British Art Archives – Daily Art Fixx

Lucian Freud: 1922 – 2011

December 8, 2017 By Wendy Campbell

Lucien Freud – photo by Jane Brown

Born on December 8, 1922, in Berlin, Germany, Lucian Michael Freud was a British painter and draughtsman and considered to be the leading figurative painter of his time. Freud was the son of the architect Ernst Freud and the grandson of renowned neurologist and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. His family fled from Nazi Germany to England in 1932, and Freud became a British citizen in 1939. He studied briefly at the Central School of Art in London and then at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, Dedham, under the painter Cedric Morris. Apart from spending a year in Paris and Greece, Freud lived and worked in the inner-city area of Paddington, London.

Freud’s early works were created with thin layers of paint depicting people, plants and animals in odd juxtapositions. He was also loosely associated with Neo-Romanticism as evidenced by the intense, bulbous eyes that are characterized in his early portraits.

In 1948, Freud married Kitty Garman, daughter of sculptor Jacob Epstein, with whom he had two daughters. The marriage ended in 1952 and in 1953, he married Caroline Blackwood, whom he divorced in 1959.

From the 1950s, Freud began to work in portraiture, often nudes, using an impasto technique. He began to pull away from Neo-Romanticism and developed his own style with portraits that were “more tactile, demonstrating an almost sculptural fascination with flesh and its contours. Freud abandoned the fine lines of his early work for broader strokes – swapping sable brushes for hogshair – and began to work with a more limited palette in which greasy whites and meaty reds predominated. His subjects were also often foreshortened or seen from a peculiar angle, a change in technique brought on by Freud’s beginning to paint while standing up rather than sitting.” Freud’s paintings are decidedly moody, depicting a “physical ugliness” and a sense of alienation.

Although working mostly with the human form, Freud also painted cityscapes seen from his studio window, as well as highly detailed nature studies.

On the personal side, Freud was known for having bitter feuds, most notably with his close friend Francis Bacon, his patron Lord Glenconner, and his dealer, James Kirkman. He is known to have had at least 13 children and rumoured to have many more. He was an eccentric and refused to have a telephone in his studio, and until the late 1980s he could only be contacted by telegram.

Freud exhibited regularly and had several retrospective exhibitions including at the Hayward Gallery, London, in 1998 and at Tate Britain in 2002, as well as solo exhibitions in New York, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, Venice, Dublin, The Hague and Paris. He was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1983, and a member of the Order of Merit in 1993.

Freud painted into his old age and vowed never to give up working, stating that he intended to “paint himself to death”. He died at his home on July 20, 2011 after a brief illness.

For full biographical information, visit the source links below.

Sources: MoMA, Telegraph.co.uk, Wikipedia, BBC

Henry Moore: 1898 – 1986

July 30, 2016 By Wendy Campbell

Widely recognized as one of the most important British sculptors of the 20th century, Henry Spencer Moore was born on July 30, 1898, in Castleford, Yorkshire. Moore had an early interest in sculpting, however he began his career as a teacher in Castleford. After serving in the military during World War I, Moore studied at Leeds School of Art on an ex-serviceman’s grant. In 1921, he won a Royal Exhibition Scholarship to study sculpture at the Royal Academy of Art in London. Between 1924 and 1931, Moore was an Instructor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy. His first solo exhibition was held at the Warren Gallery, London, in 1928.

“Throughout his life Moore’s appetite for the history of world sculpture was insatiable. Drawings of sculptures in his early sketchbooks indicate that Palaeolithic fertility goddesses, Cycladic and early Greek art, Sumerian, Egyptian and Etruscan sculpture, African, Oceanic, Peruvian and Pre-Columbian sculpture particularly interested him. Moore believed passionately in direct carving and in ‘truth to materials’, respecting the inherent character of stone or wood. Almost all of his works from the 1920s and 1930s were carved sculptures, initially inspired by Pre-Columbian stone carving.” (MoMa)

Moore married Irina Radetsky in 1929. A student of painting at the Royal College, she would be Moore’s model for a series of life drawings over a six year period.

Moore’s sculpture of the 1930s was influenced by the work of Picasso, Hans Arp and Alberto Giacometti. “The subject-matter of Moore’s work of 1932 to 1936 is, in some cases, no longer readily identifiable, although the human, psychological element informs even the seemingly abstract work of the 1930s.”

In the 1930s Moore was a member of Unit One, a group of artists lead by English landscape painter Paul Nash. From 1932 to 1939, he taught at the Chelsea School of Art. Moore was “an important force in the English Surrealist movement, although he was not entirely committed to its doctrines; Moore participated in the International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries, London, in 1936.”

In 1940, Moore was appointed an official war artist and was commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee to execute drawings of life in underground bomb shelters. From 1940 to 1943, he focused almost entirely on drawing. His first retrospective took place at Temple Newsam, Leeds, in 1941 and he was given his first major retrospective in the United States by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1946. Moore won the International Prize for Sculpture at the Venice Biennale of 1948.

Moore’s bronze Reclining Figure commissioned by the Arts Council for the Festival of Britain in 1951 was key in Moore’s development. “Previously the holes in his sculptures were dominated by the solid forms surrounding them but here ‘the space and the form are completely dependent on and inseparable from each other’ His work became less frontal and more completely three-dimensional. The reclining figure and the mother and child remained the dominant subjects of his sculpture.”

After the mid-1950s, many of Moore’s sculptures were made from natural objects including bones, shells, pebbles and flint stones.

Until the mid-1950s, Moore made numerous preparatory drawings for his sculptures as well as pictorial studies of interiors and sculptures in landscape settings. He drew little between 1955 and 1970, but during the last 15 years of his life he devoted more of his time to drawing for pleasure, independent of his sculpture. He first made prints in 1931, and he experimented with a process he called collograph. By the end of his life Moore had produced 719 prints.

“Moore executed several important public commissions in the 1950s, among them Reclining Figure, 1956–58, for the UNESCO Building in Paris. In 1963, the artist was awarded the British Order of Merit. In the 1970s, there were many major exhibitions of Moore’s work, the finest being at Forte di Belvedere, overlooking Florence (1972). The Henry Moore Sculpture Centre in the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, opened in 1974. It comprises the world’s largest public collection of Moore’s work, most of it donated by the artist himself between 1971 and 1974. In 1977, the Henry Moore Foundation was established at Much Hadham, and Moore presented 36 sculptures to the Tate Gallery in 1978.”

Henry Moore died in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, on August 31, 1986.

Sources: Guggenheim, MoMA, Wikimedia Commons (images), Tate, Oval With Points Photo by Maia C

David Hockney: Painting/Photo Collage

July 9, 2016 By Wendy Campbell

Born on July 9, 1937 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, David Hockney is a painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer. He is considered by many to be one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century.

From 1953-57, Hockney studied at the Bradford School of Art and then at the Royal Collage of Art from 1959-62. He received the Royal College of Art gold medal in 1962 for his paintings and draughtsmanship.

Hockney’s early work was diverse. He became associated with the British Pop Art movement (though he rejected this label), but his work also displayed expressionist elements. In the late 1960’s his work was “weightier” with a more “traditionally representational manner”. He spent much of his time in the United States, and California swimming pools and homoerotic scenes became well-known themes in his work.

In the 1970’s Hockney worked as a stage designer creating set and costume designs for productions including Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and Mozart’s The Magic Flute which were produced at Glyndebourne Opera House. Hockney was the subject of the 1974 Jack Hazan’s film called “A Bigger Splash” (named after one of Hockney’s swimming pool paintings from 1967).

In the early 1980’s Hockney produced photo collages which he called “joiners” with subject matter from portraits to still life, and from representational to abstract styles. “Using varying numbers of small Polaroid snaps or photolab-prints of a single subject, Hockney arranged a patchwork to make a composite image. Because these photographs are taken from different perspectives and at slightly different times, the result is work that has an affinity with Cubism, which was one of Hockney’s major aims—discussing the way human vision works.”

In the mid to late 80’s, Hockney made use of computers, colour photocopiers and fax machines to create artwork. In 1985, he was commissioned to draw with the Quantel Paintbox, a computer program that allowed the artist to sketch directly onto the monitor. In 1989, he sent work for the Sao Paulo Biennale to Brazil via fax. Hockney experimented with computers, composing images and colours on the monitor and printing them directly from the computer without proofing.

From the 1990’s onward, Hockney has continued to work on a variety of paintings, photographic and digital work, as well as opera productions. His works have been exhibited across the globe and are in the collections of most major museums. As well, many of his works are now located in a converted industrial building called Salts Mill, in Saltaire, near his home town of Bradford.

Hockney currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California and London, England. “Since 2009, Hockney has painted hundreds of portraits, still lifes, and landscapes using the Brushes iPhone and iPad application, sending them to his friends.”

In 2012, Hockney transferred paintings valued at $124.2 million to the David Hockney Foundation, and gave an additional $1.2 million in cash to help fund the foundation’s operations. The artist plans to give away the paintings, through the foundation, to galleries including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Tate in London.

For more information about David Hockney, visit DavidHockneyPictures.com.

Sandra Dieckmann: Illustration

March 10, 2013 By Wendy Campbell

Born in Oldenburg , Germany in 1983, Sandra Dieckmann urrently lives and works as a Freelance illustrator and Manager for the RSPCA in East London. Dieckmann studied fashion design in 2006 and eventually earned a degree in Graphic Information Design from the University of Westminster in London.

“My work eternally explores and expresses my personal love for drawing and observing animals and the planet we live on … bathed in all the shades of human emotion.”

To see more, visit SandraDieckmann.com.

Sources: Creative Boom

Bobbie Russon: Painting

July 20, 2012 By Wendy Campbell

Born in 1966, London, UK based artist paints the transition from childhood to adulthood, mapping a path of loss, awkward self-awareness and developing sexuality.

“When I work it starts almost like a form of meditation, drawing is a way to work directly from the subconscious onto paper, paintings then follow. There are recurring elements in my work, most notably the loss of innocence and awkward self awareness of a child becoming an adult. There is a loneliness to my paintings, something I felt very acutely growing up as an only child and seem unable to shake. dolls or animals rather than other humans feature as companions with their almost human-like but dumb, false understanding. If I can evoke a memory or emotion in a stranger by my own personal interpretation of a shared but private experience without having to use words then I feel I am succeeding.”

Russon’s solo exhibition “Tea and Camphor” runs through October 2011 at bo-lee Gallery in Bath, UK.

See more of Russon’s work on Facebook.

Nom Kinnear-King: Painting 2011

October 18, 2011 By Wendy Campbell

The latest work from UK artist Nom Kinnear-King. “From her shed in the Norfolk countryside Kinnear-King creates in oils and pencil. Portraits of girls roam from town to town in a patchwork old fashioned never world, where accordions and clarinets trail their steps, their joyful and curious behaviour shadowed by sweet melancholy. Nom is represented by London Miles, Fine Grime and Just Another Agency.”

To see more, visit NomKinnearKing.com.

Si Scott: Drawing/Illustration

October 11, 2011 By Wendy Campbell

Si Scott is a full time artist and designer based in the UK. A unique style that is a blend of hand crafted and hand drawn artwork that has an almost obsessive attention to detail. Si exhibits regularly and lectures around the world including Tokyo, Sydney, Toronto, Norway, and New York. He is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Huddersfield Graphic Design & Illustration program.

To see more, visit SiScottStudio.com.

Alexander Korzer-Robinson: Altered Books

May 29, 2011 By Wendy Campbell

New work from Bristol, UK cut book artist Alexander Korzer-Robinson. With a background in psychology, Korzer-Robinson focuses on the notion of the “inner landscape”. Using discarded materials, his objects are “an invitation to the viewer to engage her/his own inner life in order to assign meaning to the artwork.”

Korzer-Robinson’s process involves working through each book, page by page, cutting around some of the illustrations while removing others. The images seen in the finished work, are left standing in the place where they would appear in the complete book. As a final step the book is sealed around the cut, and can no longer be opened.

To see more, and for exhibition information visit AlexanderKorzerRobinson.co.uk.

Adam Neate: Urban Art

March 22, 2011 By Wendy Campbell

Adam Neate is a British painter and one of the best known urban artists in the world. Neate was born in Ipswich, Suffolk in 1977 and studied Design at Suffolk College. After graduating, he moved to London and worked as a graphic designer in an advertising agency. He began painting on cardboard boxes using aerosols and found objects. Neate’s figurative images often become three dimensional as he tears his materials, builds them in layers and staples the pieces together.

Neate first came to the public’s attention by leaving thousands of his paintings on the street of London, for people to take, or leave. In August 2007, his first solo exhibition called Paintings Pots and Prints at Elms Lesters was a sell out. In May 2008 he joined with pop surrealist Ron English in the two man show The Adam and Ron Show.

Neate’s influences include his wife, Waleska, New York graffiti artist, Daze, and Picasso. He is a pioneer of a radical new movement, which shows street art in conventional art galleries. His work has gained recognition from the National Gallery, the Tate, and the National Portrait Gallery.

Neate’s latest solo exhibition, A New Understanding, in October/ November 2009 became one of the most talked about exhibitions of the year with record numbers of visitors, including important collectors and representatives from major international institutions.

On November 14th 2009, Neate staged a public participation event The London Show where he and teams of distributors, left 1000 works over all 33 London boroughs. An estimated 50,000 people were out that night looking for them.

Of his work Neate says, “ I wanted to drag what is perceived as painting forward to compete with the modern day barrage of visual media. We as a society are exposed to more and more visual imagery. In ten minutes on the internet a person can browse an entire world of images and instantly disregard images that hold no interest to them by the click of a button. During the past year I have taken my son to the cinema six times, to see six 3D films. His generation will grow up with an extra dimension in visual media – this language will be seen as the norm. I asked myself how can painting compete with this? With the ‘new’ painting, the viewer will be able to walk around it; light, time and space will affect / react with it.The new painting will exist! more than just depict ”

To see more of Neate’s work, visit Elms Lesters Painting Rooms.

Sources: Artificial Gallery, Elms Lesters

George Underwood: Painting

July 10, 2010 By Wendy Campbell

Born in 1947, George Underwood studied at Beckenham Art School in 1963. During his studies, Underwood became more and more interested in music and pursued a career in that field. Along with life long friend David Bowie he made one record (The King Bees ) and also a solo record under the name Calvin James.

George returned to art studies and then worked in design studios as an illustrator. Initially he specialised in fantasy, horror and science fiction book covers.

Underwood’s colleagues in the music business asked him to do paintings for them which led him to become a freelance artist. Art work for the first T Rex album and later David Bowie’s Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust album covers established him as a leading and creative art illustrator. Over this period Underwood produced thousands of book covers, LP and CD covers, advertisements, portraits and drawings.

In the 1970’s Underwood started painting in oils. His paintings were influenced by the Viennese School of Fantastic Realism – Ernst Fuchs, Rudolph Hausner and Eric Brauer who were contemporary visionaries like Breughel and Bosh. He was fascinated by their mix of fantasy and realism.

Underwood’s paintings are held in many private art collections including David Bowie, who says: “There’s a sublime isolation surrounding his subjects that really touches the viewer, the figures being both heroic and vulnerable simultaneously.” (bio from artist website)

To see more of George Underwood’s work, visit GeorgeUnderwood.com.