Latest news with #NationalGallery
Wall Street Journal
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
John Constable's ‘The Hay Wain': A Landmark Landscape
The National Gallery, London, founded in 1824, celebrated its bicentenary in small exhibitions across the U.K. that brought the museum's most iconic paintings to an even wider British public. John Constable's 'The Hay Wain' (1821), the Romantic artist's best known landscape, revered in his native England as an authentic image of its rural countryside, was among the works acclaimed as national treasures, and is now back in London as part of the recently reinstalled collection. The peaceful, unassuming canvas's radically new technique, its profound redefinition of what landscape painting could be, and Constable's inherently moral approach to the genre's naturalistic representation would preoccupy him throughout his career. Constable (1776-1837) grew up in East Bergholt, a small village in Suffolk along the River Stour in East Anglia. His father, who had inherited the local Flatford Mill, plied his prosperous trade along the river's canals, which afforded his family a genteel country life. Though the artist studied at London's Royal Academy as early as 1799, he often returned to draw and paint the fertile green fields and placid river scenes that viewers recognized even during his lifetime as 'Constable Country.' After his marriage in 1816, however, he moved permanently to London, and was elected associate of the Royal Academy in 1819. Constable also exhibited that year the first of his so-called Six-Footers, the monumental River Stour scenes that were painted in his London studio and were his bid for fame.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Watch live updates: Arts Council before Public Accounts Committee on botched €6.7m IT project
Órla Ryan - 1 minute ago The Public Accounts Committee will on Thursday examine recent spending controversies, in particular the €6.7 million spent by the Arts Council on a new IT system that was eventually abandoned. The controversial project sparked a full review into the operations of the council, after Minister for Arts and Culture Patrick O'Donovan said an initial report found it was not prepared for the scale of the IT project. We'll keep you updated with the hearing as it happens. Main points: Maureen Kennelly, director of the Arts Council, and Maura McGrath, chair of the board of the Arts Council, are among those set to appear before the PAC. It has been confirmed that Ms Kennelly will step down in June after concluding her five-year term. Representatives from the National Gallery are also due to appear before the committee to discuss why a scanner it bought for €125,000 lay idle for eight years.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
National Gallery of Australia exhibition Cézanne to Giacometti traces origins of Australian modernism
A century ago, the shadow of the Second World War was stretching across Europe. Four artists made their escapes, in their own ways, toward an island on the other side of the world. They brought an artistic revolution with them. Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack, Inge King, Lina Bryans and Marcella Hampel are four of the 35 artists featured at the National Gallery of Australia's newest exhibition, Cézanne to Giacometti, which traces the origins of Australian modernism. It pairs Australian works like those created by Hirschfeld-Mack, King, Bryans and Hampel with a collection from Museum Berggruen — marking the first time the German collection has been shown in Australia. This collection includes works from renowned modernists Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Paul Klee and Alberto Giacometti. Nicolas Berggruen, the son of collector Heinz Berggruen, fostered the Museum Berggruen's partnership with the NGA on this project. "As the Berggruen Museum collection journeys around the world, its stop at the exceptional National Gallery of Australia is a tribute to the enduring inspiration of Europe's great modern masters," he said in a statement. "We're honoured to bring these works into dialogue with the National Gallery's remarkable collection and the vibrant cultural landscape of Australia." The exhibition seeks to trace the genealogy of Australian modernism back to its roots in Europe, showcasing the movement's founders, its foothold in Australia and the artists which facilitated the cultural exchange. It is open until September this year. Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack was a budding artist of the famous Bauhaus school of design in Germany, under the mentorship of Paul Klee, when the rise of the Nazi Party dictated his part Jewish heritage would make it impossible for him to obtain permanent employment. He left Germany in 1936 for Britain but was deported during the war to Australia as a German enemy alien, and interned in camps in rural New South Wales and Victoria — where he made works using Bauhaus colour theory and printing techniques. Hirschfeld-Mack was finally released in 1942, and stayed to teach art at Geelong Grammar School in Victoria. National Gallery Curator of International Art David Greenhalgh, who is the lead NGA curator on the exhibition, calls Hirschfeld-Mack "really key" to bringing the Bauhaus "spirit" to Australia. Mr Greenhalgh notes how Hirschfeld-Mack applied modernist techniques to the Australian environment, a focus other Australian modernists would also take up. "There's always this response to the Australian environment in that digesting modern art and outputting something new. Similar influences can be found in the works of Inge King — born in Germany to a Jewish family and forced to flee in 1939 — as well as Marcella Hempel and Lina Bryans. Hempel emigrated after the war, whereas Bryans was born in Germany to Australian parents. Mr Greenhalgh says Canberrans can see King's influence on Australian modernist art just by walking around the city — her sculptures influencing what Canberra looks like. "Living in Canberra, you see Inga King sculptures all across public spaces. And they're really sleek, minimal, welded metal sculptures, mainly. But it embodies this Bauhaus spirit." He adds the Australian modernists as a whole have continued their artistic conversation "all the way up to the present day". "Modern art isn't something that happened a long time ago," he said. Mr Greenhalgh says while the immigration of European artists marked one avenue to fostering Australian modernism, it is not the only one. "I would see a major part of this story as that, I guess, Australian tradition of as a young person travelling overseas," he says. "So many Australian artists took a year or two, and they would travel overseas, and often to Europe." That is where Australian artists like Rosemary Madigan would learn European modernists technique, and come back to apply them to Australian landscapes. "There's a real sense of hybridity — a sense that Australian artists go over to Europe and they don't just pick up influence from, say, a singular artist, but they actually pick up influence from a really wide range of sources. And there's not that siloed thinking around it." He also said while there are many examples of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander modernist works, these were not included in the exhibition as they draw on First Nations culture "without looking to Europe". National Gallery director Dr Nick Mitzevich added in a statement that, "While the physical distance between Europe and Australia is great, the personal and artistic connections between artists of both continents bridges this distance." Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, with the Berggruen Museum, Klaus Biesenbach, said: "As you explore Cézanne to Giacometti, I encourage you to engage with each artwork not just as an isolated piece but as part of a larger conversation — a dialogue that spans continents and generations."
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
London's National Gallery Gets an Upgrade
London Art needs architecture, and masterpieces need museums. Since the National Gallery's Wilkins Building, named after its architect, William Wilkins, opened in 1838, its Georgian frontage has dominated Trafalgar Square. In 1991 the museum added the Sainsbury Wing, a postmodern design by Americans Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown on an irregularly shaped site on the square's northwestern corner.
Vogue Arabia
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue Arabia
Gemma Chan Joins Cartier as Newest Global Ambassador
Cartier has officially announced British actress and producer Gemma Chan as its newest ambassador, unveiling the partnership during a dazzling High Jewellery event in Singapore. The announcement marks a natural next step in Chan's ongoing relationship with the Maison, having already participated in a number of its cultural celebrations. At the exclusive gala held at the National Gallery Singapore, Chan embodied elegance and innovation—two key traits that define both her career and Cartier's identity—by wearing the intricate Molinae necklace and earrings from the Nature Sauvage collection. Best known for her work in Humans , Crazy Rich Asians , and the Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron , Chan continues to make waves not only in front of the camera but also behind it. She is currently developing and starring in a biopic about legendary actress Anna May Wong, and she is also executive producing the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios TV series Rise of the Empress . A UNICEF UK Ambassador, Chan is admired for combining star power with a commitment to social and cultural impact. 'I am delighted to join the Maison Cartier as an ambassador and honoured to mark the announcement at this exceptional display of creativity and savoir-faire in Singapore,' Chan stated. 'I have long appreciated the beauty and finesse of the Maison's creations, and I look forward to continuing this exciting collaboration.' The timing of her ambassadorship beautifully coincides with Cartier's unveiling of En Équilibre — a fresh chapter in its High Jewellery narrative. This new ring collection showcases the Maison's signature balance of artistic restraint and bold design. Comprising five singular creations, the collection reflects Cartier's devotion to harmony, precise craftsmanship, and expressive colour pairings. Hugo Julliot With Gemma Chan now a face of the brand and En Équilibre highlighting Cartier's continued innovation, the Maison enters an exciting new era that celebrates bold individuality, masterful design, and enduring cultural resonance.
