National Museums Liverpool Blog - fine art

A manifesto in paint - Millais' Isabella

Visitors to the Lady lever will no doubt have missed that perennial favourite, Holman Hunt's The Scapegoat. The Walker, despite its positive embarassment of Pre-Raphaelite treasures, is definitely the richer for the return of Millais' Isabella; a painted manifesto of the aims of the Brotherhood itself.

The return of these and other gems makes it a perfect time to visit our three galleries, and not least because we're running something of a mini Pre-Raph festival to celebrate. Whether you're relatively new to the genre, or know your Williamson from your Rossetti, there's a gallery talk or tour for you, covering everything from an introduction to the Brotherhood to the crafting of a replica frame for The Scapegoat. Along with the forthcoming Edward Burne-Jones exhibition, and our extensive collection, there's a lot to see.

There are more details on our website, along with a link to our online shop where you can buy a copy of our new introduction to  the collection - Pre-Raphaelite Treasures at National Museums Liverpool - or pick one up in our gallery shop if you're visiting.

'The Black Brunswickers' by Millais

The painting depicts an imaginary scene in which a woman says goodbye to a soldier as he leaves for battle. It's a painting full of emotion, the woman seems to be holding the door closed to stop her man from going. Or was she secretly looking forward to some 'me time' after he left so that she could settle down to read the latest Dickens novel...

A divine Clarice Cliff 'tea for two' set from Age of Jazz.

It's an eclectic selection and there are some great books, my personal favourites being 'When Time Began to Rant and Rage...' which is a fab book of Irish figurative work and totally worth a fiver,  Age of Jazz: British Arts Deco Ceramics as I'm a sucker for a deco teaset, and British Watercolours and Drawings from the Lady Lever's collection.

If you've still not got a John Moores catalogue then now is the time to buy one as they're reduced to £7.50. And if you buy it from the Walker shop you get the John Moores China version for free.

Galleries are fab places during the Christmas holidays. They're quiet, uplifting, not the television, and you leave feeling slightly virtuous before returning to the orgy of chocolate and booze that has been your diet for most of December. And in the case of our venues, they're totally free.

If you wander to the Walker this festive season to catch the John Moores Painting Prize before it closes on 6 January, you'll no doubt see the rather large and rather excellent prize winners from the John Moores China exhibition. These are just five of the 63 pieces from the Shanghai exhibition, all of which are featured in the Chinese exhibition catalogue. In the spirit of festive generosity we're giving away this Chinese catalogue for free to anyone who buys a copy of our own John Moores exhibition catalogue.

This offer is only available through the Walker shop (not our other venues or online shop) and is available on a 'while stocks last' basis.

As it's the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this weekend it seems fitting to pause regally to celebrate some of our favourite royal gems from the Walker Art Gallery...

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - An 80th Birthday Portrait by Rolf Harris

© Rolf Harris Enterprises Ltd

This contemporary painting is on display until 12 August 2012, as part of our Rolf Harris exhibition 'Can you tell what it is yet?'. This painting shows Queen Elizabeth II on her 80th birthday, which she celebrated in 2006. Rolf shows a relaxed side of The Queen, who smiles broadly in this colourful painting. 

Find out more about 'Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - An 80th Birthday Portrait by Rolf Harris'.

'Queen Elizabeth 1, The Pelican Portrait', Nicholas Hilliard

So called because she is wearing a pelican brooch, this painting portrays Queen Elizabeth I almost as a religious icon, in stunning and ornate detail. 

Learn more about 'Queen Elizabeth 1, The Pelican Portrait'

Portrait of Henry VIII, by unknown artist, after Hans Holbein

One of our most famous paintings is a portrait of Henry VIII, designed to strike terror into the hearts of his subjects! It depicts a rich and powerful Henry showing off his strength and authority. It was based on an original mural - the Whitehall Mural, painted by Hans Holbein in 1537, which was destroyed in a fire in 1698.

Find out more about this portrait of Henry VIII

Here's a blog by Sarah Hardy who is helping out at the Lady Lever Art gallery as part of her Art History masters degree. 

Sarah will be giving a talk about Zoffany’s portrait of Robert Badeley at 1pm on Wednesday 23 May 2012.

Robert Baddeley as Moses in Sheridan's 'The School for Scandal' c1781, by Johann Zoffany (1734/5 – 1810).

I am thoroughly enjoying this experience and look forward to my Wednesday visits, when I am let loose on the archives to uncover the history of some incredibly rare and valuable art works. Using this information to tell you the story of our art has been incredibly rewarding.

Sometimes however, this is not such an easy task. The painting Mrs Wells, Wife of Doctor Wells (c.1789) now accredited to John Hamilton Mortimer, is a particular example of why. Whilst Lever bought this painting as a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, its authorship was doubted after the purchase. It was originally accredited to Francis Coates as he had painted a portrait of the same name, which was sold to James Orrock who also purchased the above painting for Lever. 

Recent research showed that Coates would have in fact died by the time it was in fashion for ladies to wear their hair in the style shown in this portrait. The original Christie’s catalogue lead to a paper trail, which revealed that this painting is actually by John Hamilton Mortimer. It is similar to the description of one of the paintings in his 1777 Society of Artists Exhibition. Even with this issue resolved, the identity of Mrs Wells remains a mystery, with no conclusive evidence yet available to show who she is.

Another incredibly exciting project I am working on is researching a portrait of Robert Baddeley in 'The School for Scandal', by Johan Zoffany.  

Zoffany is currently the focus of a Royal Academy exhibition, Johan Zoffany RA: Society Observed , themes from which are also covered in my talk. 

It would be lovely to see you at my gallery talk - details are on the website here.

Sudley House in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, was the home of Victorian shipowner George Holt who amassed a huge fortune as one of the proprietors of Lamport & Holt.

Despite his wealth, he was a modest man who did not go in for lavish entertainment. He was married with one daughter and the family were not ones to splash the cash on themselves.

In fact, they were among Liverpool’s greatest philanthropists and gave away most of what they acquired – including Sudley House.

George’s daughter Emma handed it over with its amazing art collection including paintings by Gainsborough, Millais, Holman Hunt and Turner.

Her stunningly generous gift ensured that the only art collection by a British Victorian merchant in its original domestic setting survives.

The atmosphere of historic homes is best captured when people dress in clothes reminiscent of the period.

This happened on 14 November 2011 when this crinoline dress (see my picture above) was unveiled in Sudley’s drawing room.

The Liverpool-made garment is seen in tonight’s episode of Desperate Scousewives on the E4 TV channel.

Made from synthetic human hair, it weighed 15 stone and took its toll on the model during the two hours of filming.

I am only really interested in women's clothing when a woman is wearing it, so this was a bit of a treat for me.

As my grandma May Kendrick (1868 - 1954) used to tell her friends: "Loosen your stays or you'll get the vapours."

A Collector's Eye exhibition catalogue

Alas, the end is near, but Friday's Light Night evening at the Walker is an ideal opportunity to catch the A Collector's Eye: Cranach to Pissarro exhibition before it finishes this Sunday.

And as if that wasn't news enough, the rather excellent exhibition catalogue, featuring all of the exhibition paintings in full-page, glorious technicolour, will be on special offer. It'll be a snip at £5, which considering it was superb value at £9.99 makes this a steal. 

This special offer will be available in our shop from Friday, and also through our online shop. 

The three judges take a break.

I’m looking forward to BBC 2 screening Show Me the Monet from this Monday after organising and supervising the marathon filming sessions over a January weekend.

A film crew filled three of our galleries at the rear of the Walker Art Gallery  to film this competition show being screened at 5.15 pm every weekday night from Monday 9 May to Friday 20 May.

In a nutshell it involves artists being grilled about their artworks by three critics – David Lee, Charlotte Mullins and Roy Bolton (pictured left to right). The aim is to be included in an exclusive exhibition at the Royal College of Art, next to London’s Albert Hall.

The show is hosted by Chris Hollins, perhaps better known as a BBC sports presenter and winner of Strictly Come Dancing.

A total of 32 largely unknown but talented artists came to the Walker over the two days. They were first interviewed by Chris before going to the judges with their artworks. After several excruciating minutes of objective criticism the judges gave their verdicts.

Most contestants were philosophical but at least one burst into floods of tears. Ten were successful in getting through to the exhibition.

As I told the critics during a break in filming, this show breaks taboos. Many artists believe passionately that their art should speak for itself.

When we hold the prestigious John Moores exhibition the judges are not even given the artists’ names - the art is judged purely on its merits.

Show Me the Monet also publicises the Walker’s collections. Chris was filmed taking about some of the stunning exhibits including Simone Martini’s Christ Discovered in the Temple and a tiny votive picture painted by a very young Raphael.

Another feature is the artists being interviewed separately in galleries filled with masterpieces.

I went to the private view at the Royal College of Art in March and was impressed by the exhibition of about 30 works. They were still filming - the series starts at the exhibition with Chris describing how it all came together.

Other sequences were shot in galleries in London and Glasgow - most of the exhibited works were for sale.

This was a great experience for all concerned and hopefully none of the artists were too disappointed about not being included. I predict that this will be a big hit and should go to another series.

It gives a totally new slant on TV’s approach to art – I know of no other show where artists face their critics so directly. It blows away the preciousness and mystique that surrounds some art programmes today.

It also allows the viewer to get into the mind of the artist and see how and why they create works.

One of the many media visits to Ben's 2008 residency.

Even if you didn't make it to the gallery to see it in the flesh, chances are you remember Ben Johnson completing his Liverpool Cityscape painting in front of a live gallery audience at The Walker. The three month residency was regularly in the local papers and on TV, as this photo of Ben being filmed by BBC North West Tonight demonstrates.

It was a wonderful time for the Gallery, with thousands of fascinated artlovers packing in to watch Ben paint and ask him questions about his work. It was obviously pretty special for Ben as well as he's coming back to talk about the experience he describes as 'a dream come true'.

At 12 noon on Tuesday 19 April he'll be in front of the painting in room 15 at The Walker to talk about the experience of working on the piece in public. He will also talk about the public response to the painting when it was loaned to the National Gallery in London, and the differing experiences of creating the London and Liverpool paintings.

Immediately after, at approximately 1pm, there will be a book signing where Ben will be signing copies of the book, Cityscape – Ben Johnson’s Liverpool.

Like the original residency and exhibition, this talk is sure to be popular. You'll need to collect a free ticket from the information desk at The Walker, or call 0151 478 4788 to reserve a seat.