trevor Paglen, Tobias Zielony and Laura El-Tantawy are shortlisted (15 April–26 June).

‘Masahisa Fukase: Solitude of Ravens’ Michael Hoppen Gallery

‘Fox Talbot: Dawn of the Photograph’ Science Musem Media Space

3 Jubilee Place SW3, 020 7352 3649, www.michaelhoppengallery.com Fukase’s ‘Solitude of Ravens’ is revered as one of the pinnacles of 20th-century photography. This is the first time that this rare collection of vintage prints has been made available (24 Feb–23 April).

Exhibition Road SW7, 020 7942 4000 www.sciencemuseum.org.uk The story of how photography was born by Talbot’s negative-positive process (20 April–11 Sep).

March ‘British Life Photography Awards’ Mall Galleries

The Mall, SW1, 020 7930 6844, www.mallgalleries.org.uk This photographic competition is a showcase for contemporary and imaginative images that capture the spirit of British life (7–13 March).

‘Strange and Familiar: Britain as Revealed by International Photographers’ Barbican Centre

Silk Street EC2, 020 7638 4141, www.barbican.org.uk Curated by Martin Parr, this show considers how photographers have captured British cultural identity (16 March–19 June).

‘Paul Strand’ Victoria and Albert Museum

Cromwell Road SW7, 020 7942 2000, www.vam.ac.uk A major retrospective of one of America’s greatest photographers whose images defined the way the medium is understood today (19 March–3 July).

Waterfall #2069, 2015, by Boomoon at Flowers Gallery

May ‘Colin Jones: A Retrospective’ and ‘Eamonn Doyle: trí’ Michael Hoppen Gallery

3 Jubilee Place SW3, 020 7352 3649, www.michaelhoppengallery.com Vintage social documentary prints from across Jones’s career (5 May– 3 June), alongside an exhibition of all three of Doyle’s series exploring his native Dublin (12 May–15 July).

‘Boomoon: Skogar’ Flowers Gallery

82 Kingsland Road E2, 020 7920 7777, www.flowersgallery.com Boomoon’s series ‘Skogar’ takes its name from a remote Icelandic village. The South Korean artist’s photographs capture the energy of falling water during sub-zero conditions (20 May–18 June).

Cover of Cowboy Kate and Other Stories, 1964, by Sam Haskins at Christie’s

‘Christie’s Photographs: Spring Auction’ Christie’s

8 King Street SW1, 020 7389 2315, www.christies.com/auctions/photographs A sale of iconic classic, modern and contemporary photographic works chosen to reflect a significant period and style in the history of the medium; sale 20 May at 2pm.

© XXXX

© M AS A H IS A F U K AS E A R CH I V ES/CO U R T ESY M I CH A EL H O P P EN G A L L ERY. © A L L R I GH TS T H E S A M H AS K I NS ES TAT E 2015/CO U R T ESY CH R IS T I E’ S P H OTO GR A P HS D EPA R T M EN T. © T H E A R T IS T/ CO U R T ESY F LOW ERS G A L L ERY, LO N D O N A N D N E W YO R K

This spring brings a remarkable range of stellar photography shows and sales to London

Seikan Ferryboat, 1976, by Masahisa Fukase at Michael Hoppen Gallery

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London Public BARBICAN CENTRE

Silk Street EC2, 020 7638 4141, www.barbican.org.uk

Imran Qureshi: Where the Shadows are so Deep A series of miniature

paintings, drawing upon The Curve as a motif. The Curve, until 10 July.

DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY Metamorphosis of Daphne, 1987, by Joe Tilson RA at Alan Cristea

Gallery Road SE21, 020 8693 5254, www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

Nikolai Astrup: Painting Norway Over 90 oil paintings and prints, until 15 May.

ESTORICK COLLECTION OF MODERN ITALIAN ART

Canonbury Square N1, 020 7704 9522, www.estorickcollection.com

Giacomo Manzù: Sculptor and Draughtsman Until 3 April.

Astrazione Oggettiva: The Experience of Colour 13 April-26 June.

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

Trafalgar Square WC2, 020 7747 2885, www.nationalgallery.org.uk

Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art Discover how Delacroix influenced

generations of artists, until 22 May. Where the Shadows are so Deep, 2015, by Imran Quereshi at Barbican Centre

Visions of Paradise: Botticini’s Palmieri Altarpiece Discover new

research on this monumental painting, until 28 March. Dutch Flowers Dutch flower painting from the 17th to 18th century, 6 April-29 Aug. NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

St Martin’s Place WC2, 020 7306 0055, www.npg.org.uk Vogue 100: A Century of Style Until 22 May. Russia and the Arts: The Age of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky

17 March-26 June.

TATE BRITAIN March Atmosphere at Jølstravatnet, c.1908, by Nikolai Astrup at Dulwich Picture Gallery

Millbank SW1, 020 7887 8888, www.tate.org.uk Artist and Empire Imperial visual culture and art from across the British Isles, North America, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Asia and Africa, until 10 April. Conceptual Art in Britain 19641979 Explores how artists working in Britain transformed the nature of art, demonstrating the radical, thoughtprovoking and politically-engaged nature of this defining period in art history, 12 April-29 Aug. Painting with Light: Art and Photography from the PreRaphaelites to the Modern Age

This show celebrates the spirited The River nr Tsukiji, Tokyo, 2016,

by Andrew Gifford at John Martin Gallery

conversation between early photography and British art, 11 May-25 Sep. TATE MODERN

Bankside SE1, 020 7887 8888, www.tate.org.uk

Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture The UK’s largest ever

exhibition of this ground breaking 20thcentury artist and pioneer of kinetic sculpture, until 3 April. Mona Hatoum The first UK survey of 35 years of Hatoum’s poetic and radical thinking, 4 May-21 Aug. V&A

Cromwell Road SW7, 020 7942 2000, www.vam.ac.uk

Bejewelled Treasures: The Al Thani Collection Discover the evolution

of Indian jewellery from the Mughal Empire to the modern day, until 10 April.

Botticelli Reimagined Explore the variety of ways artists and designers from the Pre-Raphaelites to the present day have responded to the artistic legacy of Botticelli, 5 March-3 July.

Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear The evolution of underwear

BEAUX ARTS LONDON

48 Maddox Street W1, 020 7493 1155, www.beauxartslondon.co.uk Anne Rothenstein: New Work

4 March-9 April.

CIRCA GALLERY LONDON

80 Fulham Road SW3, 020 7590 9991, www.circagallerylondon.com Opening Group Show 18 March-23 April. Alessandro Papetti: I Live Here 29 April-4 June.

CONNAUGHT BROWN

2 Albemarle Street W1, 020 7408 0362, www.connaughtbrown.co.uk Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Works of Art

Monday-Friday: 10am-6pm Saturday: 10am-12.30pm. TEFAF Maastricht 2016 Maastricht Exhibition & Congress Centre, Netherlands.

CURWEN & NEW ACADEMY GALLERY

34 Windmill Street W1, 020 7323 4700, www.curwengallery.co.uk

Robin Richmond: Living Landscape

3-31 March. Artist’s talk, 15 March 7pm.

design from the 18th century to the present day including rare examples and designerwear, 16 April 2016-12 March 2017.

John Brokenshire: New Paintings & Alison Neville: Fitzrovia Drawings Upper gallery, 6-28 April. Jon Wealleans & Brendan Hansbro Upper

London Commercial

gallery, 5-26 May.

ABBOTT AND HOLDER

GREENWICH PRINTMAKERS GALLERY

30 Museum Street WC, 020 7637 3981, www.abbottandholder.co.uk

1a Greenwich Market SE10, 020 8858 1569 www.greenwich-printmakers.co.uk Stephen Robson Until 6 March. Sue Rowling 8 March-27 March. Anthony Salter 29 March-17 April. Karen Scadeng 19 April-8 May. Philip Solly 10 May-29 May.

ALAN CRISTEA

JOHN MARTIN GALLERY 38 Albemarle Street W1, 020 7499 1314, www.jmlondon.com

Tor Falcon: A Year’s Walking the Peddars Way 17-26 March. Peter Stilwell: Recent Work 14-23 April. Richard Beer: Paintings and Prints 26 April-7 May.

31 & 34 Cork Street W1, 020 7439 1866, www.alancristea.com

Joe Tilson. Words and Images: The Notebooks 21 March-7 May. Paul Winstanley Art School: New Prints and Panel Paintings 17 March-7 May. Anthony Gormley 12 May-1 July.

BANKSIDE GALLERY

48 Hopton Street SE1, 020 7928 7521, www.banksidegallery.com

Contemporary Watercolour Competition An exhibition of successful entries, 4-16 March. Made In Colour RWS Spring Exhibition

24 March-23 April.

Andrew Gifford Street Paintings: Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo

21-26 March.

THE LINDA BLACKSTONE GALLERY

23 Oaklands Road N20, 07808 612 193, www.lindablackstone.com

Stand I12 at The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Park 9-13 March. AAF New York The Metropolitan Pavilion,

Chelsea, New York, USA, 30 March-3 April. AAF Hong Kong Hong Kong Exhibition & Conference Centre, Wanchai, UK, 11-15 May.

HOW TO BOOK For inclusion in RA Magazine’s paid Listings section for public and commercial galleries in the UK call 020 7300 5657 or email charlotte.burgess@royalacademy.org.uk. Readers should contact galleries directly for opening times and ticketing queries

©T H E A R T IS T/CO U R T ESY A L A N CR IS T E A G A L L ERY. ©T H E A R T IS T/CO U R T ESY CO R V I -M O R A , LO N D O N , T H A D DA EUS R O PAC , PA R IS A N D B A R B I CA N CEN T R E . ©P R I VAT E CO L L ECT I O N , OS LO. P H OTO ©A N D R ES B ER GERS EN /CO U R T ESY D U LW I CH P I CT U R E G A L L ERY. ©T H E A R T IS T/CO U R T ESY J O H N M A R T I N G A L L ERY

Listings

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NEW VENUE

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS, 1 GRANARY SQUARE KING’S CROSS, LONDON N1C 4AA

FURTHER DETAILS

ORGANISER@CERAMICS.ORG.UK TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 3137 0750

WWW.CERAMICS.ORG.UK

CASTLEGATE HOUSE GALLERY

Image: Elke Sada, Photographer: Christoph Kremtz

THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS EVENT OF THE YEAR FRIDAY 8 - SUNDAY 10 APRIL 2016 Presented by the Craft Potters Association

Now representatives of the estate of the late Norman Cornish MBE Castlegate House Gallery Cockermouth, Cumbria 01900 822149 thegallery@castlegatehouse.co.uk www.castlegatehouse.co.uk

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EXHIBITIONS CORPORATE SOURCING CONSULTANCY

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NORMAN ACKROYD

Exhibition | 17 March –24 April 2016 NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST

EXETER: 1 Barnfield Crescent, Exeter EX1 1QT BUDLEIGH: Fore Street, Budleigh Salterton EX9 6NH

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LLEWELLYN ALEXANDER

124–126 The Cut SE1, 020 7620 1322/1324, www.llewellynalexander.com Jeremy Barlow ROI 15 March-16 April.

LONG & RYLE GALLERY

4 John Islip Street SW1, 020 7834 1434, www.longandryle.com

Mark Entwisle: The Things We Forget

5 ‘Foot’, 2016, by Mark Johnston at Wimbledon Fine Art

Private view 2 March, 6-8pm, 3 March-15 April. Paul Coldwell: Small Journeys Private view: 20 April, 6-8pm, 21 April-27 May. MALL GALLERIES: FEDERATION OF BRITISH ARTISTS

The Mall SW1, 020 7930 6844, www.mallgalleries.org.uk

Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition Contemporary

Shiant Garbh Eilean, 2010, by Norman Ackroyd RA at Brook Gallery

painting, print-making and sculpture, 17 March-2 April. Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 2016 6-16 April. Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 5-20 May. MARLBOROUGH FINE ART

6 Albemarle Street W1, 020 7629 5161, www.marlboroughlondon.com Joe Tilson 2 March-2 April. Stephen Conroy April.

Bill Jacklin 6 May-4 June.

MERCER CHANCE English Harvest Landscape II, 2015,

by David Tress at Beaux Art Bath

253 Hoxton Street N1, 020 7033 6559, www.mercerchance.co.uk Ivy Smith Recent paintings, drawings and original prints, 7-23 May. Open Sat, Sun and Mon 11-6, other times by appointment.

OSBORNE SAMUEL

Patti Smith, 1975, by Robert Mapplethorpe at The Bowes Museum

23a Bruton Street W1, 020 7493 7939, www.osbornesamuel.com The Armory Show Works by Lynn Chadwick RA, Kwang Young Chun, Sean Henry, Marc Quinn & Henry Moore, 3-6 March. TEFAF Maastricht Works

by Modern British and International artists, including Lynn Chadwick RA, Sam Francis, Leon Kossoff, Ben Nicholson & Henry Moore, 11-20 March.

London Original Print Fair A selection of linocuts of the Grosvenor School, 5-8 May. PANGOLIN LONDON

90 York Way N1, 020 7520 1480, www.pangolinlondon.com Jeff Lowe: Object Lessons 16 March-30 April. Sculpture in the Garden 13 May-9 July.

PIERS FEETHAM GALLERY Spellbound, 2015, by Donna Goold at Artwave West

475 Fulham Road SW6, 020 7381 3031, www.piersfeethamgallery.com

Auriol Innes: Colonsay Exhibiton of new paintings, 10 March-2 April. Angela Rudge-Litten: Past to Present A retrospective exhbition, 6-16 April. Peter Ryan: Photographs 21 April-7 May.

RICHARD GREEN 147 New Bond Street W1, 020 7499 4738, www.richardgreen.com Edward Seago: Norfolk & Suffolk

12-30 April SYLVESTER FINE ART

64 Belsize Lane NW3, 020 7443 5990, www.sylvesterfineart.co.uk Miro From 12 March.

THACKERAY GALLERY

18 Thackeray Street W8, 020 7937 5883, www.thackeraygallery.com Judith Cain: Picturing Japan Paintings inspired by the flora, fabric, textiles and colours of the Orient, 1-18 March.

Vivienne Williams: Inscape Still lifes of texture and colour on layered paper, 12-29 April. Christine McArthur: A Painted Year Interiors and still lifes imbued with character, colour, texture and warmth, 10-27 May. WADDINGTON CUSTOT GALLERIES

11 Cork Street W1, 020 7851 2200, www.waddingtoncustot.com Barry Flanagan Animal, Mineral, Vegetable, 4 March-14 May.

BOHUN GALLERY

15 Reading Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon, 01491 576228, www.bohungallery.co.uk Collector’s Prints: A Changing Exhibition Including Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Peter Blake, Alan Davie, Terry Frost RA, Howard Hodgkin, John Hoyland RA, Albert Irvin RA & Joe Tilson RA, Until 2 April. John Piper: Paintings, Watercolours, Prints, Ceramics & Textiles A major exhibition

highlighting the artist’s many subjects and themes, 9 April-4 June.

THE BOWES MUSEUM

Barnard Castle, County Durham, 01833 690606, www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk

Quiltscapes & Quiltline by Pauline Burbidge Newly developed textile

landscapes by the contemporary quiltmaker and textile artist, until 10 April. Robert Mapplethorpe: The Magic in the Muse Explores the work of this renowned photographer, focusing on three key themes - movement, celebrity and musicians, until 24 April.

BRIGHTON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton, 030 0029 0900, www.brightonmuseums.org.uk Fashion Cities Africa First major UK exhibition dedicated to contemporary African fashion, 30 April 2016-8 Jan 2017.

WIMBLEDON FINE ART

BROOK GALLERY

41 Church Road, SW19, 020 8944 6593, www.wimbledonfineart.com Ken Denning New paintings, until 6 March. André Raffin Private view 13 March, 14-27 March. Mark Johnston: Recent Paintings Private view 17 April, 18-30 April.

Fore Street, Budleigh Salterton, Devon, 01395 443003, www.brookgallery.co.uk Norman Ackroyd CBE RA The largest show of Ackroyd’s work outside of London will include pieces from the last 30 years, 17 March-24 April.

Rest of UK Morcombelake, Dorset, 01297 489746, www.artwavewest.com Spring Exhibition Recent works by 10 artists, including the latest miniatures by Donna Goold, 4 March-23 April.

Four Artists Amy Albright, Elisa McCleod, Jeannette Hayes and Zoe Hyde. From oils and pastel works to wax and collage, 29 April-4 June.

36 Church Street, Modbury, Devon, 01548 831338, www.thebrownstongallery.co.uk SWAc Exhibition Work from the South West Academy 2016, 10 March-2 April.

The Colour of the Colour Five artists who studied with Robert Lenkiewicz, Karen Ciambriello, Louise Courtnell, Diane Nevitt, Lisa Stokes, Yana Trevail, 15 April-7 May. Jerry Browning Recent work from this abstract artist who has studied and painted with Terry Frost RA and Patrick Heron, 20 May-11 June.

BEAUX ARTS BATH 12-13 York Street, Bath, 01225 464850, www.beauxartsbath.co.uk

CAROLINE WISEMAN AT THE ALDEBURGH BEACH LOOKOUT AND ART HOUSE

16 May-18 June.

31 Crag Path, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, 01728 452754 www.carolinewiseman.com

ARTWAVE WEST

Anthony Scott: New Sculptures Until 2 April. David Tress New paintings,

THE BROWNSTON GALLERY

©T H E A R T IS T/CO U R T ESY W I M B L ED O N F I N E A R T. ©T H E A R T IS T/CO U R T ESY B R O O K G A L L ERY. ©T H E A R T IS T/CO U R T ESY B E AUX A R TS B AT H . ©T H E R O B ER T M A P P L E T H O R P E FO U N DAT I O N /CO U R T ESY T H E B OW ES M US EU M . ©T H E A R T IS T/CO U R T ESY A R T WAV E W ES T.

Listings

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THERE’S MORE TO DISCOVER ORNC

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Listings

RA, Eileen Cooper RA and Chris Orr RA, 1 March-23 May. Residencies in the Lookout Shaun Caton, Catherine Coldstream in April, openings Saturday lunchtimes. The Lookout Hosts art installations and participatory art projects on Aldeburgh Beach in May. CHRIST CHURCH PICTURE GALLERY

Christ Church, St Aldates, Oxford, 01865 276172, www.chch.ox.ac.uk/gallery

Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Milan, late 15th century, by Lombard School, at Christ Church Picture Gallery

Filippino Lippi and Drawing in Florence Around 1500 3 March-6 June.

Changing Roles - Changing Characters: From Lady to Saint and Back Many portraits, especially

female portraits, were changed from representing an individual to a generic figure, usually a saint. This exhibition will explore a number of these altered portraits from the Picture Gallery’s own collection, until 10 July.

DE LA WARR PAVILION

Marina, Bexhill, East Susex, 01424 229111, www.dlwp.cpm Tonico Lemos Auad This exhibition focuses on gardening and its psychological and therapeutic properties, until 10 April. Steve Farrer Farrer’s work questions the spectator’s construction of time/space relations, until 13 March. Willem Sandberg This exhibition showcases hundreds of posters and catalogues from the 1930s to the 1980s, by the Dutch graphic designer, 30 April-4 Sept.

Detail from The Original Cheap Jack, 1956, by Edward Bawden, at The Fry Art Gallery

THE FRY ART GALLERY

Castle Street, Saffron Walden, Essex, 01799 513779, www.fryartgallery.org

Richard Bawden at 80: Painter, Printmaker, and Designer Works

Resonance, 2011, by Shanti Panchal, at Hayletts Gallery

still life and the natural world in a range of mediums. Includes Richard Price ROI, David Atkins, Felicity House PS, Judy Tate and Vicky Finding, until 20 May. GALLERY PANGOLIN

9 Chalford Ind. Estate, Chalford, Gloucs, 01453 889765, www.gallery-pangolin.com Sculptors’ Prints and Drawings An annual exhibition of works on paper featuring prints and drawings by Modern and contemporary sculptors, until 1 April.

Nature of the Beast An alternative look at the animal world through sculpture, prints and drawings by a diverse group of artists, 18 April-27 May. GAVAGAN ART

Settle Town Hall, Settle, North Yorkshire, 07799 797961, www.gavaganart.com

Derek Setford: Inspired by Nature

Wood engravings, watercolours and oil paintings, 19 March-16 April.

Landscape/Ceramics/Still Life

Jacquie Denby, Anna Lambert and David Thomas, 23 April-30 May. HAYLETTS GALLERY

Oakwood House, 2 High Street, Maldon, Essex, 01621 851669, www.haylettsgallery.com Modern British & Contemporary Original Prints By artists including:

PALLANT HOUSE GALLERY

9 North Pallant, Chichester, West Sussex, 01243 774557, www.pallant.org.uk

John Piper: The Fabric of Modernism

The first exhibition to focus on Piper’s textile designs, exploring key motifs such as historic architecture, abstract and religious imagery, 12 March-12 June.

PORTSMOUTH MUSUEM

Museum Road, Portsmouth, 02392 826722 , www.portsmouthcitymuseums.co.uk Edward King: A Life in Art A display of paintings by Portsmouth artist Edward King. Admission free, from 25 March.

Where are you going? Journeys in pictures including Thomas Rowlandson, Carel Weight and Rex Vicat Cole, on permanent display. Made in Portsmouth 250 years of craftsmanship and artistry in Portsmouth, on permanent display.

Barbara Hepworth, Tracey Emin RA, Grayson Perry RA, Damien Hirst, David Hockney RA, Eduardo Paolozzi, Patrick Heron, Henry Moore, Victor Pasmore, Bridget Riley and John Piper, 5 March-2 April. John Doubleday: Painting & Sculpture Recent sculpture and paintings, 9 April-7 May. Paintings by Shanti Panchal Building up layers of colour, Panchal works through a personal journey of images and ideas influenced by Western India, 14 May-11th June.

RABLEY DRAWING CENTRE Rabley Barn, Mildenhall, Marlborough, Wilts, 01672 511999, www.rableydrawingcentre.com

THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM

Cooper RA, Rebecca Salter RA, Emma Stibbon RA, Prudence Ainslie, Jane Harris, Katherine Jones, Sara Lee and Nana Shiomi, 5-8 May.

from throughout his career, many for sale. 3 April-12 June. A Modern Sensibility Great Bardfield and other artists including Ravilious, Bawden, Rothenstein, Vaughan from the North West Essex Permanent Collection, 3 April-30 Oct. Curwen at the Fry Discover prints and printmaking in a collaborative workshop with the Curwen Print Study Centre, 19 May.

Great Pulteney Street, Bath, 01225 388569, www.holburne.org

THE GALLERY AT 41

Robert Bryce Muir: Unto the Self Until 23 April. Recent Acquisitions: Tabernacle Collection Until 9 April.

Romanticism in the Welsh Landscape

41 East Street, Corfe Castle, Dorset 01929 480095, www.galleryat41.com Emerging Colour Contemporary Dorset artists celebrate colour in the landscape,

NORTH HOUSE GALLERY

The Walls, Manningtree, Essex, 01206 392717, www.portsmouthcitymuseum.co.uk Taking Stock Exhibition of director’s collection of work by Modern and contemporary artists and sale of related work, until 23 Apr. Jonathan Clarke: New Work Exhibition focusing, but not exclusively, on small sculpture in cast aluminium, 30 April-28 May.

Impressionism: Capturing Life

28 masterpieces from British public collections to celebrate the Impressionists’ observations of humanity, until 5 June.

MOMA MACHYNLLETH

Heol Penrallt, Machynlleth, Powys, 01654 703355, www.moma.machynlleth.org.uk

Curated by Dr Peter Wakelin, 19 March-18 June.

Jane Harris: New Works on Paper

Floating abstract forms reflect, their sheen working in balance with the paper surface. Jo Taylor: Ceramic Sculpture Modelled by the light with dramatic deep shadows drawing Rococo rhythms and curves, 21 March-22 April. London Original Print Fair at the Royal Academy New print editions by Eileen

SARAH WISEMAN GALLERY

40-41 South Parade, Oxford, 01865 515 123, www.wisegal.com Jamaica Street Artists An exhibition bringing together artists from JSA to celebrate the connection between our gallery and the largest creative-led studio outside London, 5 March-2 April.

Athol Whitmore: Eternal Child Play, paint and vintage objects combine to create an exhibition to amuse and delight the child within all of us, 7-28 May.

©BY P ER M IS S I O N O F T H E GOV ER N I N G B O DY O F CH R IS T CH U R CH . ©T H E A R T IS T ’ S ES TAT E /CO U R T ESY T H E F RY A R T G A L L ERY. ©T H E A R T IS T/CO U R T ESY H AY L E T TS G A L L ERY

Mixed Selling Exhibition in the ArtHouse Featuring Alison Wilding

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JON WEALLEANS HOMAGE TO BOB Paintings based upon Bob Dylan song titles

Highway 61 Meets Desolation Row, oil on linen

5-26 May 2016

La Lumière de la lame, 1962, etching and aquatint

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thebrownstongaller y 36 Church Street, Modbury, Devon PL21 0QR tel - 01548 831338

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Listings

The Ruskin School of Art Fine Art Short Courses 2016

An exciting selection of studio based courses taught by leading artists and experienced tutors at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford http://www.rsa.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses Contact shortcourses@rsa.ox.ac.uk

TOR FALCON A Year’s Walking

SLADERS YARD

TURNER CONTEMPORARY

West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset, 01308 459511, www.sladersyard.co.uk Ebb and Flow Recent paintings and gilded wood carvings by David West.

Recent paintings by Michael Bennallack Hart, 5 March-17 April. Coastlines Recent Paintings by Vanessa Gardiner, Ceramics by Peter Hayes, 23 April-19 June.

Rendezvous, Margate, Kent, 01843 233000, www.turnercontemporary.org

THE STANLEY SPENCER GALLERY

THE PEDDARS WAY

High Street, Cookham, Berkshire 01628 471885, www.stanleyspencer.org.uk

The Creative Genius of Stanley Spencer A combination of fine

paintings, including the full permanent Spencer collections of the art galleries at Aberdeen and Leeds, on loan to the Gallery, until 20 March.

Thursday 17th - Saturday 26th March

Stanley Spencer: Visionary Painter of the Natural World Exploring Spencer’s

ABBOTT and HOLDER

www.abbottandholder.co.uk

RA Spring 2016.indd 1

consummate skill in a series of exquisitely executed flowers, garden vistas and landscapes, 24 March-31 Oct. 21/01/2016 16:07

THE SUNBURY EMBROIDERY GALLERY

The Walled Garden, Sunbury-on-Thames, 01932 788101, www.sunburyembroidery.org Sue Bailey: Behind the Scenes

24 March - 23 April

ROYAl watercolour society spring Exhibition www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk AT Bankside Gallery

A collection of personal sketches from an iconic period in the fashion world alongside paintings inspired by vintage fashion, 1-27 March. Sadie French: Surface Design for Interior Spaces

The recent graduate and textile designer explores 2D and 3D processes to create architectural designs that would transform any interior space, 5 April-1 May. SWINDON MUSEUM & ART GALLERY

Luxurious hillside retreat with spectacular views of medieval Tourettes sur Loup and the Mediterranean.

4 bedrooms in main house, 2 in guest house (all en-suite), haut cuisine eat-in kitchen with dishwasher and both gas and one electric stove.

Infinity pool and outdoor summer dining room, set amongst olive trees.

20-minute drive to Nice Airport, easy access to French Riviera Please contact: AmandaTurner@eversheds.com

Bath Road, Old Town, Swindon 01793 46656, www.swindonmuseumandartgallery.org.uk Going to Town Paintings, drawings and prints depicting urban life by Modern British artists including LS Lowry, Richard Hamilton, John Nash, Sylvia Gosse and Edward Bawden, until 9 April. Eileen Cooper RA: Hide and Seek Coopers’s work is presented alongside her own selection of drawings from the Swindon Collection of Modern British art, 20 Apr-10 Sep. Swindon in 175 Images 9 Mar-16 July.

TATE ST IVES

Porthmeor Beach, St Ives, Cornwall 01736 796226, www.tate.org.uk/stives

Now closed. Reopens on 21 May 2016.

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Joachim Koester: The Other Side of the Sky Until 8 May. Rose Wylie Until 13 March. Leise Wilson

Until 10 April.

WADDESDON MANOR

Nr. Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire 01296 653226, www.waddesdon.org.uk

Step this Way: The Red Drawing Room Opened Up The 17th-century

Savonnerie carpet, commissioned by Louis XIV, will be substituted with a conservation reproduction, allowing visitors to circulate more freely in the room and to see paintings and furniture up close, Weds-Sun 23 March-23 Oct. A Closer Look: Spotlight on French Royal Furniture by JeanHenri Riesener (1734-1806) Learn

about the design, technical construction and fascinating history of three extraordinary chests of drawers by the French court cabinetmaker, WedsSun 23 March-23 Oct. Persuading the King: A Manuscript Petition by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724-1780)

An opportunity to see Gabriel de SaintAubin’s volume Placets de l’officier Desbans (1775), which was submitted to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette by a soldier asking for a long-promised promotion, Weds-Sun 23 March-23 Oct. YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK

West Bretton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, 01924 832631, www.ysp.co.uk Bill Viola An immersive exhibition featuring installations from the last 20 years of Viola’s career. Premieres a new work, The Trial, until 10 April.

KAWS Large, bright, graphic canvases and towering sculptures imbued with the American artist’s trademark nostalgia.

Until 12 June. Eduardo Paolozzi 12 March-12 June.

ZILLAH BELL GALLERY

Kirkgate, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, 01845 522 479, www.zillahbellgallery.co.uk

Society of Wood Engravers 78th

Annual Exhibition, 5 March-2 April.

Victor Pasmore Rare printers proofs

from White Ink Printing Studio.

Upstairs gallery, 2-23 April. Susie Dugdale & Susan Wilmot Recent paintings. Downstairs gallery, 9-30 April. Fred Cuming Paintings/ Contemporary Printmakers Paintings and prints by Fred Cuming RA and original prints by artists including Peter Freeth RA, Mali Morris RA, Barbara Rae RA and Emma Stibbon RA. 7 May-4 June.

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The latest developments in and around the RA

Academy News

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Communities

When art is a lifeline The Academy has increasingly recognised the power of art to help those facing serious illness. RICHARD CORK reports on a remarkable collaboration that brings pleasure to the patients at St Christopher’s Hospice. Photography by CAROL SACHS Situated in pleasant surroundings across the road from Sydenham Tennis Club in south London, St Christopher’s Hospice welcomes us with an image of the saint himself carrying a child through dangerous waters. After it was opened by Princess Alexandra in July 1967, this outstanding institution became a widely cherished centre for the care of terminally ill patients. Cicely Saunders, who died here in 2005, founded St Christopher’s and made it the birthplace of the modern hospice movement. Her own involvement with art is marked in a very personal way at St Christopher’s, where paintings executed by her husband, the Polish-born Marian BohuszSzyszko, are displayed on some of the walls.

Elsewhere in the building, large and lively installations celebrate the Royal Academy’s involvement with St Christopher’s. Over the past five years, to coincide with the RA’s major spring exhibitions and its annual Summer Exhibition, artist-educators from the Academy have visited the hospice to work with patients, discussing the themes of the shows and helping them make related artworks. Complementary sessions are then held at the RA, where patients visit the exhibition and produce further work.

Ever since writing a book called The Healing Presence of Art, which looks at the astonishingly rich history of art in hospitals, I have been fascinated by the role art can play in patients’ lives. Walking through St Christopher’s on my way to the Garden Pavilion, where the RA project is held, I encountered an impressive group of patients’ pictures inspired by Tom Phillips RA’s ‘A Humament’, a series of works on paper that was displayed in last year’s Summer Exhibition. On the opposite wall, I also found an ambitious mural by patients called ‘Personal Landscapes: Views from the End of Life’. It was stimulated by patients’ responses to David Hockney RA’s landscapes after visiting his 2012 Academy exhibition. Nearby, a patient’s words testify poignantly to the beneficial effect of St Christopher’s: ‘It’s good for me. I had a terrible fear of dying. People die peacefully here.’

What will be the outcome of this year’s LEFT Facilitators from the RA and participants from St Christopher’s Hospice respond to the ‘Painting the Modern Garden’ exhibition in an art project for patients

encounter between the hospice and the RA’s ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’? I asked myself that question while walking past the garden and pond at St Christopher’s on my way to the pavilion at the far end of the grounds. Here, in a sunlit room dominated by an immense table enlivened with vases of roses and tulips, Harry greeted me. The artist-educator for the day’s session, he pointed to reproductions of major works from the RA exhibition. ‘We chose paintings

by Monet, Kandinsky and Bonnard that reveal the width and breadth of the show’, he explained.

At one end of the room, I noticed several spirited collages already inspired by the garden theme, all propped up against shelves of art books, including some well-illustrated volumes donated by the RA. The challenge of terminal illness became apparent soon after the patients arrived, most of them in wheelchairs. Harry had just started talking about Monet when one man said in an urgent voice: ‘Is there a nurse about? I need to be taken to the toilet, because I have no control.’

But the session soon resumed, and patients seated all round the table began responding to the reproductions Harry showed them. Looking at a water-lily painting by Monet, Billy said, ‘It reminds me of home, because I’ve got a pond with goldfish in my garden.’ Very thin, Billy had a metal attachment stretching into his nose to help him breathe. Harry explained that Monet was an obsessive gardener, and another patient commented that the painting was ‘quite peaceful, and you’re in the position of the artist – he gets you standing right where he is.’

When Harry started discussing Kandinsky’s far more abstract painting, Murnau Garden No. 2 (1910), the patients’ responses became outspoken.

Eric drew laughter when he said, ‘I can’t make head or tail of it! He was in a rush!’ Richard, who had worked in the flower trade for 15 years, said, ‘Kandinsky definitely had the hump when he was doing these colours – he must have been very cantankerous.’ Shirley, by contrast, responded with great warmth: ‘The colours look great. I can’t wait to see the real thing.’

Harry then focused on Bonnard’s peaceful painting Summer in Normandy (c.1912), and several patients related it to their own

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Academy News

THIS PAGE, ABOVE AND OPPOSITE TOP Flower species used in the paintings in the RA exhibition are placed on reflective surfaces that simulate water, and provide a starting point for patients’ artworks OPPOSITE BELOW Patients and facilitators meet in the Garden Pavilion at St Christopher’s Hospice to discuss the project theme before visiting the RA

circumstances. Eric said, ‘The woman is not well, and the other woman is looking after her.’

Richard went even further: ‘We’re in a hospice here, so this painting could be intended to show a similar kind of home, and the dog between the women belongs to a patient. I would say the mood was melancholy – they’re not laughing or joking.’

Now it was time for the group to start making their own art, based on the vases of roses and lilies, so Harry provided the patients with enticing boxes of pastels. The colours were irresistible, and Harry described how ‘pastels lend themselves to blending. You can work with your fingers, and it’s up to you whether you draw a whole vase of flowers or work in sections.’ Shirley got going immediately. She grasped a deep red pastel, making sensitive marks with the stick and then rubbing them with her fingers. ‘When I was 18 I used to do sculpture, making almost abstract bodies and figures,’ she said. ‘Recently, I had pancreas cancer, and bits went into my

lungs. I’ve had five years of chemo treatment and three operations. But you’ve got to be positive and intense. Slowly I’m starting to draw again. Illness means I have less energy, and I’ve got a load of inhalers. That’ll get worse as time goes on.’

Even so, Shirley worked impressively with the pastels, using more and more colours with sensuous feeling. She was clearly stimulated by the RA project. After a lot of well-judged blending, the result looked more like Monet’s water-lily painting than the vase of flowers.

Harry held up her picture appreciatively: ‘It has a lovely harmony with the pink and purple and viridian green. It’s very delicate.’ Shirley smiled, adding, ‘Monet’s influence means that he’s still with us today, almost alive.’ Then she laughed.

‘That’s me finished – I need something to eat now!’

Not all of the patients were able to work so well. Paul, who used to make art a great deal, now suffers from Parkinson’s, and sat quietly in his chair gazing at the flowers. He looked dreamy, holding the pastel just above the paper but incapable of starting. He probably felt frustrated, but at the same time may well have gained silent pleasure simply from being there and thinking about masters such as Monet.

Some patients responded to the project with great vitality. John made a very bold close-up

image of the heart of one flower. As for Richard, who is 68 and sadly lost his wife four years ago, he was determined not to be downhearted about his battle with acute myeloid leukaemia. ‘I’ll be gone in a few weeks,’ he told me without a hint of self-pity. ‘I’ve got no chance of surviving.

But I’m not going to worry about it, even though both my legs are breaking up.’ Harry showed him how to handle the pastel, and Richard went further by breaking up a green stick and prodding the fragments, with immense freedom, onto the paper. He clearly wanted to depict the flowers in a natural setting inspired by his own garden.

When I asked him whether making art had a therapeutic effect, Richard’s reply was very positive. ‘It does help me, because you have to dig it out of your own mind and get straight on with the job. I’m not sad about life, even though I thought that I’d get worried if I knew I was going to die.’ He paused, closed his eyes and sighed. ‘I find it very difficult to concentrate for very long.’ Suddenly, he cried out in pain and pushed both his legs up. ‘Oh! My legs are… painful isn’t the word.’ Yet he soon recovered and started drawing the earth beneath the flowers. ‘It’s like my garden in Lewisham, which used to be ablaze with hanging baskets.

But when my wife died, I lost interest.’

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Communities The following Monday morning, when I joined the group for their visit to the Royal Academy, we met in the spacious Weston Rooms, adjacent to the ‘Painting the Modern Garden’ show. A magnificent display of flowers, ranging from hydrangeas and Japanese iris to hyacinths and Monet’s favourite chrysanthemums, had been arranged in the middle of the space. Glass was used to simulate water, and all around the flowers were tables where clusters of paints, brushes and palette knives lay ready to be used. Coffee and biscuits were served, while Harry introduced the show. ‘It’s an amazing exhibition we’re about to explore, but it may be very busy so if anyone feels tired they can always come back up here.’

The exhibition was indeed full of eager visitors, but they instinctively made way for the patients in their wheelchairs, who included Cherry, Felicia and Sue. We looked at the first exhibits while Becky and Anna talked to the group about Monet and Renoir, before asking patients how they felt about the paintings on view. Felicia said that they made her feel ‘peaceful’. Later in the show a Matisse painting of Tangier prompted Cherry to comment, ‘It’s exotic, somewhere you’d like to go on holiday!’ Sue did not speak out because MSA (Multiple System Atrophy) has made her almost inaudible and immobile. But she was quietly looking, and after lunch back in the Weston Rooms everyone else began painting with relish.

Harry had provided view-finders so that they could ‘narrow the scene down’, and he asked each participant ‘to do a warm-up exercise first, making a quick painting on a piece of paper and experiment with the three different brushes.’

The group worked with a tremendous flair, variety and sensuous feeling for colour. Sue began to stir, as if she was holding a brush, and smiled while explaining to her sister Pippa in low murmurs how to make images of the flowers on her iPad. Eventually, the rest of the group began working on canvases, while Harry moved among them, encouraging everyone to use their ‘memories, moods and emotions, because that’s what Monet did later on’.

The results were impressive and often joyful, ranging from delicate detail to bold abstraction.

At the end, Harry took up many of the paintings, one after another, and walked round showing them to the group before asking for a round of applause. Everyone clapped; a huge amount of pleasure and satisfaction had been generated.

Andy, one of the hospice group, responded in an intensely moving way: ‘I’ve amazed myself today, because I was terrified and I’m not at all artistic. But it has been quite relaxing, so thank you for giving us such a wonderful experience.’ Then the paintings were displayed on a wall where they emblazoned the room with their defiant vitality.

To find out more about the Royal Academy’s projects with communities visit http://roy.ac/community.

The RA’s partnership with St Christopher’s Hospice is supported by The Peacock Charitable Trust.

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Academy News

RA America

News in brief AI WEiWEi REVISITED If you missed the RA’s ‘Ai Weiwei’ exhibition last year, take a virtual tour of the show online. Ai Weiwei 360 comprises navigable 360º imagery, video and audio channels to help you explore the exhibition at your own pace (still showing Coloured Vases, 2015; right). Visit http://roy.ac/aiweiwei360 for viewing options, including photorealistic stereoscopic 3D. ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT To allow as many people as possible to catch the final weekend of the ‘Ai Weiwei’ exhibition, the RA kept its doors open continuously for 56 hours.

26,458 visitors attended between 10am on 11 December and 6pm on 13 December. Check out #56Hours on Twitter and Instagram for photos.

and create a brief for the best use of the land, informed by research into the needs and potential of the local area. Four selected teams each received £1,000 and will present their ideas at two public crits. Their work is also displayed in the ‘Urban Jigsaw’ exhibition in the Architecture Space (27 April–29 May; see RA Diary, page 12). For more details, visit http:// roy.ac/urbanjigsaw

SHAWCROSS IN HONG KONG On 22 March, the RA and The Peninsula Hong Kong unveils a public art installation in Hong Kong by sculptor Conrad Shawcross RA. The ADA Project (below left) combines sculpture, robotics and music to create a dramatic visual performance, comprising a series of collaborations between Shawcross and leading contemporary composers.

NEW ACADEMICIAN AND MORE Brian Catling has been elected a Royal Academician in the category of Sculpture. Chantal Joffe RA has been appointed Professor of Painting and Cathie Pilkington RA Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy Schools. Roger Zogolovitch has also been elected as the Royal Academy’s first Honorary Surveyor.

From a sky-high, site-specific installation to dramatic sculptural architecture, projects by Royal Academicians are taking over the Big Apple, as RA America launches in Manhattan. ALISON HISSEY reports Look out over the New York skyline, and beyond the architectural icons of the last century you will see a new wave of buildings beginning to take shape. At the crest of this wave are landmarks designed by Royal Academician architects, from Nicholas Grimshaw’s domed Fulton Center to the minimalist hulk of Foster and Partners’ Sperone Westwater Gallery. Soon these will be joined by the graceful chevrons of Zaha Hadid RA’s first ever residential building in the city, as well as sculptor Cornelia Parker RA’s site-specific installation on the Roof Garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For Tiffany Nesbit, Director of Royal Academy America, there could not be a clearer way to show that the RA extends far beyond the gates of Burlington House.

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The organisation that Nesbit heads continues the work of the American Associates of the Royal Academy Trust. It aims to open up the Academy to a new generation of American art enthusiasts and patrons. However, the transatlantic relationship between America and the RA goes back as far as 1792, when Benjamin West, a Pennsylvanian who had never made it back further than England on his way home from a European Grand Tour, was elected its President. Since then American greats welcomed into the Academy fold as Honorary Academicians have included Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns and Frank Stella, while a steady stream of British artists have crossed over the pond, irresistibly drawn to the American landscape and energy.

The American Associates of the Royal

Academy Trust was set up in 1983, and during the heyday of the American fundraising scene in the 1990s its dedicated board of members was a formidable fundraising force, sponsoring some major developments at Burlington House, including the Annenberg Courtyard.

The Academy has changed dramatically since those days, and now stages big contemporary art shows such as ‘Ai Weiwei’, and Nesbit wants to bring that ‘new and exciting’ spirit of creative adventure to the US, with a focus on art and artists over heritage. ‘It’s about people, not buildings,’ she says. For Americans wanting to find their way in an increasingly vast and complex international art world, RA America offers the unique chance to ‘actually get access to a living artist’.

Without having its own building in New York, RA America uses spaces designed by Academicians: last year’s Annual Gala was held in Frank Gehry Hon RA’s IAC building, while in another event patrons were given exclusive The view over Manhattan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden, where Cornelia Parker RA presents a site-specific installation this summer

ABOVE

CO U R T ESY A I W EI W EI S T U D I O/ P H OTO R OYA L ACA D EM Y O F A R TS , LO N D O N /© A I W EI W EI .

CO U R T ESY B R OWS E & DA R BY

Escape to New York

T I M OT H Y A . CL A RY/A F P/GE T T Y I M AGES

SCHOOLS AUCTION This year marks the tenth anniversary of the RA Schools Auction. The

access to see Richard Long RA creating a wall drawing from mud at Norman Foster’s Sperone Westwater Gallery.

The launch of RA America comes at an exciting time for British art in America. David Hockney RA is back in California, working on a series of portraits – due to be shown at the RA later this summer – whose luminous pastel shades seem far removed from his home town of Bridlington.

Back in New York, Bill Jacklin RA is releasing two books this year featuring his atmospheric ‘urban portraits’ of his adopted city: Bill Jacklin’s New York and Bill Jacklin: Graphics (RA Publications). Many of his etchings and monoprints of scenes from Manhattan to Coney Island will be shown at Burlington House in June.

He perfectly captures the pull of the city that so many artists have felt. ‘New York was an open muse beckoning to me,’ he explains from his studio overlooking the High Line. ‘I was drawn to its energy, its pulse.’

Another artist to have felt this draw is David Remfry RA, who last year released a book of his charming and eccentric portraits of dogs with their owners (We Think the World of You: People

fundraising event takes place on 15 March, with proceeds going towards the RA Schools. For more information, visit http://roy.ac/schoolsauction

TWO’S COMPANY An exhibition of paintings by Senior Academicians Diana Armfield RA (Spring Flowers from the Bank, Llwynhir, 2013; below) and Bernard Dunstan RA runs until 24 April in The Keeper’s House.

WOMEN’S WEEK AT RA The RA celebrates International Women’s Day with a series of talks, tours and workshops. ‘Women in Focus: All About My Mother’, a free exhibition of work by RA Schools students and alumni, along with Eileen Cooper RA, also runs at the Keeper’s House (10am–6pm, 4–6 March).

LISTEN UP There are now over 70 RA podcasts, ranging from short stories read by top novelists such as Sebastian Faulks to discussions with artists and experts, including William Kentridge Hon RA. Visit http://roy.ac/podcasts to listen.

URBAN DESIGN COMPETITION The RA recently invited architects to select a brownfield site in London,

and Dogs Drawn Together, RA Publications), many of whom he met in Manhattan’s iconic Chelsea Hotel, where he lived for many years. The launch of the book, a star-studded event on 5th Avenue, with a view over the Metropolitan Museum of Art, brought together many of the key figures in the British and New York art scenes.

The Met itself is becoming something of an epicentre for the RA’s artistic takeover of New York. In March last year it was announced that David Chipperfield RA would take on the prestigious job of rebuilding the museum’s Southwest Wing for modern and contemporary art, a project that runs parallel to Chipperfield’s development of the RA’s Burlington Gardens building back in London. The Met’s Director, Thomas P. Campbell, who describes Chipperfield’s previous projects as ‘brilliantly coherent, elegant and accessible’, anticipates ‘a giant leap forward in the presentation of modern and contemporary art at the Met’.

When Cornelia Parker brings the Met’s Roof Garden to life from May, it will be one of the most high-profile recent projects by a British artist to take place in the city. While details of the sculpture are under wraps until the work is

unveiled, Parker says it will be ‘architectural, forming part of the skyline of New York’.

Parker, who is best known for her largescale installations in which everyday objects or buildings are reconfigured, will be the first woman to take on the Roof Garden Commission, but she points out that she will be just one among many European artists whose work is on show at the Met. Perhaps reflecting what she describes as the slightly more ‘relaxed’ British art scene, Parker says her work is going to be ‘more about subculture than Culture with a capital C’.

For Nesbit, Parker’s commission, open to the public and surrounded on all sides by buildings by Royal Academicians, will be the ideal setting to introduce new patrons to the RA. ‘If you look at the skyline of New York, work by Academicians is everywhere. When you look at it that way, you realise the RA is all around you.’

The Roof Garden Commission: Cornelia Parker Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York, www.metmuseum.org, 17 May–30 Oct To learn more about Royal Academy America, visit http://roy.ac/america

SPRING 2016 | RA MAGAZINE 99

Tickets available now Be the first to view and buy works at the world famous Summer Exhibition and enjoy a glamorous evening of champagne and canapés in the beautiful surroundings of the Royal Academy.

The highlight of London’s social calendar

Summer Exhibition Preview Party 2016 Tuesday 7 June 2016 7–9.30pm

Tickets from £255 royalacademy.org.uk/summerparty Your Support is our Future

Ads into page_SPR15.indd 100 SEPP FP 2016 2.indd 1

For further information please contact fundraising.events@royalacademy.org.uk 020 7300 5762

11/02/2016 12:55 01/12/2015 17:29

Academy News

Year in review The generosity of Friends is one the themes of this year’s RA annual report From income and expenditure to exhibition attendance and Facebook ‘likes’, the facts and figures of the Royal Academy’s operations for the past financial year have been published in its annual report. The RA has recently redesigned the format to make a more transparent, accessible and dynamic publication for those interested in the workings of the Academy. It particularly had in mind Friends of the RA, whose continued financial support, ranging from annual membership and donations to purchases

at the Royal Academy Shop, is so critical to the future of the organisation.

As the RA’s financial year ends on the last day of August, the report for 2014-15 was compiled in the autumn and is now available online. In-depth texts, interspersed with artworks and images, describe the Academy’s aims and achievements.

A key focus of this year’s report is RA250, the redevelopment project that will – in time for the RA’s 250th birthday in 2018 – link Burlington House with Burlington Gardens, creating a range of new exhibition spaces and adding a worldclass public lecture theatre. To facilitate building work, the majority of the Academy’s staff moved offsite in July to Unilever House on Victoria Embankment, a Grade II-listed Art Deco building designed by James Lomax-Simpson.

The Academy’s annual accounts are also available alongside the report, with financial statements, explanations of the RA’s governance, reviews of the year past and objectives for the year ahead. The Academy is a charity that receives no public funding. The Friends of the RA is a separate charity, overseen by the Friends Board of Directors, which comprises high-profile figures from both the arts and business worlds; as the report underlines, the Friends scheme hopes ‘to foster lifelong appreciation for the visual arts and a bedrock audience for the RA’s future artistic programme and philanthropic aims.’

To read highlights of the annual report, and download all documents in full, visit http://roy.ac/annualreport

2014-15 in numbers: 25.6 per cent of RA income came from Friends contributions / 230,483 visitors to the Summer Exhibition 2015, the most in 60 years / 21,000 school students visited the Academy / 41,064 exhibition catalogues sold / 520 artists applied to study at the RA Schools / 87 works loaned to venues worldwide from the RA’s Collection / 146 events held for Friends / 1,619 guided tours given of Burlington House / 24 per cent increase in visits to the RA website / 1,336 crates used to move RA staff offsite, as redevelopment work began at Burlington Gardens / 96,371 hot drinks served in the Keeper’s House SPRING 2016 | RA MAGAZINE 101

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Readers’ offers are open to all RA Magazine readers when they show a copy of this magazine

Readers’ Offers

Red Sun, 2014, by Anne Rothenstein at Beaux Arts London

Painters in Watercolours (6-16 April).

Royal Society of Portrait Painters (5-20 May). Visit www.mallgalleries.org.uk and see advertisements on pages 93 and 37.

The Holburne Museum

BADA Antiques and Fine Art Fair

Pallant House Gallery ‘John Piper:

The Fabric of Modernism’ (12 March-12 June 2016). Visit www.pallant.org.uk and see advertisement on page 18.

(5-8 May) Free entry plus one adult and up to four children. Visit www. londonprintfair.com and see advertisement on page 10.

(9-15 March) Free entry with code RA2016. Please give the code at the entrance of the fair to gain entry for two, a BADA Handbook and two reentry vouchers. The fair takes place at the Duke of York Square, Kings Road, London. Visit www.badafair.com and see advertisement on page 89.

The Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition at Mall Galleries

2-for-1 Tickets

Chelsea Art Fair in its 21st anniversary year presents 30 UK and international galleries at Chelsea Old Town Hall (2124 April). Complimentary ticket for two.

Visit www.chelseaartfair.org and see advertisement on page 73.

The London Original Print Fair 2016

(17 March-2 April) Royal Institute of

Ceramic Art London (8-10 April). The

international contemporary ceramics event at Central St. Martins. Visit www.ceramics.org.uk and see advertisement on page 87.

‘Impressionism: Capturing Life’ (until 5 June). Visit www.holburne.org and see advertisement on page 44.

The Watts Gallery ‘Poetry in Beauty:

The Pre-Raphaelite Art of Marie Spartali Stillman’ (1 March-5 June).

Featuring works not exhibited since the artist's lifetime. Offer valid WednesdaySunday. Visit www.wattsgallery.org.uk and see advertisement on page 73.

Eating Out, Membership & Shopping

Dulwich Picture Gallery ‘Nikolai

Astrup: Painting Norway’ (until 15 May). Visit www.dulwichpicturegallery. org.uk and see advertisement on page 47.

The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art ‘Giacomo Manzu: Sculptor

Richard Morgan, 2015, by Anthony Williams at Mall Galleries

and Draughtsman’ (until 3 April). Delicate portraiture and religious-inspired work.

Visit www.estorickcollection.com and see advertisement on page 87.

Pure Collection Up to 40% off Spring

collection plus free delivery and returns.

Valid until 30 April 2016. See insert for more information. Vist www. purecollection.com and use offer code UKCM0104.

Richoux, opposite the Royal Academy,

is offering 10% discount on breakfast, morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner. See advertisement on page 73.

The Royal Over-Seas League, located close to the RA, provides accommodation, fine dining and a private garden as well as a discounted joining fee and pro-rata subscription rates. Visit www.rosl.org.uk and see advertisement on page 30.

Publications Beaux Arts London An exhibition catalogue of new paintings by Anne Rothenstein for the reduced price of £5.

The exhibition displays her unique, pareddown artistic vocabulary (4 March-9 April). The catalogue includes an essay by film, theatre and opera director Richard Eyre. See advertisement on page 8.

RA Publications The RA Shop is

offering a 10% discount on the following new titles: In the Age of Giorgione Hardback £27 (rrp £30); Mavericks: Breaking the Mould of British Architecture £11.65 (rrp £12.95); Ann Christopher RA £26.95 (rrp £29.95). See advertisement on page 93.

All titles are available from the RA Shop, online at www.royalacademy. org.uk/shop (enter RAMAGSPRING at checkout to claim your discount) or by calling 0800 634 6341 (Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm).

A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Taming of the Shrew Macbeth Kneehigh’s

946 The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips Imogen Cymbeline renamed and reclaimed The Merchant of Venice The Two Gentlemen of Verona Kneehigh’s

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk The Inn at Lydda

© THE ARTIST/ COURTESY MALL GALLERIES.. © THE ARTIST/ COURTESY BEAUX ARTS LONDON

Free Entry

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Restaurant & Shopping Guide The RA Magazine’s directory of places to eat and shop around the Academy. This is an advertisement feature.

To advertise please call Irene Michaelides on 020 7300 5675 or email irene.michaelides@royalacademy.org.uk RESTAURANTS SHOPS

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Berkeley Square, 35 Charles Street W1, 020 7491 2622 www.chesterfieldmayfair.com

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Please note: not drawn to scale

Restaurants 1

AVENUE

Serving up new American cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday to Sunday, Avenue captures the buzz of the New York dining scene whilst nodding to its St James’s roots with stunning art-focused interiors and a French and American-driven wine list. Head Chef James Hulme has created a bold and distinct menu with his signature US-style dishes given a Mayfair twist. The bar at Avenue is a destination in its own right for pre-dinner and after-work drinks, serving up craft beers and classic cocktails inspired by the US Prohibition era.

7-9 St. James’s Street SW1, 020 7321 2111 www.avenue-restaurant.co.uk

2 BENTLEY’S OYSTER BAR AND GRILL

Hidden just around the corner from the Royal Academy, Bentley’s has been a local resting place for weary art lovers and gourmands for over 98 years. Trading from midday to midnight, Champagne and native oysters, traditional fish and chips, or for those who care not for the mollusc, beautiful lamb or a simple slab of steak.

A ‘best of British’ menu, designed by the controversial and twice Michelin-awarded chef Richard Corrigan.

We have private dining facilities to seat up to 60 guests and run regular cookery schools.

11-15 Swallow Street W1, 020 7734 4756 www.bentleys.org

1930s interior, Brasserie Zedel is perfectly located for the Royal Academy, just off Piccadilly Circus. Described by renowned French chef Pierre Koffman as, “the only real brasserie in London”, it is open from 11.30am to midnight, seven days a week and serves great French food at remarkably low prices, with two course prix fixe menus starting at £9.75.

20 Sherwood Street W1, 020 7734 4888 www.brasseriezedel.com

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BENIHANA

Just one minute’s walk from the Royal Academy is Benihana, an exclusive Japanese culinary experience, providing Teppan-Yaki style cooking.

Diners can enjoy the luxury of a personal chef preparing fresh and delicious meals at their table. A variety of seafood and steaks are cooked to perfection; fresh sushi is also available.

37 Sackville Street W1, 020 7494 2525 www.benihana.co.uk 4

BRASSERIE ZEDEL

A large, bustling, grand and elegant Parisian brasserie with an authentic

THE CHESTERFIELD MAYFAIR

A short walk from the Royal Academy is The Chesterfield Mayfair, home of the ‘Charlie and The Chesterfield’-themed afternoon tea, priced at £34.50 and hosted

by Willy Wonka himself. The quality of afternoon tea has been officially recognised, as the Chesterfield has retained the Tea Guild’s Award of excellence for five consecutive years.

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CUT AT 45 PARK LANE

Created by internationally-acclaimed chef founder Wolfgang Puck, CUT at 45 Park Lane is a modern American steak restaurant, and his debut restaurant in Europe. Enjoy delectable prime beef, succulent pan-roasted lobster, sautéed fresh fish and seasonal salads. Outstanding cuisine is accompanied by an exceptional wine list of over 600 wines, featuring one of the largest selection of American wines in the UK. Breakfasts are another highlight and on Sundays you can relax with brunch as you listen to live jazz.

45 Park Lane, Mayfair W1, 020 7493 4554 www.dorchestercollection.com

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LE CAPRICE

With its black and white décor, David Bailey photographs and long dining bar, Le Caprice is a model of urban elegance, but with a reputation that runs much deeper.

Opened in 1947 by Mario Gallati, it was relaunched in 1981 and quickly became a social institution with a devoted clientele who enjoy unsurpassed service and a lively atmosphere. Le Caprice is renowned for its fresh and imaginative modern British and European menu sourced from the finest suppliers. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner with live jazz on Saturday afternoons and Sunday evenings.

Arlington House, Arlington Street, St. James’s SW1, 020 7629 2239, www.le-caprice.co.uk

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FRANCO’S

Franco’s, founded in 1946, has acquired a brand new sleek interior. Open all day, Franco’s evolves from a bustling breakfast service, to a charged lunch atmosphere, to romantic evenings. From Monday-

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Restaurant & Shopping Guide Saturday, the beautifully-appointed private dining room with curtained and mirrored walls can accommodate between 16 and 55 guests, providing the ideal setting for a range of private events.

61 Jermyn Street SW1, 020 7499 2211 www.francoslondon.com

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MAHARANI SOHO

Open all day and situated in the heart of Soho, this family-run restaurant established 42 years ago offers the best cuisine that the north and south of India has to offer, with its own little twist. All dishes are cooked fresh to order, using free-range meat and locally-sourced vegetables. A special set lunch menu priced at £6.95 runs until 5pm, or you can choose from the mouth watering à la carte menu which offers excellence without pretension. Counted as one of the best Indian restaurants in London, to avoid disappointment it is best to make a reservation. Last orders 11.30pm.

SARTORIA

With renowned Italian chef Francesco Mazzei at its helm as chef patron, Sartoria serves an all-day dining menu, inspired

by Francesco’s home region of Calabria and surrounding areas of Italy. Described as a “temple of Italian cuisine” and the only restaurant on Savile Row, Sartoria has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment by acclaimed designer David d’Almada. Boasting a heated terrace, destination bar, cicchetti counter, two private dining rooms and wine cellar, the exquisite and timeless design lends itself perfectly to its glamorous Mayfair location.

Sartoria is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday.

20 Savile Row W1, 020 7534 7000 www.sartoria-restaurant.co.uk

Marks Room’ offers guests an exceptional, discreet environment in which to welcome friends, family or colleagues for a truly memorable meal.

55 Jermyn Street SW1, 020 7629 9955 www.wiltons.co.uk 14

THE WOLSELEY

A café-restaurant in the grand European tradition and located just a few minutes’ walk from the Royal Academy, The Wolseley is open all day from 7am for breakfast, right through until midnight perfect for Friday late-night exhibitions.

Its all-day menu means it is possible to eat formally or casually at any time, whether a full three-course meal or a coffee and cake. Whilst booking in advance is advised, tables are always held back for walk-ins on the day.

160 Piccadilly W1, 020 7499 6996 www.thewolseley.com

77 Berwick Street W1, 020 7437 8568 www.maharanisoho.com

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QUAGLINO’S

A legendary hot spot with a glamorous Art Deco-inspired restaurant, two stunning bars and private dining rooms. The modern European menu designed by Executive Head Chef, Mickael Weiss, changes seasonally and always uses the highest quality ingredients. The restaurant offers a host of menu options, along with Q Brunch on Saturdays, accompanied by bottomless bubbles. The bars boast an iconic cocktail list and an extensive wine list. The Main Bar also serves up a Prohibition Afternoon Tea from 3-5pm. From 10pm, the restaurant transforms, showcasing live music from resident house bands and renowned DJs. Open Monday to Saturday, for lunch and dinner, with the bars open until 1am Monday -Thursday and 3am on Fridays and Saturdays, with late bar food also available.

16 Bury Street SW1, 020 7930 6767 www.quaglinos-restaurant.co.uk

Victory House, 99 Regent Street W1, 020 7734 1401 www.veeraswarmy.com

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WILTONS

Offering a selection of traditional menus for memorable parties and a range of exciting wine packages for 10 guests or more, Wiltons’ private dining room is an ideal venue for any occasion. The ‘Jimmy

29 St. James’s Street SW1, 52 Piccadilly W1, 020 7930 3915 www.drharris.co.uk 2

FREYWILLE BOUTIQUE

‘Giverny’, ‘Honfleur’ and ‘Orangerie’ – the three new enamel jewellery designs are FreyWille’s artistic tribute to one of the greatest French impressionist artists. Claude Monet inspired FreyWille’s in-house artist with his unforgettable artworks and the luscious gardens of blossoming Normandy.

All exhibition visitors are entitled to a 10% discount when purchasing a DIVA bangle in our Piccadilly boutique.

Simply present your exhibition ticket.

45 Piccadilly W1, 020 77340981 3

GIEVES & HAWKES

Gieves & Hawkes has been located at No.1 Savile Row, a short stroll from Burlington House, for over 100 years. With a tradition of military and fine bespoke handwork, the firm has enjoyed the continuous patronage of royal families both at home and abroad over three centuries. Today, No.1 Savile Row houses the company’s bespoke workshops, private tailoring suites and the flagship ‘ready-to-wear’ store, selling stylish British menswear. Do pay us a visit.

No.1 Savile Row W1, 020 7432 6403 www.gievesandhawkes.com

VEERASWAMY

The true taste of tradition, Veeraswamy is soberly located overlooking Regent Street, just two minutes walk from Piccadilly Circus. Veeraswamy offers divine dishes, lovingly prepared and beautifully served in sumptuous surroundings. Sunday lunch is offered at £26 for three courses. Lunch and pre- and post- theatre menus are available.

Veeraswamy is part of MW Eat Group consisting of Chutney Mary, Amaya and Masala Zone.

29 St. James’s Street. The full range is also available from 52 Piccadilly.

Shopping

4

RICHARD OGDEN

In Medieval times signet rings were used to seal and authenticate letters and documents, using crests taken from family heraldic shields. The impression these rings made when pressed into wax seals would represent the authority of the wearer, a tradition which continued well into the twentieth century.

Nowadays signet rings are often presented to celebrate a 21st birthday or a graduation. We keep a copy of Fairbairn’s Book of Crests at our premises and can help you find your own family crest.

V I E W T H E F I L M AT: W W W. G I E V E S A N D H AW K E S. C O M

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D.R. HARRIS

Situated in St James’s Street for over 200 years, D.R. Harris, London’s oldest pharmacy, has been owned by the original family since 1790. D.R. Harris are renowned for their range of quality products for men and women including soaps, colognes, bath and shaving preparations. The majority of products are still produced by traditional methods in the UK. Visit them at their newly reopened and expanded shop at

28 Burlington Arcade W1, 020 7493 9136, www.richardogden.com

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Sleeps 12. Enjoy the eclectic art collection and interior design of this restored 1860s villa and separate guest house situated just above town centre, 5 min walk to shops and beaches. Beautiful garden with panoramic views across the bay and over the old town. Lovely pool area with shower and shady places to sit and read. Secluded dining area on front terrace or in shady citrus tree courtyard. Enjoy versatility of 2 houses on one site. Ideal for 2 families. Off-street parking for 2 cars. Now booking Summer 2016. t: 07900 916729 pattiebarwick@gmail.com www.mentonsejour.com

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France: Nice

Stunning view over the roofs of the old town. Quiet sunny 2 room balcony flat. Sleeps 2/3. 30 minute bus to airport. £500 pw. Tel. 020 7720 7519 or 01736 762013

France: Paris

Sunny, spacious, balcony Paris flat 11th arr. on Bvd Voltaire. Sleeps 2/3.

Easy walking to Bastille, Marais, Picasso Museum, buses to Louvre etc. £95 a night - min 3 nights. For more details, email: ristone2@wanadoo.fr

Menorca: Unspoilt fishing village

of ES GRAU in Biosphere Reserve.

A retreat for two, delightful studio apartment set in large shady courtyard 45 seconds to beach +34629381601 churchilalipaintings@gmail.com

Summer Lease

Apartment in 16th century Villa Guinigi, Matraia nr. Lucca, Tuscany.

Extensive grounds, swimming pool, spectacular views, walking and cycling.

Would suit artistic couple. Tel: 020 3055 0112 caroline@farmiloefineart.com

Alec Tiranti Ltd sculptors’ tools, materials & equipment established 1895 3 Pipers Court, Thatcham, Berks & 27 Warren Street, London W1

0845 123 2100 Studio equipment & Armatures, Stonecarving, Woodcarving,

Mallets & Hammers, Files & Abrasives, Ceramics equipment & 19/03/2015 16:21

Glazes, Modelling tools

& Materials, Mouldmaking, Casting, ROMANTIC RIVIERA RETREAT

Restoration & Finishing,

Books & Videos

tiranti.co.uk www.ilvalico.eu vitosmi@gmail.com

Greece: Peloponnese

Julia.indd 1

House in village for annual rental.

Master bedroom en suite + 2 further double bedrooms with 2 shower rooms.

Large living room, separate kitchen, fridge-ice maker, dishwasher, cooker. Fully furnished. Stunning views of Gulf of Corinth. Parking 3 cars. Land 1/2 acre. Ski-resort 45 min drive. Sea 5 min drive. £250 pw. Annual let only.

30-6944-435557 e: shirleyv@hol.gr

Venice

Two spacious luxury flats in a scenic, peaceful location. Great local shops & restaurants. Full details/booking on our website www.ourflatsinvenice.co.uk

01/02/2016 St Ives | Tate and beaches

10:48

Light, stylish, airy apartment, the perfect base for two.

Walks, art, sun and sand. Wifi. www.fifteenthedigey.co.uk 01223295264

Marrakech

Chic, elegantly restored 18th century riad in Medina. Four double bedrooms, seductive baths, cook and housekeeper. Tel: 07770 431194. www.riadhayati.com

The Kyffin Gallery Woodstock, Oxfordshire

Venice Centre

Self-catering apartments in a charming c15th palazzetto, sleeps 2/5. www.valleycastle.com

Tuscan/Umbrian border

Find Donatello, Piero, Burri minutes from our splendid villa. Flexible rates.

Pool, gardens, views, walks, wildlife.

020 7059 0278; www.lafoce.co.uk

Specialising the the works of Sir Kyffin Williams RA OBE. We purchase Kyffin oils, watercolours and drawings. www.thekyffingallery.com Roberta@kyffingallery.com Tel: 07801 737631

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Short Story

The Apple Tree in the Garden

Apple Tree in the Garden, 1932-42, by Edvard Munch

It was hard to step away from the house, with its symmetry and its clean yellow lines. Elsa would have preferred to continue to sit on the low sofa with its firm back and look out of the big picture window onto the garden.

But ‘Come,’ Klaus had insisted. ‘Come and taste an apple fresh from the tree.’ He had taken her hand and pulled her to her feet, away from her tea cup still half full and warm, then led her to the coat rack where he picked up his hat. He was formal like that, wearing a hat to go out into the garden even when it would only be for a few minutes and no-one could see him but Elsa.

It was September and mild and the apples were ripe and Klaus wanted her to try one. Elsa could not even say why she did not want to go out into his garden. There was no good reason not to walk across the light green lawn, past the row of tall flowers – gladioli and dahlias and hollyhocks – that separated the clipped grass from the unkempt orchard. She hesitated among the gladioli, even though she had never liked them as flowers.

Too blowsy. ‘I am content to remain amongst these flowers,’ she wanted to say. They kept her connected to the tidy lawn, newly mown.

But ‘Here,’ Klaus pulled her into the long grass, threaded with daisies and Queen Anne’s lace and poppies blooming late. They brushed against her red dress as if saying hello to a cousin. Elsa expected later she would find burrs embedded in her dress, and seeds caught in the fabric, and pollen dusting her skirt, from the flowers and grasses now raking her thighs. She could not see where she was stepping, the matted grass hiding its grasshoppers and beetles, its snakes and lizards. They could be gathered at her feet and she would not know it.

Still Klaus led her towards the apple tree. It was a mature specimen, bent over like an old woman with a sack of apples on her shoulders, with deep green shadows beneath it. Klaus’s family would have been picking fruit from it for generations.

But it was not a tree that inspired joy in Elsa, though she loved trees.

She preferred them to be slim and upstanding, with firm spines and no darkness underneath, like silver birches or smooth-barked beeches.

Fruit trees were too fertile. They gave too much.

But ‘Now,’ Klaus said, ‘pick one,’ and he guided the hand he held to one of the apples dangling from a low branch. He smelled of cologne.

Elsa heard the buzzing and snatched her hand away. The ground under the tree was covered with apples, half-rotted, smelling of ferment, of cider. Dancing over them, on them, in them, were dozens of wasps. Elsa stepped back.

‘They won’t bother you,’ Klaus assured her.

‘They’re too drunk, feasting on the windfalls.

Wasps always are at this time of year. Come.’

He reached for her hand again, but Elsa took another step back, away from the shady patch full of wasps and into the long grass in the sun.

‘I am not fond of wasps.’

He looked at her. She became aware not just of the buzzing of the wasps, but of the sawings of the hidden grasshoppers, and of the caw of a crow high overhead, and of the silence in between those sounds.

‘I would like to finish my tea, inside.’

Klaus did not move. It was not clear if he had heard Elsa. Then he turned back to the apple tree, reached up and picked an apple. ‘You see, you have

to twist the apple so that it comes off with its stem intact,’ he explained. ‘If you don’t and the stem is detached, it will create a small hole for the air to get inside and rot the apple when you store it. You can ruin a whole barrel of apples like that.’

He held the apple – green, a tinge of red, too big – up to her lips. ‘Bite now.’

Elsa wanted to turn her mouth to one side, like spurning a kiss from a gauche boy who would knock his teeth against hers in his excitement. But she suspected Klaus would follow with the apple, and eventually she would be forced to taste it. It was easier to do so now, take a ladylike bite and finish the moment quickly. She bit.

The apple was not sweet as she had expected, but tart – the tartness that needs cooking, breaking down in a pan with sugar and spice. Elsa winced. But she did not spit out the piece of apple; she chewed and swallowed it.

There, I won’t have to do that again, she thought.

But ‘Did you like it?’ Klaus looked expectant.

‘It was sour.’

He frowned. ‘Did you not taste the honey, and the gooseberry finish?’

‘No. It is a cooking apple, and needs sugar.’

‘Try it again,’ Klaus insisted, holding the apple up. ‘Concentrate on the taste. Listen for the honey, for the gooseberry. Savour it.’

Behind his words she heard 45 years of apple strudels, stewed apples, tartes tatins, apple charlottes. She heard his boyhood, his youth, his love of his cooking mother, his failed first marriage, his awkward meetings with his half-grown sons. For his dead mother, his ex-wife, his distant sons, Elsa took the second bite of the apple. She closed her eyes, tasted sour, and more sour, then pushed that sensation aside and listened for the gooseberry, for the honey. For a moment, until she could stand it no longer and swallowed the dissolving mush, she thought she tasted a drop of sweetness, a delicate perfume.

When Elsa opened her eyes, Klaus was nodding. ‘You tasted it. You did.’

‘Yes,’ she said, dazed. ‘I did.’

‘Apple Tree in the Garden’ is on view in Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse Main Galleries, Royal Academy of Arts, London, www.royalacademy.org. uk, 020 7300 8000, until 20 April. Exhibition co-organised by the Royal Academy of Arts and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Sponsored by BMY Mellon, Partner of the Royal Academy of Arts. At The Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier, £16.99 hbk, is published by Harper-Collins on 8 March.

M U N CH M US EE T, OS LO, I N V. M M M 61/ P H OTO © M U N CH M US EU M

by TRACY CHEVALIER. Inspired by Edvard Munch’s painting of the same name, this is the latest in a series of art-influenced stories written for RA Magazine

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Rigby Graham 1931- 2015

Irascible painter whose idiosyncratic landscapes are among the 20th century’s best.

Sunday Times Obituary, May 2015

Rigby Graham was one of the UK's foremost 20th century landscape painters and a highly regarded printmaker. He worked in many different media, including oils, watercolours, woodcuts, screenprints, linoprints, lithographs, etchings and stained glass. He also illustrated and published many books.

A fully illustrated catalogue is available with an essay by Andrew Lambirth. Graham’s work can be viewed and bought online at goldmarkart.com.

14 Orange Street, Uppingham, Rutland, LE15 9SQ 01572 821424

goldmark

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