National Gallery of Victoria presents 'Modern Britain 1900 -1960'

Written by Dennis Overbye, NY Times Thursday, 27 May 2010 23:53

Melbourne, Australia - Over 250 master works by 93 artists will be united when the extraordinary exhibition Modern Britain 1900- 1960 opens at the National Gallery of Victoria on 15 November 2007. Drawing together diverse works from the holdings of major public collections across Australia and New Zealand this kaleidoscopic exhibition traces the development of British art and society across six decades of tremendous innovation and change.

Modern Britain will be the first exhibition to assemble and unite in one venue the finest core holdings of British art from so many Australasian galleries.

Ted Gott, Senior Curator, International Art at the National Gallery of Victoria, notes that paintings, sculptures, watercolours, graphic art and works of decorative art will trace a remarkable series of cultural stories and visual developments.

"Modern Britain explores the grace and elegance of the Edwardian era; the shock of the First World War; the brash and heady courage of the 1920s; the age of jazz and speed; the sleek and streamlined marriage of art and design from the 1930s; the dark years of the Second World War; postwar adoration for the beauty of Britain saved from destruction and an awareness of the new social realities informing a country facing huge economic change," Dr Gott said.

Including the most famous names in 2oth century British art such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Henry Moore and Paul Nash, new light will also be shed on many artists who are less well known, but whose work will be sure to both surprise and delight visitors.

Artists represented in the exhibition also include Barbara Hepworth, Augustus John, Gwen John, William Nicholson, William Orpen, Walter Sickert, Graham Sutherland, Edward Burra, Glyn Philpot, Jacob Epstein, Mark Gertler, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Claude Flight, Edward Burra, Dod Procter, Wyndham Lewis, John Bratby and Laura Knight.

Gerard Vaughan, Director, NGV said public galleries throughout Australasia had been extraordinarily generous in contributing key works to such an ambitious project.

"It is due to the generosity and support of almost every state gallery in Australia, along with public galleries in New Zealand, that we are able to present such a huge number of important works to the public under the one roof for the first time," Dr Vaughan said.

The narrative of Modern Britain unfolds chronologically examining trends in British art as well as focusing attention on individual artists such as Tristram Hillier, Ivon Hitchens, John Tunnard and Stanley Spencer. There are also sections devoted to exploring the changing approaches to the classic genres of portraiture, the nude and landscape painting.

"Many tales emerge from Modern Britain," Ted Gott said. "The exhibition allows for a celebration of both the broader trends of British modernism and the distinctive contributions of key individual artists."

Principal Sponsor: Bank of Queensland ... Support Sponsors: Sofitel Melbourne, The Age, Dulux, JCDecaux, Connex, Melbourne Airport, 3AW

An exciting range of education and public programs are being developed in association with the exhibition. For more information please visit www.ngv.vic.gov.au Modern Britain 1900-1960 will open at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne on 15 November 2007 and will run until 24 February 2008. NGV International is open 10am – 5pm daily, closed Tuesdays.