A little known painting by LS Lowry (1887-1976) sheds new light on works included in Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life, a major exhibition of urban landscapes by the artist at Tate Britain from 26 June. The exhibition is the first to be held by a public institution in London since the artist’s death in 1976.
Tate has discovered an unnamed painting, which depicts a crowded town square set against Lowry’s distinctive backdrop of industrial Salford, that it is an earlier version of two works featured in the exhibition: Our Town 1941 and A Town Square 1928. The latter was exhibited in Paris and reproduced in a biographical French dictionary of contemporary artists in 1931. Lowry’s inclusion in this publication highlights his status in France as a notable British artist who at the time was exhibiting more frequently in Paris than in London. The newly established link between the unrecorded work and the later versions dramatises how frequently Lowry revisited, refined and developed favourite scenes over many years.
The exhibition of over 90 works, it demonstrates Lowry’s uniqueness as a modern British artist who recognised what the industrial revolution had made of the world and devoted his career to this rich and varied subject matter. Without Lowry’s pictures of football and cricket matches, protest marches, funfairs, evictions, arguments, prayer meetings, accidents and workers going to and from the mill, Britain would lack an account in paint oftheexperiencesoftheworkingclassinthe20thcentury.
Exhibition highlights include Ancoats Hospital Outpatients Hall 1952, painted in the early years of the NHS, shown beside an earlier street scene, The Cripples 1949, which shows those disabled by war and illness. Images of London, to which Lowry was a regular visitor, include Piccadilly Circus, London 1960.
6月26日,泰特英國美術館的新展《洛瑞與現代生活繪畫》展出了洛瑞(LS L o w r y )關 於 現 代 城 市 景 觀 的 作 品 ,其 中 一 件 鮮 為 人 知 的 作 品 開 啓 了 對 他 的 創作重新認識的序幕。此次展覽是在1976年洛瑞去世以後,第一次在倫敦由 公共藝術機構為其舉辦的大型展覽。
泰特美術館研究發現,一幅根據洛瑞所在的工業城市索爾福德而繪製的,描 繪了擁擠城市廣場的無名畫作,其實是另外兩幅洛瑞作品《我們的小鎮(Our Town 1941)》和《小鎮廣場(A Town Square 1928)》的早期版本。後者曾經 在巴黎展出過,並在1931年被收入到一本法國當代藝術家辭典當中。辭典當 中描述洛瑞是一位傑出的英國藝術家,當時他在法國巴黎參展的次數要多於 倫敦。通過新發現的洛瑞無名畫作和後期版本之間戲劇化的關聯,可以發現 他是如何經常地重新審視、完善和發展其多年來一直鍾愛的創作場景的。
展覽展出了超過90幅作品,呈現了洛瑞作為一名現代英國藝術家的獨特性, 他將自己的職業藝術生涯投身於一個豐富多彩的主題:探討工業革命對我們 的世界產生了什麼樣的影響。如果沒有洛瑞對題材廣泛且具有時代性的藝術 創作,可能英國將會非常缺少關於20世紀工人階級生活經驗的繪畫作品。
展覽的主要作品包括《安考斯特醫院門診大廳(Ancoats Hospital Outpatients Hall 1952)》,描繪了英國全國免費醫療早期的面貌,《殘疾人(The Cripples 1949)》描繪了那些因為戰爭和疾病導致殘疾的人,展覽中還有很多關於倫敦 的作品,如《倫敦皮卡迪利廣場(Piccadilly Circus, London 1960)》。
TIPS 小贴士
展览场地:Tate Britain 泰特英國美術館
展覽時間:26.6.2013 – 20.10.2013
更多信息:www.tate.org.uk
