The International Surrealist Exhibition was held from 11 June to 4 July 1936 at the New Burlington Galleries , near Savile Row in London 's Mayfair , England.
52-460: Graham Vivian Sutherland OM (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmaking, tapestry and glass design. Printmaking, mostly of romantic landscapes, dominated Sutherland's work during the 1920s. He developed his art by working in watercolours before switching to using oil paints in
104-445: A flower arrangement . In one variation of the images capturing her performance, pigeons are perched on her outstretched, gloved arms. Dalí's lecture was delivered whilst wearing a deep-sea diving suit . Nearly suffocating during the presentation, Dalí had to be rescued by the young poet David Gascoyne, who arrived with a spanner to release him from the diving helmet . During the exhibition, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas carried around
156-616: A leading British artist. Graham Sutherland was born in Streatham , London, the eldest of three children of George Humphrey Vivian Sutherland (1873–1952), a barrister who later became a civil servant in the Land Registry and the Board of Education , and his wife Elsie (1877–1957), née Foster. Both were amateur painters and musicians. Graham Sutherland attended Homefield Preparatory School in Sutton and
208-714: A leading British modern artist. Alongside oil painting, Sutherland also took up glass design, fabric design, and poster design during the 1930s, and taught engraving at the Chelsea School of Art from 1926. Between 1935 and 1940, he also taught composition and book illustration at Chelsea. Sutherland converted to Catholicism in December 1926, the year before his marriage to Kathleen Barry (1905–1991), who had been his fellow student at Goldsmiths College. The couple, who were inseparable, lived at various locations in Kent, before eventually buying
260-672: A neck ribbon (as a necklet ), while women wear theirs on a ribbon bow pinned to the left shoulder, and aides-de-camp may wear the insignia on their aiguillettes . Since 1991, the insignia must be returned upon the recipient's death. number appointment There have been no honorary members of the Order of Merit since the death of the last such member, Nelson Mandela , in December 2013. Secretary and Registrar : Robin Janvrin, Baron Janvrin GCB , GCVO , QSO , PC As
312-473: A number of art colleges, notably at Chelsea School of Art and at Goldsmiths College , where he had been a student. In 1955, Sutherland and his wife purchased a property near Nice . Living abroad led to something of a decline in his status in Britain. However, a visit to Pembrokeshire in 1967, his first trip there in nearly twenty years, led to a creative renewal that went some way toward restoring his reputation as
364-571: A property in Trottiscliffe in 1945. At the start of World War Two, the Chelsea School of Art closed for the duration of the conflict and Sutherland moved to rural Gloucestershire. Between 1940 and 1945, Sutherland was employed as a full-time, salaried artist by the War Artists' Advisory Committee . He recorded bomb damage in rural and urban Wales towards the end of 1940, then bomb damage caused by
416-413: A single committee representative: The number of exhibits, paintings, sculpture, objects and drawings displayed during the exhibition's run was around 390. Danish painter Wilhelm Freddie 's entries never made it to the exhibition, as they were confiscated by British Customs representatives for being pornographic . According to ruling law at the time, the works had to be destroyed, but this was avoided at
468-452: Is named after Sutherland. A radio play, Portrait of Winston , by Jonathan Smith , is a dramatisation of his portrait of Winston Churchill. The same incident features in the Netflix series, The Crown , in which Sutherland is played by Stephen Dillane , and was discussed by Simon Schama in his 2015 BBC television series The Face of Britain by Simon Schama . Works by Sutherland are held in
520-570: Is restricted to a maximum of 24 living recipients from the Commonwealth realms, plus honorary members. While all members are awarded the right to use the post-nominal letters OM and wear the badge of the order, the Order of Merit's precedence among other honours differs between countries. In around 1773, George III considered establishing an order of knighthood to be called the "Order of Minerva " with membership restricted to 24 distinguished artists and authors. Knights would be entitled to
572-676: The Blitz in the City and East End of London. Almost all of Sutherland's paintings of bomb damage from the Blitz, either in Wales or in London, are titled Devastation:... and as such form a single body of work reflecting the needs of war-time propaganda, with precise locations not being disclosed and human remains not shown. A number of features reoccur within this body of work, for example, the fallen lift shafts that were often
SECTION 10
#1733093733618624-609: The Dominions of the British Empire became independent countries within the empire, equal in status to the UK, the Order of Merit continued as an honour open to all these realms and, in many, became a part of their newly developing national honours systems. The order's statutes were amended in 1935 to include members of the Royal Air Force and, in 1969, the definition of honorary recipients
676-560: The French Riviera , and he spent several months there each year. Eventually, in 1955, he purchased the villa Tempe à Pailla, designed by the Irish architect Eileen Gray , at Menton , near the French-Italian border. Beginning in 1949, alongside his abstract works, Sutherland painted a series of portraits of leading public figures, with those of Somerset Maugham and Lord Beaverbrook among
728-550: The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia , stated that the Order of Merit was the highest civilian award for merit a Canadian could receive. Some orders of precedence are as follows: Order of wear International Surrealist Exhibition The exhibition was organised by committees from England , France , Belgium , Scandinavia and Spain . The English organising committee consisted of: The French organising committee were: The remaining nations had
780-527: The Royal Academy of Arts , advised against the new order, primarily because of its selection process. It was Victoria's son Edward VII who eventually founded the Order of Merit on 26 June 1902 (the date for which his coronation had been originally scheduled ) as a means to acknowledge "exceptionally meritorious service in Our Navy and Our Army, or who may have rendered exceptionally meritorious service towards
832-507: The Slade School of Fine Art , he entered Goldsmiths' School of Art in 1921, specialising in engraving and etching before graduating in 1926. In both 1925 and 1928, Sutherland exhibited drawings and engravings at the XXI Gallery in London. While still a student, Sutherland established a reputation as a fine printmaker and commercial printmaking would be his main source of income throughout
884-638: The 1930s progressed and the political situation in Europe grew worse, he began to depict ominous, distorted human forms emerging from the land. Oil paintings of the Pembrokeshire landscape dominated his first one-man exhibition of paintings, held in September 1938 at the Rosenberg and Helft Gallery in London. It was these oil paintings, of surreal, organic landscapes of the Pembrokeshire coast, that secured his reputation as
936-626: The 1940s. A series of surreal oil paintings depicting the Pembrokeshire landscape secured his reputation as a leading British modern artist. He served as an official war artist in the Second World War , painting industrial scenes on the British home front. After the war, Sutherland embraced figurative painting, beginning with his 1946 work, The Crucifixion . Subsequent paintings combined religious symbolism with motifs from nature, such as thorns. Such
988-710: The Admiralty Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham and William Pitt exchanged correspondence concerning the possible creation of an order of merit, though nothing came of the idea. Later, Queen Victoria , her courtiers , and politicians alike, thought that a new order, based on the Prussian order Pour le Mérite , would make up for the insufficient recognition offered by the established honours system to achievement outside public service, in fields such as art, music, literature, industry and science. Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort , took an interest in
1040-457: The Order of Merit The Order of Merit (French: Ordre du Mérite ) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms , recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII , admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign—currently Edward VII's great-great-grandson Charles III —and
1092-577: The Order of Merit is open to the citizens of 15 countries, each with their own system of orders, decorations, and medals, the order's place of precedence varies from country to country. While, in the United Kingdom, the order's postnominal letters follow those of Knights and Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath , membership in the Order of Merit itself gives members no place in any of the orders of precedence in
SECTION 20
#17330937336181144-425: The Order of Merit, members are entitled to use the post-nominal letters OM and are entrusted with the badge of the order. The insignia consists of a badge, which consists of a golden crown from which is suspended a red enamelled cross pattée , itself centred by a disk of blue enamel, surrounded by a laurel wreath . The obverse of the badge's central disk bears the words FOR MERIT in gold lettering, while
1196-510: The Order, having been admitted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968, when he was 47 years old. Robin Eames , Baron Eames represented the order at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla on 6 May 2023. All citizens of the Commonwealth realms are eligible for appointment to the Order of Merit. There may be, however, only 24 living individuals in the order at any given time, not including honorary appointees, and new members are personally selected by
1248-673: The Swansea area of South Wales. Sutherland spent four months from the end of March 1944 at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Woolwich Arsenal working on a series of five paintings for WAAC. In December 1944, he was sent to depict the damage inflicted by the RAF on the railway yards at Trappes and on the flying bomb sites at Saint-Leu-d'Esserent in France. In all, Sutherland completed some 150 paintings as part of his WAAC commission. In 1944, Sutherland
1300-569: The Tetramorph took three years to complete and was installed in 1962. To complete the work, Sutherland visited the weavers, Pinton Frères [ fr ] of Felletin in France, on nine occasions. From his portrait work, Sutherland acquired several patrons in Italy and took to spending the summer in Venice . However, in 1967, for an Italian television documentary, Sutherland visited Pembrokeshire for
1352-456: The United Kingdom . However, Stanley Martin says in his book The Order of Merit 1902–2002: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour , that the Order of Merit is the pinnacle of the British honours system. Similarly, though it was not listed in the Canadian order of precedence for honours, decorations, and medals until December 2010, Christopher McCreery, an expert on Canadian honours and secretary to
1404-552: The advancement of Art, Literature and Science". All modern aspects of the order were established under his direction, including the division for military figures. From the outset, prime ministers attempted to propose candidates or lobbied to influence the monarch's decision on appointments. But, the Royal Household adamantly guarded information about potential names. After 1931, when the Statute of Westminster came into effect and
1456-675: The area, such as the estuaries at Sandy Haven and Picton . His work from this period includes two suites of prints The Bees (1976–77) and Apollinaire (1978–79). There were major retrospective shows at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1951, the Tate in 1982, the Musée Picasso, Antibes , France in 1998 and the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2005. A major exhibition of rarely seen works on paper by Sutherland, curated by artist George Shaw ,
1508-486: The best known. Beaverbrook regarded his portrait by Sutherland, which clearly depicted him as cunning and reptilian, as both an "outrage" and a "masterpiece". Maugham initially greatly disliked his portrait but came to admire it even though it had been described as making him look "like the madam of a brothel". Sutherland's Portrait of Winston Churchill (1954) greatly upset the sitter, who initially refused to accept its presentation. The elderly Churchill had wanted to direct
1560-495: The by then long-widowed Queen a draft constitution for an Order of Merit in Science and Art, consisting of one grade split into two branches of knighthood: the Order of Scientific Merit, for Knights of Merit in Science, with the post-nominal letters KMS , and the Order of Artistic Merit, for Knights of Merit in Art, with the post-nominal letters KMA . However, Frederic Leighton , President of
1612-551: The collections of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales , Bristol Museum and Art Gallery , Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery , Huddersfield Art Gallery, Herbert Art Gallery and Museum , Manchester Art Gallery , National Portrait Gallery , Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery , Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, Pallant House Gallery , Southampton City Art Gallery , The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art, Tenby Museum and Art Gallery , The Fitzwilliam Museum and The Priseman Seabrook Collection . Member of
Graham Sutherland - Misplaced Pages Continue
1664-463: The composition towards a fictionalised scene but Sutherland had insisted upon a realistic portrayal, one described by Simon Schama as "No bulldog, no baby face. Just an obituary in paint". After initially refusing to be presented with it at all, Churchill accepted the painting disparagingly as “a remarkable example of modern art ". Although the painting was subsequently destroyed on the orders of Lady Spencer-Churchill , some of Sutherland's studies for
1716-570: The first time and was profoundly inspired by its landscape. The region remained a source for his paintings for much of the following decade and he visited the area each year until the start of the Second World War. Sutherland focused on the inherent strangeness of natural forms, abstracting them to sometimes give his work a surrealist appearance and in 1936 he exhibited at the International Surrealist Exhibition in London. As
1768-408: The first time in more than twenty years and became inspired by the landscape to regularly work in the region until his death. Living abroad had led to something of a decline in his status in Britain, but his return to working in Pembrokeshire went some way toward restoring his reputation as a leading British artist. Much of his work from this point until the end of his life incorporates motifs taken from
1820-459: The last minute and they were despatched back to Denmark. The following artists participated in the exhibition: The following individuals exhibited objects: The following nations were represented at the exhibition: The exhibition was officially opened in the presence of about two thousand people by André Breton. The average attendance for the entire run of the Exhibition
1872-414: The last person so honoured. Honorary members form another group, to which there is no numerical limit, though such appointments are rare; individuals from countries in the Commonwealth of Nations that are not headed by King Charles are therefore considered foreigners, and thus are granted only honorary admissions, such as Nelson Mandela (South Africa) and Mother Teresa (India). Upon admission into
1924-496: The late 1920s. His early prints of pastoral subjects show the influence of Samuel Palmer , largely mediated by the older etcher, F.L. Griggs . Following the collapse of the print market in the early 1930s, due to the Great Depression , Sutherland began to concentrate on painting. His early paintings were mainly landscapes and show an affinity with the work of Paul Nash . In 1934, Sutherland visited Pembrokeshire in Wales for
1976-471: The matter; it was recorded in his diary that he met Sir Robert Peel on 16 January 1844 to discuss the "idea of institution of a civil Order of Merit" and, three days later, he conferred with the Queen on the subject. Though nothing came of the idea at the time, the concept did not wither and, more than 40 years later, on 5 January 1888, Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury submitted to
2028-634: The most recognizable aspect of larger bombed buildings and a double row of bombed houses Sutherland saw in the Silvertown area of the East End. Sutherland returned to Wales in September 1941 to work on a series of paintings of blast furnaces. From June 1942, he painted further industrial scenes, first at tin mines in Cornwall, then at a limestone quarry in Derbyshire, and then at open-cast and underground coal mines in
2080-496: The new order grew so heated that George ultimately dropped the idea, though he briefly reconsidered it in 1789; on 6 February of that year, he revised the design of the order, with the breast star to have sixteen points, the motto to be the Latin for "Learning improves character" and with membership to include distinguished scientists. Following the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, First Lord of
2132-522: The portrait have survived. In all, Sutherland painted more than fifty portraits, often of European aristocrats or senior businessmen. Following the Churchill portrait, Sutherland's portraits of, among others, Konrad Adenauer and the Queen Mother established him as something of an unofficial state portrait painter. This status was underlined by the award of the Order of Merit in 1960. In 1951, Sutherland
Graham Sutherland - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-537: The post-nominal letters KM , and would wear a silver nine-pointed breast star with the image of Minerva at its centre, along with a "straw-coloured" sash worn across the chest from the right shoulder. The motto of the Order would be "Omnia posthabita scientiae" (in Latin , 'Everything comes after science'). Once the King's proposal was made public, however, arguments within intellectual circles over who would be most deserving of
2236-447: The reigning monarch of the realms, currently Charles III , with the assistance of his private secretaries; the order has thus been described as "quite possibly, the most prestigious honour one can receive on planet Earth." Within the limited membership is a designated military division, with its own unique insignia; though it has not been abolished, it is currently unpopulated, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma having been
2288-414: The reverse bears the royal cypher of the reigning monarch in gold. The insignia for the military grouping is distinguished by a pair of crossed swords behind the central disk. The ribbon of the Order of Merit is divided into two stripes of red and blue. The neck ribbon is 50mm in width, while the ribbon bar width is the standard British 32mm size for military or civilian wear. Men wear their badges on
2340-513: The spikes and points of thorns, with religious iconography. A subsequent series, Origins of the Land , developed this approach, showing combinations of rocks and fossils in increasingly complex and abstract designs. In 1946, Sutherland had his first exhibition in New York. That same year, he also taught painting at Goldsmiths' School of Art. From 1947 into the 1960s, his work was inspired by the landscape of
2392-473: Was Sutherland's standing in post-war Britain that he was commissioned to design the massive central tapestry for the new Coventry Cathedral, Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph . A number of portrait commissions in the 1950s proved highly controversial. Winston Churchill hated Sutherland's depiction of him and subsequently Lady Spencer-Churchill had the painting destroyed. During his career, Sutherland taught at
2444-404: Was about a thousand people per day. Over the course of the Exhibition, the following lectures were delivered to large audiences: The most iconic image of the exhibition is the opening day performance of Sheila Legge, who stood in the middle of Trafalgar Square, posing in a white, drop tail hemmed wedding dress ensemble inspired by a Salvador Dalí painting, with her head completely obscured by
2496-452: Was commissioned by Walter Hussey , the Vicar of St Matthew's Church, Northampton , and an important patron of modern religious art, to paint The Crucifixion (1946). This was Sutherland's first major religious painting and his first large figure study. The Crucifixion shows a pale Christ with broken limbs and was followed by a series of paintings that combined abstract forms from nature, usually
2548-693: Was commissioned to produce a large work for the Festival of Britain . He exhibited in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1952 along with Edward Wadsworth and the New Aspects of British Sculpture Group. From 1948 until 1954, Sutherland served as a trustee of the Tate gallery. In early 1954, Sutherland was commissioned to design a monumental tapestry for the new Coventry Cathedral . Christ in Glory in
2600-429: Was expanded to include members of the Commonwealth of Nations that are not realms. The order has always been open to women, Florence Nightingale being the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907. Several individuals have refused admission into the Order of Merit, including Rudyard Kipling , A. E. Housman , and George Bernard Shaw . Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , remains the youngest person ever inducted into
2652-509: Was shown in Oxford, in 2011–12. Sutherland died in 1980 and was buried in the graveyard of the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Trottiscliffe , Kent. The highest price reached by one of his paintings at the art market was when The Crucifixion (1947) sold by $ 1.156.549 at Sotheby's London , on 15 June 2011. The main building of Coventry School of Art and Design , part of Coventry University ,
SECTION 50
#17330937336182704-655: Was then educated at Epsom College in Surrey until 1919. Upon leaving school, after some preliminary coaching in art, Sutherland began an engineering apprenticeship at the Midland Railway locomotive works in Derby where several members of the extended Sutherland family had previously worked. After a year, Sutherland succeeded in persuading his father that he was not destined for a career in engineering and that he should be allowed to study art. There being no vacancies at his first choice,
#617382