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8 March 2022 – 12 June 2022Watts Gallery – Artists' VillageSupported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund
This Spring, visitors to Watts Gallery have a rare opportunity to see highlights from the Ashmolean Museum’s internationally renowned collection of Pre-Raphaelite drawings and watercolours.
Pre-Raphaelite Treasures offers an intimate glimpse into the world of the Pre-Raphaelites, presenting exquisite works by key artists from the movement including Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) and Elizabeth Siddal (1829-1862).
The exhibition includes works of extraordinary beauty, from the portraits they made of each other, to subjects taken from history, literature and landscape. Displayed together, these drawings and watercolours reveal the impressive range of styles, methods and media used by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their associates, showcasing their individual skills, collective creativity and revolutionary thinking about art and society which was to have a lasting impact on British art history.
The loans are supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund. Created by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Art Fund, the Weston Loan Programme is the first ever UK-wide funding scheme to enable smaller and local authority museums to borrow works of art and artefacts from national collections.
The exhibition will also showcase a selection of extraordinary works on paper by Pre-Raphaelite contemporary G F Watts (1817-1904) from Watts Gallery’s own collection. Watts’s long career overlapped and connected with that of the Pre-Raphaelites, and his drawings reveal his knowledge of their art and the influence of their way of thinking. His output on paper included striking portrait heads such as his study of the young Arthur Prinsep (c.1854-5); refined and freely drawn figure studies like his swirling sketch for A Story from Boccaccio; grand large-scale finished chalk drawings including his study for St John for St Paul’s Cathedral (c.1864-89); and delicate landscape watercolours such as his panoramic view of the Carrara Mountains. Treasures in their own right, these pictures are rarely shown due to the fragility and light sensitivity of works on paper.
Together, the works reveal a new side to these artists, who painted many of the most recognisable pictures in the history of British art. Pre-Raphaelite Treasures shows how these illustrious artists experimented with style, technique and subject matter to create outstanding and seldom-seen masterpieces in pencil, pen, coloured chalks and watercolour paint.
In 1848 seven young artists, including John Everett Millais (1829-1896), William Holman Hunt (1827-1910) and Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), resolved to rebel against the academic teaching of the Royal Academy of Arts. They proposed a new mode of working which would depart from what they considered the ‘mannered’ style of artists who came after Raphael (1483-1520). The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) set out to paint with originality and authenticity by studying nature, celebrating their friends and heroes, and taking inspiration from the art and poetry about which they were passionate. This innovative approach and their characteristic styles influenced younger generations of British artists well into the 20th century.
Pre-Raphaelite Treasures begins by introducing the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their circle through small, affectionate sketches the artists made of one another. These include Burne-Jones's caricature of himself and his friend May Gaskell (1893-8), and reciprocal pencil portraits made by close friends Millais and Charles Allston Collins (1828-1873) in 1850, both proudly signed ‘PRB’.
The exhibition goes on to explore how, by working on paper, these artists were able to experiment with both their methods and materials, drawing in pencil and pen, chalks and pastel, and even gold paint (Hope by Burne-Jones, 1893). Artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement came from a wide range of artistic backgrounds and created drawings in a variety of styles and techniques over the course of their careers. Millais and Holman Hunt had been through the rigorous training of the Royal Academy Schools, while Rossetti and Burne-Jones were relatively untrained and arguably more original as a result. Burne-Jones’s works in the show demonstrate his versatility, ranging from a pen-sketched caricature, a richly textured chalk portrait, and minutely detailed poetry illustrations to bold stained-glass designs. John Ruskin (1819-1900) came from a different tradition again, that of the amateur watercolourist, and his nature studies, such as Study of a Velvet Crab (c.1870-1), are miracles of acute observation. In contrast, watercolours by John Brett (1831-1902) and Simeon Solomon (1840-1905) resemble oil paintings in their intensity of colour and rendition of light.
The works on display also give insights into iconic Pre-Raphaelite individuals and their relationships. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s early drawings of Elizabeth Siddal reveal an artist wholly captivated by his model and future wife (they married in 1860), while Siddal’s drawing Two Men in a Boat and a Woman Punting (c.1853-5), is a witty variation on Rossetti’s Boatmen and Siren. In her scene the man pleads with the ‘siren’ who uses her pole to push him away with a furious expression on her face. Solomon’s painting of two men engaged in Christian ritual, Two Acolytes Censing, Pentecost (1863), which appear to be portraits, is particularly poignant given the artist’s successful early career was cut short by the homophobia of Victorian Britain when his homosexuality became public.
Other themes explored through this exhibition include:
Two Artists in Residence have been commissioned to respond to the Pre-Raphaelite Treasures exhibition:
Phoebe Boswell, 1 April – 31 May
Born in Nairobi to a Kikuyu mother and British Kenyan father and raised in the Arabian Gulf, Phoebe Boswell is a multi-disciplinary artist who lives and works in London. She creates layered, deeply immersive installations to centre and amplify histories which, like her own, are often systemically marginalised.
Sarah Thien, 1 April – 31 May
Still life and portrait artist, Sarah Thien, received her classical training at the London Fine Arts Studio and now works from her studio in Farnham. Her work is inspired by the beauty of the Dutch and Belgian Old Masters.
Comments:
Commenting, Emily Burns, Curator, Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, said:
“The Pre-Raphaelites are among the nation’s favourite artists, whose bold and beautiful paintings are widely recognised. However, few are familiar with their exquisite drawing work. True to the avant-garde spirit of this leading nineteenth-century art movement, Pre-Raphaelite Treasures will reveal the great creativity and versatility of the Pre-Raphaelite artists and their circle. It also shines new light on affinities with G F Watts’s drawing practice, from experimentation with styles and materials, to sources of inspiration and concepts of beauty.”
Sophia Weston, Trustee of the Garfield Weston Foundation, said:
“Our programme is all about partnerships, so we are thrilled to be supporting this exhibition which will see such important works from the Ashmolean Museum displayed alongside treasures from Watts Gallery’s own collection.”
Alistair Burtenshaw, Director, Watts Gallery Trust, said:
“Watts Gallery – Artists' Village is delighted to be able to display a varied range of drawings and watercolours from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, thanks to the generosity of the Weston Loan Programme, and to take this opportunity to also show a selection of rarely seen works on paper by G F Watts from our own collection. Through the exhibition, Watts Gallery – Artists' Village will offer a contemporary lens on the art of some of the UK’s most recognised artists in its role as a centre for the study of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century art.”
“I am also thrilled to be able to welcome Artists in Residence Phoebe Boswell and Sarah Thien during the exhibition and look forward to their responses to the works in the exhibition.”
Pre-Raphaelite Treasures: Drawings and Watercolours from the Ashmolean Museum opens at Watts Gallery on 8 March (until 12 June). For the run of the exhibition, Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village will be focusing on all things drawing related, with an exhibition of contemporary drawing by Members of the Society of Graphic Fine Art in Watts Contemporary Gallery and a programme of courses and activities for all ages and abilities.
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Notes to Editors
Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village
George Frederic Watts OM RA (1817-1904) was widely considered to be the greatest painter of the Victorian age. He became the first living artist to have a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the artist’s ‘gift to the Nation’ made a significant contribution to the founding collections of Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery.
In 1890, with his second wife Mary Seton Watts (1849-1938), Watts moved to Compton, a hollow in the Surrey Hills located on the Pilgrims’ Way. Together they commissioned a country home and winter studios, Limnerslease, from leading Arts and Crafts architect Ernest George, and from 1891 they resided there. What followed was the creation of a unique Artists’ Village, starting with the Grade I-listed Watts Chapel, an Arts and Crafts masterpiece designed by Mary and realised through a community arts project in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Watts Gallery, the first purpose-built art gallery in the UK dedicated to a single professional artist, opened its doors to the public in 1904. Together with Tate and the National Portrait Gallery, Watts Gallery provides a complete overview of G F Watts’s art and aspirations.
Over the course of the twentieth century, Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village fell into disrepair and was placed on the English Heritage ‘At Risk’ Register. Thanks to support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and many generous donors, Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village has been rescued and restored. Today the Gallery, Studios, Chapel and Pottery Buildings attract over 65,000 annual visitors.
Garfield Weston Foundation
Established over 60 years ago in 1958, the Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded, grant-making charity which supports causes across the UK and, in the most recent financial year, gave over £98 million. Since it was established, it has exceeded donations of more than £1.3 billion, of which well over half has been given in the past ten years.
One of the most respected charitable institutions in the UK, the Weston Family Trustees are descendants of the founder and they take a highly active and hands-on approach. The Foundation’s funding comes from an endowment of shares in the family business which includes Twinings, Primark, Kingsmill (all part of Associated British Foods Plc) and Fortnum & Mason, amongst others – a successful model that still endures today; as the businesses have grown, so too have the charitable donations.
Known for its transparency, flexibility and straightforward approach, the Foundation supports a broad range of charities from small community organisations to large national institutions. Over 2,000 charities across the UK benefit each year from the Foundation’s grants.
Art Fund
Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art. It provides millions of pounds every year to help museums to acquire and share works of art across the UK, further the professional development of their curators, and inspire more people to visit and enjoy their public programmes. In response to Covid-19 Art Fund made £3.6 million in urgent funding available to support museums through reopening and beyond, including Respond and Reimagine grants to help meet immediate need and reimagine future ways of working. A further £2 million has been made available in 2021 for Reimagine projects. Art Fund is independently funded, supported by the 131,000 members who buy the National Art Pass, who enjoy free entry to over 240 museums, galleries and historic places, 50% off major exhibitions, and receive Art Quarterly magazine. Art Fund also supports museums through its annual prize, Art Fund Museum of the Year. The winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2021 is Firstsite in Colchester.
A Season of Drawing at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village
Accompanying the exhibition will be a programme of activities inspired by drawing. Highlights include:
Drawing Together - Members of the Society of Graphic Fine Art
18 March – 2 May, Watts Contemporary Gallery, Free entry | No booking required
Artists in Residence:
Phoebe Boswell1 April – 31 May
History of Art Course
Drawing in the Era of the Pre-Raphaelites
Mondays, 25 April, 2, 9, 16 & 23 May
Creating Portraits in Charcoal with Sarah Thien
Wednesdays 27 April, 4 & 11 May
Watts Creatives Saturday Workshop: Tips and Tricks of Portrait Drawing
Saturday 14 May
Drawing as a Healing Practice
Wednesday 18 May, 6 – 7.30pm
Panel discussion with contemporary artists Phoebe Boswell, Emma Cousin and Tim A Shaw
For more events in the programme, please visit wattsgallery.org.uk
For further information:
www.wattsgallery.org.uk | Twitter | Facebook
For further press information:
Tamsin Williams – tamsin@wigwampr.com – 01483 563562 – 07939 651252
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