on Friday 12th December, 11.30am (for about an hour)
at The Beaumont, Barchester Care, 15 Cannon Hill, Old Southgate, N14 7DJ
to explore the art of legendary Ukrainian artist Maria Prymchachenko.
Ukrainian Milkmaids Work Hard Like Miners [1970; c/o WikiArt]
There’ll be lots to look at and discuss – I hope you’ll be able to come along!
*
The discussions are for everyone, whether residents or local community. Please note a £3 on-the-door request to cover the cost of coffee and biscuits. With all thanks to Barchester Health Care.
Saturday 13th December, 11.15am (for about an hour & a half)
at The Beecroft Art Gallery, Southend-on-Sea
to explore The Art & Artists of Ukraine.
With a focus on the life and times of Ukraine’s legendary artist Maria Prymchenko, we will explore a century of Art & Artists in Ukraine – and resources to find out more. Lots to see & discuss as always!
Ukrainian Milkmaids Work Hard Like Miners by Maria Primachenko [1970; c/o WikiArt]
Tickets are £10 (cash) on the door and include coffee & a biscuit at The Jazz Centre afterwards.
Saturday 29th November, 11.15am (for about an hour & a half)
at The Beecroft Art Gallery, Southend-on-Sea
to discuss The Art of Ilya Repin (1844-1930).
Born in Ukraine, Ilya Repin was one of the most famous artists of the late 19th-century Russian Empire, especially due to his depictions of everyday life. He travelled to Paris to study in the early 1870s, crossing over with the early Impressionists and, towards the end of his life, moved to Finland. It is these travels and cross-cultural influences that will be our focus today as we explore Repin’s often monumental paintings in the context of their time and as they have variously been seen since (Stalin viewed Repin’s work as a precursor of and influence on Socialist Realism; and there is a vast exhibition of Repin “as a Russian artist” currently on show in Beijing). Lots to see & discuss as always!
Greetings! What a fabulous meeting yesterday at The Beecroft about The Skagen Painters, artists who are barely known in this country yet renowned in Denmark. As promised, I’ve put together a few resources for further independent research…
One of the best books I’ve found, that offers a broad history of 19th-century Danish Art, is “In Another Light” by Patricia Berman (published by Thames & Hudson, 2013).
Thames & Hudson have also just published (October 20205): “Art of the Nordic Nations: Art of the Nordic Nations: Modernism, Freedom and Identity, 1870–1950” by Serge Fauchereau. I’ve not seen it yet, but the copy for it says that it covers Modern art from the Nordic countries – Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, offering a new history of Nordic art, from the emergence of Impressionism in the 1870s, through the avant-garde experiments of the early decades of the 20th century and onward to the Second World War and beyond so it should be very interesting.
Ancher was an influential figure of the Scandinavian ‘Modern Breakthrough’ movement that sought to capture real life, demonstrated in her intimate, observational works, which documented everyday experiences in the fishing town of Skagen. Influenced by her travels to Paris, as well as French Impressionism, the artist produced vivid interiors and evocative landscape scenes in which light becomes the central figure. The [catalogue] will demonstrate Ancher’s bold approach to colour and radical interpretation of everyday scenes as a truly pioneering modern painter.
There’s also a review / article in The Times by Chloë Ashby, click here.
We definitely need to organise a coach trip to the exhibition!!!
There is also a film based on the Skagen artists, “Hip Hip Hurra” by Kjell Grede (1987). I haven’t yet found a copy, but there’s a trailer on YouTube here (atmospheric even without understanding the dialogue!)
So let’s raise a glass and look forward to exploring The Art, Life & Times of Ilya Repin at our next Art, Books & Culture Research Group meeting at The Beecroft on Saturday 29th November, 11.15am.
on Friday 21st November, 11.30am (for about an hour)
at The Beaumont, Barchester Care, 15 Cannon Hill, Old Southgate, N14 7DJ
to explore The Art of Prunella Clough.
Renowned for her post-war paintings of industrial life, from fishermen to factories workers, Prunella Clough (1919-1999) turned her fascination with colour and pattern, shape and texture into increasingly abstract works, as we shall see today.
There’ll be lots to look at and discuss – I hope you’ll be able to come along!
*
The discussions are for everyone, whether residents or local community. Please note a £3 on-the-door request to cover the cost of coffee and biscuits. With all thanks to Barchester Health Care.
on Friday 17th October, 11.30am (for about an hour)
at The Beaumont, Barchester Care, 15 Cannon Hill, Old Southgate, N14 7DJ
to explore The Art of Doris and Anna Zinkeisen.
Renowned for their glamorous portraits of the 1930s as well as their war paintings, the Zinkeisen sisters reflect quite a picture of mid-20th-century Britain.
Doris Clare Zinkeisen (1898–1991): Self-Portrait [1919; National Portrait Gallery; c/o artuk.org]; Anna Katrina Zinkeisen (1901–1976): Self-Portrait [1944; National Portrait Gallery; c/o artuk.org]
There’ll be lots to look at and discuss – I hope you’ll be able to come along!
And if you’re unable to make it, there’s a great essay by Alicia Foster on Art UK, just click here.
*
The discussions are for everyone, whether residents or local community. Please note a £3 on-the-door request to cover the cost of coffee and biscuits. With all thanks to Barchester Health Care.
on Friday 19th September, 11.30am (for about an hour)
at The Beaumont, Barchester Care, 15 Cannon Hill, Old Southgate, N14 7DJ
to explore the art of Tamara de Lempicka (1894-1980).
Renowned for her glamorous images of women in the 1920s and 30 especially, we’ll explore the Jazz, Art Deco and the inspirations of artist Tamara de Lempicka.
Self-Portrait (Tamara in the Green Bugatti) [1928 c/o Sotheby’s]
There’ll be lots to look at and discuss – I hope you’ll be able to come along!
And if you are unable to make is there are a couple of very interesting essays c/o Christies [here] and Sothebys [here] – enjoy!
*
The discussions are for everyone, whether residents or local community. Please note a £3 on-the-door request to cover the cost of coffee and biscuits. With all thanks to Barchester Health Care.
Jacques Emile Blanche (French, 1861-1942) Nijinksy in Les Orientales [1912; c/o Christies]
Greetings! I’ve gathered together a few resources & references (books & online links) that might hopefully be useful for further research into our Summer theme of “Art, Artists & the Ballets Russes”…
The film footage of Anna Pavlova dancing The Dying Swan is on YouTube [here]
Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans
a fascinating history of classical ballet which takes us from its origins in 18th century France through the Italian influence in the 19th century, the dominance of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th century, up to the present and ballet’s uncertain future [Granta Books]
Melville’s major biography of the Russian impresario brings to life an age of daring sophistication and hedonistic pleasure set against the backdrop of a swiftly changing world [Haus Publishing]
Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes: 1909-1929 by Jane Pritchard & Geoffrey Marsh (Eds.)
[Drawing] on little-seen collections at the V&A [this exhibition catalogue looks at Diaghilev’s] life, his work, his cultural milieu and, most importantly, the actual processes of creating a ballet while working with some of the foremost creative thinkers of the period [V&A publishing]
On 29 May 1913, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, a new ballet by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, received its premiere. Many of the cultural big names of Paris were there, or were rumoured to have been there: Debussy, Ravel, Proust, Gertrude Stein, Picasso. When the curtain rose on a cast of frenziedly stamping dancers, a near-riot ensued, ensuring the evening would enter the folklore of modernism [Bloomsbury Publishing]
Bloomsbury Ballerina: Lydia Lopokova, Imperial Dancer and Mrs John Maynard Keynes
by Judith Mackrell
Born in 1891 in St Petersburg, Lydia Lopokova lived a long and remarkable life. Her vivacious personality and the sheer force of her charm propelled her to the top of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. Through a combination of luck, determination and talent, Lydia became a star in Paris, a vaudeville favourite in America, the toast of Britain and then married the world-renowned economist, and formerly homosexual, John Maynard Keynes [Orion Publishing]
Goncharova: the Art and Design of Natalia Goncharova by Anthony Parton
In 1914 Diaghilev, the director of the famous ‘Ballets Russes’ invited Goncharova to make designs for “The Golden Cockerel” which was staged at the Paris Opera. The staggering success of this production opened up new creative horizons for her and she remained in Paris to become one of Diaghilev’s ‘resident’ designers [ACC Art Books].
Laura Knight at the Theatre: Paintings and Drawings of the Ballet and the Stage by Timothy Wilcox
[Laura Knight’s] skill in capturing movement, form and colour excels in her drawings and paintings of such legendary dancers as Karsavina in ‘Firebird’ and ‘The Three-cornered Hat’ inspired by the appearances of Diaghliev’s Ballets Russes in London from 1919 to 1929 when she also painted and drew Pavlova and Nemikov, Lopokhova, Spessiva and Tchenicheva… [as well as the] rehearsal studios, dressing rooms, the wings of the stage and curtain calls… [Unicorn Publishing]
As ever, it is also worth exploring Christies; Sothebys; and Bonhams to find art, photographs and even sculpture associated with the Ballets Russes, and there are often very interesting Lot / Catalogue essays.
Enjoy! And do please let me know what else you find!
Ooh, look at this: a 30 seconds-long archive film of the Ballets Russes rehearsing in 1928 c/o BBC here.
Laura Knight: Waiting in the Wings [no date; Bonhams]
Greetings! I’ve been looking ahead a little, and there are some fabulous books coming up that might be of interest to our (as I like to think of it) Art, Books & Culture Research Group (!):
This is actually just out: Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The lives and loves of Gwen and Augustus John by Judith Mackrell – a great dual biography moving between early 20th-century London and Paris to document Augustus and Gwen’s very different searches for personal and artistic freedom: a powerful portrait of two prodigiously talented artists and visionaries, whose experiments with form and colour created some of the most memorable work of the early twentieth century (Pan Macmillan; June 2025).
Another dual biography coming soon (September) takes us back to the 18th-century: Mrs Kauffman and Madame Le Brun – The Extraordinary Entwined Lives of Two Eighteenth-Century Painters by Franny Moyle: With vivid storytelling… [Moyle] examines how each artist navigated fame, scandal and exile; explores the relationships between them and their peers; and considers how they were caught up in the huge cultural cross-currents that were reshaping Europe (Bloomsbury).
In September too, novelist Damian Barr‘s new book The Two Roberts is a fictional re-telling of the lives of another two artists, Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun: a profoundly moving story of devotion and obsession, art and class. It is a love letter to MacBryde and Colquhoun, the almost-forgotten artists who tried to change the way the world sees – and paid a devastating price [Canongate]. There’s an interview with the author c/o The Fleming Collection, here: https://www.flemingcollection.com/scottish_art_news/news-press/the-two-roberts-artists-lovers-outsiders.
Trying to change the world was also the spur for the Artists International Association, a rarely recognised network of British artists, and so important, especially in the 1930s. With a foreword by the always-fabulous Frances Spalding, Comrades in Art: Artists Against Fascism 1933-1943 by Andy Friend arrives in September and promises to be an exceptional survey [bringing] to life the captivating drama of the organisation as it rapidly grew to command the allegiance of a majority of Britain’s aspiring and established artists, offering new insights into art and culture during this decade of political extremes [Thames & Hudson]. Having been lucky enough to see a copy already, I noted how gloriously illustrated it is, which is very exciting indeed!
A Lady Reading by Gwen John [c.1909; Tate; c/o artuk.org]
thecommonviewer 