British Art Groups 1830s-1930s
Early 20th century Art & Visual Culture: London, Paris, Moscow & beyond.
“Nancy Cunard – An Uncommon Viewer”
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My word, what a pleasure to attend The King’s Gallery last week to view the new Royal Collection Trust exhibition “The Edwardians: Age of Elegance” – it really is absolutely stunning. In the Press Release, the exhibition curator Kathryn Jones notes: “The Edwardian era is seen as a golden age of style and glamour, which indeed it was, but there is so much more to discover beneath the surface. This was a period of transition, with Britain poised on the brink of the modern age and Europe edging towards war” – and certainly the viewer marks a full sense of royal glamour whilst, intertwined, noting accents of cultural change and, interestingly, individual & personal perspectives.
The RCT website has a lot of fascinating information: https://www.rct.uk/collection/exhibitions/the-edwardians-age-of-elegance/the-kings-gallery-buckingham-palace but here are a few of my own little snapshots:
So, yes, plenty of gorgeous glamour – indeed gorgeous painting: the colours & textures, shimmer & sheen are divine, and I couldn’t stop looking at “The Chinese Chippendale Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace” (designed in 1911 for Queen Mary’s collection, see here for complete details) painted by Richard Jack in 1926:
Couldn’t you just walk in there and sit down in that armchair!
It certainly shows – as curator Kathryn Jones pointed out – this was an age of collecting. Edward and Alexandra’s travel “scrapbooks” are fascinating, for example, as they bring together closely annotated pages of photographs as well as Alexandra’s own sketches (difficult to photograph I’m afraid) but definitely suggesting her own individually keen visual eye. Then intriguingly, the show also includes a watercolour of James Guthrie’s “In The Orchard” – presented to Edward at The Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry held in Glasgow 1888. It’s radical simplicity is far away from the glamour of the other pictures on display; the bold colour and loose brushstrokes signifying, rather, the radical avant-garde art of The Glasgow Boys that was then developing from their interactions with French artists.
All in all, there are so many treats to be found in The Edwardians that one feels oneself swept away – even a little glamorous…
With many thanks to the Royal Collection Trust.
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thecommonviewer 