Winifred Nicholson at Dulwich Picture Gallery

The new exhibition at the Dulwich Art Gallery has an awfully long title Art and Life: Ben Nicholson, Winifred Nicholson, Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis, William Staite Murray, 1920 – 1931.  I'm not a fan of long titles - but that's by the by.

There's also a story to the exhibition - about how painters influence one another, but frankly the interest of that for me always lies in the impact of that influence and consequential output rather than the explanation.

However there is a very good reason to go and see the exhibition.....

Flyer for the new exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery

Visit Dulwich Picture Gallery (before 21 September) and see this exhibition and find out about the paintings of Winifred Nicholson (Tate) who is an undoubted colourist. It's certainly no accident that it's her painting on the flyer and poster for the exhibition.

Winifred Nicholson saw colour, wrote about colour, was interested in paint colours, experimented with arrangements of colour (using flowers) and she painted colour.  I'm afraid three of the other artists large saw and thought in muted shades of brown and green - and I simply don't find that very interesting. It's almost as if they can't see colour.

Flower Table: Pots (1927) by Winifred Nicholson

(left) Cyclamen and Primula (1922) and (right) Polyanthus and Cineraria (1921)
by Winifred Nicholson

Brushwork used in Anenomes (1924)
by Winifred Nicholson

In between times she provided an influence for the work of Ben Nicholson and was also influenced by him and gave birth to and raised his three children - until their divorce caused by Nicholson becoming embroiled with Barbara Hepworth who he later married.

Father and son (Ben Nicholson with their first son Jake 1927) by Winifred Nicholson

I can't help feeling she's been an under-rated artist because her subject matter was largely domestic or related to the places where she lived.

Frankly if you're a fan of the later work of Ben Nicholson (Tate) , I'm not sure that the exhibition as a whole is going to be of so much interest unless you like getting to find out about the whole person and the influences on their development.  His paintings between 1920-1931 - the period covered by the show - are quite unlike his later work. In fact I found myself thinking his still life paintings reminded me of a style that looked like "early Mary Fedden" - but without the colour.  In fact "without the colour" would be quite a good way of describing many of Nicholson's paintings in the show. I didn't get any sort of sense that he enjoyed painting them - and I'm afraid I cringed at his repeated paintings of horses. I didn't quite know what to make of his work during this period and I certainly didn't see how the transition  to his later work came about.  Indeed it's knowing about his relationship with Hepworth which makes sense of the developments in his later work.

Three paintings of Northrigg Hill in Cumberland
by Winifred Nicholson, Kit Wood and Ben Nicholson

I'm afraid I didn't come away from the exhibition overly impressed with Kit Wood's painting. Maybe the variation in styles between the paintings was in part responsible for that - he came across to me as somebody who hadn't yet found his way.  Although I understand it's more likely that it's because of his addiction to opium.  It also struck me that he was painting what the others painted - perhaps because he was staying with them at the time - but it seemed to me more than that.

Alfred Wallis's paintings were championed by Ben Nicholson for their simplicity and they are certainly fascinating to look at. I can understand why he valued them however it would be wrong to to describe them as simple.

(left) a painting of the sea by Winifred Nicholson(right) a painting of a schooner with ice bergs by Alfred Wallis - the icebergs alternate with the sails

I guess I came away thinking I'd have rather seen an exhibition devoted to the life and work on Winifred Nicholson in which Ben Nicholson had a walk on part and the other three were nowhere to be seen!

What I did do was buy a very nice publication by Kettles Yard called 'Winifred Nicholson - Music of Colour'.

Exhibition Reviews by:

• The Telegraph - gives it 3 stars and definitely worth a read. He and I saw the exhibition in pretty much the same way.
• The Independent - also champions Wininfred
• Financial Times (of the same exhibition at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge)
• The New York Times (ditto)

BBC - Your Paintings has each of the painters:

• Winifred Nicholson
• Ben Nicholson
• Christopher (Kit) Wood
• Alfred Wallis

Summer Exhibition 2014 at the Royal Academy of Arts

I visited the 246th Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts today. Below you'll find a photoessay about exhibition plus two sections about

• facts about the Summer Exhibition 2014
• changes in the Summer Exhibition

I'll be doing another couple of posts - about artwork I liked and who won the Prizes - with the big one being announced on Saturday night.

I wasn't blown away by any of the rooms or pieces in the show - although there's a lot to like - however I still puzzle as to how or why some pieces get in! Overall it's both well hung and 'hangs together' better than some other shows

Some facts about the 246th Summer Exhibition

Entries and artworks

• 12,000 people entered works for the exhibition via the open entry; 
• 1,262 artworks are listed in the catalogue
• works from this year's selection from the open entry were initially selected from digital images

Summer Exhibition Committee

The Summer Exhibition Committee for 2014 includes the following Royal Academicians: Hughie O’Donoghue (coordinator) - who have the tour this morning. Plus Eileen Cooper, Gus Cummins, Richard MacCormac, John Maine, Chris Orr, Cornelia Parker, Eric Parry and Emma Stibbon.

Summer Exhibition - Venue | Opening dates and times

The Summer Exhibition can be seen in the Main Galleries of the RA's home at Burlington House, in Piccadilly. It opens to the public on Monday 9th June and finishes on 17th August 2014. The exhibition is open

• daily 10am – 6pm daily (last admission 5.30pm) 
• with a late night opening on Fridays until 10pm (last admission 9.30pm)

Tickets are available daily at the RA or by visiting www.royalacademy.org.uk. Admission prices include the List of Works giving details on every exhibit in the show. Adult ticket £13.50 (without Gift Aid donation £12); concessions available; under 12s go free. Friends of the RA go free.
 

Art for sale

• the majority of art is for sale
• the top price I've spotted (to date) is £600,000 for Last Train by new academician Ron Arad RA. (Check out his website - I was left wondering how come it had taken the RA so long to invite him to become a member!)
• the most sales come from the Print Room - very popular with visitors as it offers the opportunity to buy art without a mortgage!

Gallery II - one of the Print Rooms
curated by Chris Orr RA and Emma Stibbon RA

Gallery I - one of the Print Rooms
curated by Chris Orr RA and Emma Stibbon RA

New Academicians

• there are more new Royal Academicians this year than ever before. 
• most of the new RAs have never exhibited at the RA before
• all art submitted by the RA has to be hung - so in effect the look and feel of the exhibition is dictated by the work submitted by the RAs

The Art Everywhere Longlist 2014

You currently have a chance to vote on The Art Everywhere Long List 2014 - on Facebook or via an email listing your favourites to arteverywhere@artfund.org before 21st June.

Art Everywhere returns for 2014 to flood our streets with great artworks for a summer long outdoor show voted for by you. Across the UK, tens of thousands of posters from roadside billboards and underground stations, to bus shelters, motorway services, national rail networks, shopping centres, airports and more will see the nation’s favourite British art for 6 whole weeks.

The campaign to get art on to the streets was very popular last year and I see no reason why it shouldn't have the same impact this year.

What you need to do

• To find out more about the individual artworks you just need to click on them
• To vote you just 'like' the picture on Facebook.

I shall be unashamedly and periodically punting my favourite paintings on my Facebook Fan Page!

Their Facebook Fan Page is https://www.facebook.com/arteverywhereuk

The Art Everywhere project is organised by the people who own the advertising hoardings and they work in co-operation with the Art Fund, Tate, creative agency 101, Posterscope, Vizeum, Easyart and Facebook

(PS I'm currently trying to finish "Who made a mark in May" - but it's competing with work for the book!)

The New English Art Club Future Fund Auction

The New English Art Club is holding a silent auction this week to generate money for its Future Fund.  You can see the artwork included in the auction in the online catalogue which can be downloaded. There's some excellent artwork in the auction - and what's on offer includes a portrait sitting for a drawing by Saied Dai!

Plus there's a live auction on 29th May.

Works in the NEAC Silent Auction

The exhibition and silent auction runs until 31st May in the Threadneedle Space at the Mall Galleries.

Tomorrow there is a live auction in the gallery, conducted by Lord Dalmeny, Chairman Private Clients, Sotheby’s on Thursday 29th May from 6.30.

Works in the Live Auction By Ruth Stage and Ken Howard
- taking place at the Mall Galleries Thursday 29th May from 6.30

You can bid for artworks for sale in the Silent Auction. 

• You need to log a bid in person  may be bid for by logging a bid in person with the desk at the Mall Galleries between Tuesday 27th May and Saturday 31st May during gallery opening hours. 
• If you can't get to the gallery, you can use the Absentee Bid Form on the NEAC website www.neac.co.uk. 
• At midday on 31st May, NEAC will determine who is the highest bidder and that person will be confirmed as the purchaser. 
• You can see current bids in terms of the artwork, the bid received and whether or not the reserve has been reached online

Lots purchased from the Silent Auction may be paid for and removed between 1pm on and 4pm on Saturday 31st May or during the following week from the FBA reception, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5BD during office opening hours, subject to payment being completed. Shipping and delivery costs are not included in the bid.

The New English Art Club is a registered charity no. 295780. The NEAC Auction Terms and conditions are detailed at the end of the catalogue.

Mackintosh Building Fire Fund

Today the Glasgow School of Art has launched the Mackintosh Building Fire Fund.

Glasgow School of Art

Help with the restoration of the Macintosh Building

Plans are in hand to raise the funds to get the building which suffered terrible destruction in the recent fire.

The very severe damage to the building’s iconic library, in particular, is a cultural loss of significant magnitude.

The Scottish Government have pledged to match up to £5m raised by the Glasgow School of Art for the restoration of the building. This funding will be in addition to any longer-term funding requirements for building recovery and restoration, and which will be supported by the Scottish Government and its agencies following full evaluation of insurance liability.

The Macintosh Library before the fire

You can find the place to give what you can on Mackintosh Building Fire Fund on The Big Give

• it aims to raise funds through donations to respond to the fire at Glasgow Art School which destroyed the Macintosh Library and created significant damage to the building.
• the intention is to promote the appeal through international networks, encouraging lovers of the ‘Mack’, at home and abroad, to fund-raise to help restore this wonderful building to its former glory.
• you can donate online - which means people living around the world who love Macintosh and appreciate the significance of this building can help to restore it

The Glasgow School of Art are the custodians of this magnificent building and it exists to serve the students of the School. The GSA takes seriously its responsibility to preserve this internationally iconic building and to ensure that it continues to be at the heart of our campus and creative community.
Read more about the Charity running this project.

and the First Minister for Scotland also commented

“The ‘Mack’ is an extraordinary building. It is an architectural gem and the artistic heart of Glasgow. It can and will be restored, and everything which can be done must be done to deliver this.

Phoenix Bursaries for students

Those students who were most seriously affected by the fire in the Macintosh Building and lost their final year artwork are to receive special funds called Phoenix Bursaries.

Up to a hundred fine art students who lost work in Friday's blaze will receive the Phoenix bursaries, providing studio space for up to six months and a living allowance while they rebuild their portfolios.

This is what  Professor Tom Inns, Director of The Glasgow School of Art, had to say

“In the aftermath of Friday’s fire the GSA was overwhelmed with offers of support including offers of studio space from the Scottish art schools and from a broad portfolio of other art colleges in the UK, Europe and USA. The beating heart of the GSA is its students and our priority is to ensure that all those most seriously affected by the fire are given the opportunity to rebuild their practice. The GSA will therefore create special bursaries which will enable the students have sufficient studio time to develop their practice and make new work.”

GSA are also asking people wanting to offer practical assistance, to e-mail in the first instance to Alan Horn, Director of Development at a.horn@gsa.ac.uk