The Sutherland bequest: Alexander Adams pursues his original inquiry into the future home of an important gift to the nation

An article about Graham Sutherland’s bequest of art to Wales (The Jackdaw, no. 90) raised a number of points which further research has – partially – answered. To recap: Sutherland donated work to a purpose-formed Graham Sutherland Trust (the “Trust”) in 1976, which displayed the art in a gallery housed in Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire. When… Continue reading The Sutherland bequest: Alexander Adams pursues his original inquiry into the future home of an important gift to the nation

Jenny saville and the theatre of self-importance: Alexander Adams examines the reputation of one of the original young British artists

Most YBAs achieved prominence by recasting genuine avant-garde art in a palatable commercial form, influenced by advertising and pop culture, and served up to a credulous public largely ignorant of the original sources of the art. (Something Julian Stallabrass discusses in his book High Art Lite.) Jenny Saville was seen as one exception by virtue… Continue reading Jenny saville and the theatre of self-importance: Alexander Adams examines the reputation of one of the original young British artists

Radical Classicist: Alexander Adams visits the museum dedicated to Surrealist painter Paul Delvaux (1887-1994)

Delvaux: Acropolis, 1966

If you have heard of Belgian painter Paul Delvaux (1897-1994) then it is likely to have been in connection with Surrealism. He gets a couple of illustrations in thematic surveys of Surrealism, rarely more. Unless you locate a specialist publication on the artist, it is hard to get an overview of his development. Delvaux is… Continue reading Radical Classicist: Alexander Adams visits the museum dedicated to Surrealist painter Paul Delvaux (1887-1994)

The Belgian Blake: Alexander Adams visits two little-known artist-museums in Brussels, the Musées Wiertz and Meunier

Meunier Reaccessioned. A statue formerly in the collection of the Berlin Museums has been reacquired. The Sower (1896), (above) by Constantin Meunier was appropriated from a private collection by the GDR. The work, one among a number of bronzes by Rodin, Degas and Maillol, was returned to the ownership of the family of the original owner. At an auction of the works this year The Sower was purchased on behalf of the Alte Nationalgalerie. It is now sited in the colonnaded courtyard between the Alte Nationalgalerie and the newly opened Neues Museum

The house-museums of two Belgian masters of the 19th Century shed light on artistic and social concerns of the era. As case studies they exemplify dominant thematic trends in both halves of that century – Romanticism in the first half and Realism in the second. Antoine Wiertz (1806-1865) was born to an impoverished family in… Continue reading The Belgian Blake: Alexander Adams visits two little-known artist-museums in Brussels, the Musées Wiertz and Meunier