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Description: | The collection encompasses the 16th century to the present through paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and watercolours, both British and European. Particular strengths are old masters, 17th century Netherlandish painting, marine painting, Hull topographical views, portraiture and figure painting, 18th to 20th century British and contemporary art and a Loan collection of the MAG collection of 200 contemporary works.
British and historical portraiture and figure painting from William Segar's 'Portrait of a Lady of Elizabeth's Court', 1595 to John Kirby's 'Man with Rat',1986 includes 'Life painting for myself', 1962 by David Hockney, the first work by Hockney bought by a British gallery; Percy Wyndham Lewis, Stanley Spencer, Meredith Frampton,Henry Ryland,Arthur Devis and William Dobson.
Hull topographical paintings, drawings, prints, watercolours and photographs from 16th century to present
European old master paintings , From Bartolomeo Di Giovanni, 1500 to Pieter Frans De Noter, 1833. Includes Franceso Rizzo's 'Holy family with St Simeon and John the BAptist', early 16th century; Sassoferrato's 'Holy family with two female figures', mid 17th century; Francesco Maffei's 'Annunciation', 1650s; Nicholas Regnier's 'St Sebastian', 1625.
The focus is upon the Netherlandish schools (see Strength 5) but important gifts, bequests and purchases have created a robust group representative of the main developments and styles in other parts of Europe, primarily Italy, France and Spain.
A highlight (Wilson Bequest), is an early, atmospheric Canaletto of Venice's Grand Canal, recognised through exhibition and publication as amongst the finest in a British public collection. Franscesco Guardi's 'Sophronia' is one of the most unusual works in the world by this prolific and important Venetian artist. De Champaigne's 'Annunciation' is a masterpiece, widely regarded as the model for, and more vivid than, his altarpiece in the Wallace Collection. In contrast, epitomising the Italian Baroque, is Maffei's 'Annunciation'. The Spaniard Ribera's imaginary 'Portrait of a Philosopher' is one of his few works in the UK. A major long-standing loan is Valerio Castello's 'Tobias Healing the Blind Tobit', one of only two in UK public collections. There is also a good quality work by the Italian Gennari, and a representative group of French works by Jeurat, Vernet & Le Prince. An extraordinary, portrait of an unknown woman, c.1800, by Ingres evokes the Napoleonic era.
contemporary British art post-war to present especially new media incorporating film, video, digital and electronic media, but also photographs, structures and sculpture. The Ferens' bold acquisition of abstract art after the war laid the foundations for a renowned collection in this area. At the same time, the focus on figuration, particularly portraiture, did not diminish. The contemporary holdings are enhanced by the loan of the MAG Collection, a unique private collection of over 200 works of contemporary British Art. Landscape-inspired works by Lanyon & Frost are confirmed through publication and exhibition as definitive of the 1950s. Others of the period are by Davie (2), Hilton, Denny, Vaughan, Scott & Smith, and later, Ord & Whishaw. Gritty realism is seen in the impastoed work of Bratby, Auerbach & Kossoff. Hockney's 'Life Painting For Myself' of 1962 is upheld internationally, including by the artist himself, as a seminal work and pre-curser to Pop Art, as is Blake's 'Lettermen'. Tilson, Jones & Riley strengthen Pop and Op holdings. Focused collecting of figuration and portraiture of the '70s and '80s features some of the decades' most distinctive and influential artists: Kossoff, Uglow, Newsome, Douthwaite, Kiff, Leonard, Kirby, Morreau, Freud, McLean & Watt. Keane, Howson & O'Donoghue exemplify '90s figuration. Also in the '90s, partnership with the CAS has encouraged collecting in new media, notably photography and multi-media: Chadwick, Colvin, Webb, Wallinger, Kippin, Starr & St. James exemplify this new vein in which the themes of the human figure and the sea still dominate.
17th century Netherlandish school in particular Dutch paintings and earlier paintings from Joachim Beuckelaer 'The fish market', 1570 to Willem Van De Velde 'The Four Days Battle',1690s and including Frans Hals 'Portrait of a young woman', late 1650s.
Since the 1960s, emphasising its proximity to the Netherlands and its historical trading links, Hull has developed its holdings of Dutch and Flemish Old Masters and is exceptional in seeking to draw out, through its collecting, the contrasts between the two styles. Focussing mainly on the Golden Age, most of the major artistic centres and genres are covered. Whilst further examples by major artists are pursued, also seeking outstanding works by minor artists, those perhaps better known in the Netherlands than in the UK. Compared for example with York, Manchester, Leeds, and Gateshead, Hull is the only regional gallery actively pursuing significant growth in its Dutch & Flemish collection.
Portraits are a key element, heralding the evolution of the genre in Britain and Holland and giving a chronological foundation for our collection of portraits. Exquisite portraits by Segar and Gheeraerts, immigrants painting for the Tudor court, show the early focus on surface decoration at the expense of character. Frans Hals' 'Portrait of a Young Woman' is the jewel in the Ferens' crown, widely regarded as one of the most important Dutch paintings in a public collection in Britain. In the international oevre of Hals' work, its rarity comes in part from its execution when the ageing Hals was focussing mainly on older sitters, and from its sensitive, enigmatic quality that belies his reputation for a bravura style. Other outstanding portraits include: Thomas de Keyser (2), including a pioneering equestrian portrait; a polished Van der Helst, his finest of the handful in British public collections; an Olis family group; a Dusart pastel; one of the few Hannemans in the UK; an opulent portrait of 2-month old Cornelia Burch (unknown, Dutch, 1581), amongst the rarest and well-documented images of childhood in Britain.
Internationally, Denys Calvaert's 'Danae' is recognised as an especially rare and extravagant mythological piece by a painter of mainly religious scenes. Demonstrating the Italian influence are a lewd Van Bylert and a Volmarijn, the latter a textbook testament to Caravaggio's 'Supper at Emmaus'. Exemplifying and pioneering the genre piece are a superb Flemish 16th c. 'Fishmarket' by De Beukelaer, and two Brekelenkams, complemented by a later Van der Neer. There are religious works by Cornelisz van Haarlem and Fabritius. In still life, a complex Flemish 'Vanitas' by Cornelius Gysbrechts, his finest in the UK, contrasts with Elinga's simpler Dutch breakfast piece (a major flower piece is still sought). Contrasting Flemish and Dutch, church interiors are by Neefs & De Bleick (2), one of the latter shows Italian influence. Landscape and Townscape is exemplified through early Flemish panels by Pieter Stevens II, Jacob Ruisdael's 'Wooded Landscape', which is possibly his closest to painting a sunny day, and Van der Croos, Van Troyen & Molenaer. Complementing the British holdings, and emphasising Dutch maritime supremacy, are characteristic marines by Witmont & Van Salm (Grisailles), Bakhuysen, Storck and the Van der Veldes
British and European sculpture,15th - 20th century: Modest in size compared with collections in Bradford and Leeds the collection has nevertheless many individual works of exceptional significance representing many of the major styles and developments in British and European sculpture,
A mid-15th-century Alabaster 'Resurrection of Christ' (York School?) is the earliest work, reflects the rise of sculpture in medieval Britain. In quality of carving and characterisation it rivals examples in Nottingham and at the V&A. Antonio Maragliano's spiralling, naturalistic 'Hercules' and 'Meleager', outstanding examples of early 18th-century Italian polychrome sculpture, are amongst the rarest such secular Baroque sculptures in Britain, in both regional and national collections. Two erotic terracotta reliefs by Joseph Marin exemplify the French Rococo. Neo-classicism is well-represented: a group of quality 18th-century marbles include pieces by renowned sculptors Giovanni Foggini, Guiseppe Canart and Joseph Nollekens (attrib). Bertel Thorvaldsen exemplifies the Northern response. The wide preoccupations of 19th-century sculptors are well represented. Henry Weekes, William Day Keyworth and Auguste Maillard show academic realism. Near the century's close, 'Perseus Arming' is Alfred Gilbert's earliest cast bronze, a formative piece in the development of 'the New Sculpture', also represented by Gilbert Bayes.
20th century: Maillol and Laurens show the French influence in Britain, the latter by a key work in the angular, Cubist style. Glyn Philpot, Frank Dobson and Jacob Epstein feature, the latter's 'Isobel' one of his most strongly modelled, three-quarter length busts of a favourite model (and a key piece in the group of works by Anglo-Jewish artists). The quality of the post-war collection equals that of works in galleries like Leeds, Sheffield and, in some examples, the Tate.
Widely exhibited and published works by Henry Moore (2) and a definitive Barbara Hepworth marble, 'Icon II' are the nucleus. 'Mother & Child in Ladderback Chair', regarded by Moore himself as one of his key works, crystallises his pre-occupations in the '50s; 'Draped Torso' is a rare 'decapitated and disarmed' classically-inspired torso. Armitage's 'Figure Lying on its Side' helped to win him a major prize at the 1958 Venice Biennale. Paolozzi's 'Large Frog, Version II', (cast also in Arts Council Coll.) is seminal to the origins of Pop Art in Britain. Victor Pasmore, Kenneth Martin ('Screw Mobile', version also in Tate), Mary Martin & George Fullard exemplify post-war Constructivism. Major works by Williams, Newsome, Craig Martin & Davies were bought early in their careers; the Frink & Wright are late works. Exemplifying acquisitions for the 1990s onwards, Georgina Starr's multi-media 'Drivin' On' has already represented new developments in British contemporary art on two international tours.
British Marine Paintings: In quality and range the collection is unique amongst regional collections. It charts the origins and history of the genre in this country, embracing seascapes, battles, ship portraits and whaling and reflects artists working in the significant ports. It complements the holdings at Hull Maritime Museum, charting Hull's relationship with the sea and the evolution of the Hull School of marine painters.
17th-century Dutch paintings underline the genre's origins. The Anglo-Dutch blend of the Van de Veldes (Eld. & Yng.) & Isaac Sailmaker heralds its rise in England. Their noted 18th century followers include Charles Brooking, William Anderson, Thomas Luny, Thomas Mitchell & Francis Holman, and watercolours by William Daniell, David Cox & Samuel Atkins. The 19th century includes Richard Parkes Bonington's 'Coast Scene in Picardy', a luminous canvas inspired by developments in French marine painting. It is one of the Ferens' masterpieces, regarded internationally as his finest coastal scene. Clarkson Stanfield, James W. Carmichael, Henry Moore, E. W. Cooke, the Romanticism of Henry Redmore (9), Henry Dawson &Thomas Somerscales define the century, reflecting changing tastes. A comprehensive local group enhances strengths: several, like Ward, Settle, Redmore & Rodmell hold national and international reputations. John Ward of Hull (26) is acknowledged as one of the early 19th century's most outstanding marine painters. Hull's 'The Return of the William Lee' is hailed as the finest ship portrait ever painted. The 20th century features examples carefully selected to represent the best qualities of the artists, and to complement our picture of wider artistic developments, from en plein air naturalism, through Surrealism, War Art and abstraction to contemporary developments in photo-based work. Hemy, Forbes, Lavery, Bigge, Ravilious, Eurich, Vaughan & Bellany, are included.
Prints, 18th-20th century: Like the drawings and watercolours, this group plays a supporting role to the main collections. There are, however, significant bequests, like the Dykes Bequest of 138 etchings and engravings after Hals, Millais, etc. and including 24 subjects from Turner's Liber Studorium engraved by Frank Short. Important 'local views' are by Thew, Malton & Pettingel. Brangwyn lithographs are strongly represented. An important CAS gift is a series of Paolozzi prints dedicated to the Ferens.
Drawings and Watercolours, mainly 18th-20th century: This group, although not significant in its own right, is sufficient to support the main collections - particularly marines and local views - and has representative examples of most of the major styles and periods. Works of individual note include: a rare 17th century pastel portrait by Dutchman Cristiaen Dusart; a view of Hull by Francis Place; good pastel portraits by John Russell; an exceptional early Cotman, 'Croyland Abbey'; landscapes by Varley, Cox, Steer, Nash; 2 strong De Wints; a fascinating pastoral scene, attributed to Palmer; a distinctive Sandys; 'academy-scale' pieces by de l'Aubiniere & Henshall; a remarkable family group in pastel by Byam-Shaw; temperas by Ryland, Southall & Allen; a large group of Brangwyn war drawings.
17th/18th century British and European Portraits and Landscapes: This remarkable group reflects the gallery's particular strength in portraits and the development of the genre, especially under the Dutch influence. Although there is no Lely or Reynolds, portraits have been acquired to demonstrate their impact. Certain works reveal the rise of landscape that the collection also aims to demonstrate.
William Dobson's 'Musician' shows the Venetian and 'Van Dyckian' influence at the Stuart court. Lely's influence, combined with a little French vulgarity, is strong in the work of Wissing. Tournieres' 'Family Group' has the informality of Watteau's popular style; a husband and wife pair attributed to David Morier includes an equestrian portrait. Purchased from the important Boynton Hall sale, following a public appeal for additional funds, Arthur Devis's 'Sir George & Lady Strickland in the Grounds of Boynton Hall, Bridlington' is an acknowledged masterpiece by the northern artist. He depicts the Yorkshire gentry with elegance and romanticism befitting a marriage portrait. The landscape setting also helps to introduce the rise of the landscape genre in its own right. A perceptive, characterful portrait of an old lady has been attributed to both Hogarth & Beare. Works by Benjamin West (3) illustrate the practice of copying Old Masters and include an exceptional 'Sybil' after Mengs. A fine Francis Cotes oil focuses typically on the fashionable detail of his sitter's costume. A less formal portrait is Cotes' pupil John Russell's substantial oil of Hull merchant John Lee and his large, rosy family. Russell's more familiar pastel work is seen in a group of portraits. The Romantic influence is strong in an exceptional portrait of Anna Milbanke (later Lady Byron) by John Hoppner, one of the Ferens' major purchases after the 2nd War. Her childhood innocence contrasts with the rocky coastal landscape in which she stands. Other interesting portraits, embracing pastel, watercolour and the miniature are by Walton, J. R. Smith, James Ramsay, Moore, Pelham & Brooks.
A good group of landscapes in oil is bolstered by the watercolours collection (see strength 9 ). Two by Richard Wilson typify pre-occupations with the Italian and Welsh countryide and the notion of the Grand Tour. Francis Danby's 'Romantic Landscape' borders on the sublime. A 'cloud study' (Wilson Bequest) is one of two landscapes attributed to Constable, intriguing scholars. Four works by John Ibbetson show the popularity of the English Lakes and include the stunning 'Windemere from Troutbeck'. | Subjects: | Art & Design Fine Art | Source: | Cornucopia - Discovering UK Collections | Address: | Monument Buildings
Ferens Art Gallery
Queen Victoria Square
Hull,
HU1 3RA | FAX: | 01482 613 710 | Telephone: | 01482 613 902 | Identifier: | oai:www.cornucopia.org.uk:1175 | Go to resource |
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