Why was Pablo Picasso so popular with British collectors? How did modern British artists respond to Picasso's work? Why was this artist so controversial? What were his connections with Britain? How was his work shown during his lifetime? Picasso and Modern British Art at Tate Britain answers these questions through works by Picasso and the artists who admired him.
The installation features more than sixty paintings by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) together with almost one hundred items by seven specific artists who greatly admired him and were directly influenced by him. Those seven artists are Francis Bacon, Duncan Grant, David Hockney, Wyndham Lewis, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson and Graham Sutherland. The display includes several works by Hockney, whose life-time fascination with Picasso took him to the 1960 Tate display of Picasso's work no less than eight times.
The exhibition looks at the development of Picasso's artistic career and how British modernists responded to his work. Picasso enjoyed notoriety and celebrity status and his works were highly sought after by many important British collectors such as art historian Douglas Cooper and painter/poet Roland Penrose, both of whom were good friends with the artist.
The installation also explores Picasso's visit to London in 1919 and the work he carried out on the scenery and costumes for Serge Diaghilev's production of The Three-Cornered Hat. The exhibition examines Picasso's political role in Britain, including his tour of Guernica in 1938-9 and his appearance at the Peace Congress in Sheffield in 1950.
The display has been conceived by James Beechey with further contributions from Professor Christopher Green of the Courtauld and Richard Humphreys, Curator, Programme Research at Tate.
The venture is curated by by Chris Stephens, Curator (Modern British Art) & Head of Displays, Tate Britain, assisted by Helen Little, Assistant Curator, Tate Britain. Tate is especially grateful to Fundacion Almine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso and the numerous public and private collections who have loaned materials to help make this exhibition possible.
Picasso and Modern British Art – Highlights of the Exhibition
The display is set out chronologically with galleries exploring how Picasso's work was exhibited and collected during his lifetime alternating with rooms showing responses to his works by British artists.
Picasso was a pivotal figure in some of the most important phases of 20th century art. The exhibition showcases some of his most important works including Still Life with Mandolin, 1924, loaned by Collection Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and The Three Dancers, 1925, from Tate's own collection. The painting portrays the disjointed forms of three dancers giving a frenzied performance. The work recalls the artist's unfortunate experience of a ménage à trois which ended with the suicide of his close friend Carlos Casagemas. Other well-known works include Head of a Man, 1912 (Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris), Man with a Clarinet, 1911-12 (Museo Thyssen Bornemisza, Madrid) and many more.
Exhibition Catalogue
The show is accompanied by a fully-illustrated 240-page catalogue edited by James Beechey and Chris Stephens. The publication features over 160 colour illustrations accompanied by contributions from leading art historians.
Picasso and Modern British Art will be on view at Tate Britain until 15th July 2012. The exhibition can be seen at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh from 4th August to 4th November 2012. Further information is available from Tate Britain.
Source:
- Tate Britain
Frances Spiegel - Frances Spiegel, B.A. Hons. (Open)., Dip.Eur.Hum., read Art History/European Modern History at the Open University.
