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1968

With Kenneth Rowntree suceeding Gowing as Professor and following Pasmore’s departure in 1961, this decade saw the increasing influence of Richard Hamilton in teaching, more emphasis on British 20th century acquisitions and younger contemporary artists’ exhibitions.

While Evetts, McCheyne, Holland and Hodgson remained on the staff, others such as Geoffrey Dudley, Eric Dobson, Derwent Wise and later Ian Stephenson took prominent roles.

1968

Exhibitions

  • Private View

    5 February - 2 March 1968

  • Student Summer Exhibition

    26 June - 13 August 1968
1968

Staff / Students

1968 Private View series of student exhibitions, by Alexander Dunbar
1968 Private View series of student exhibitions, by Alexander Dunbar

1968, Private View, poster

In 1968 the Private View series of student exhibitions was selected by Alexander Dunbar, the founder and then director of Northern Arts, one of the first regional art associations. The poster is one of the first for student exhibitions to utilise photography as part of the design.

Review for the Guardian, William Varley
Review for the Guardian, William Varley

1968, William Varley, press review

In his review for the Guardian William Varley identifies an increasing diversity in the work of the students, though also a lingering influence from Richard Hamilton through an evident interest in Marcel Duchamp. He concludes that the exhibition is ‘derivative and original in the proportions one might expect…’.

1968

Acquisitions

Louis Léopold Boilly (1761–1845) - 'Portrait of a Boy'
Louis Léopold Boilly (1761–1845) - 'Portrait of a Boy'

Portrait of a Boy, 1823

Louis Léopold Boilly

Attributed to Louis Léopold Boilly (1761–1845) - 'Portrait of a Boy' 1823.

NEWHG : OP.0043. Oil on canvas purchased from Sotheby's, 1968.

Record card, probably from the early 1970s
Record card, probably from the early 1970s

1970s record sheet for ‘Portrait of a Boy’

Ralph Holland

This record card, probably from the early 1970s, confirms that when purchased at Sotheby’s it was catalogued merely as by ‘Monogrammist B’, Ralph Holland seems to have favoured Benoist as an attribution, where Boilly came from is not recorded.

In 1998 the portrait was included in the exhibition ‘The Art Treasures of England
In 1998 the portrait was included in the exhibition ‘The Art Treasures of England

Letter from Pierre Rosenberg, 1998

In 1998 the portrait was included in the exhibition ‘The Art Treasures of England: the regional collections’ at the Royal Academy, seeing the painting there led Pierre Rosenberg, the then ‘President-director’ of the Musée du Louvre to write, suggesting yet another possible attribution: “I do not believe it can be attributed to Boilly. I wonder if the monogram which appears on the artwork is not rather that of Blondel, but this is only a hypothesis that I would like to point out in all modesty.”

Prunella Clough (1919-99) - 'The District Line'
Prunella Clough (1919-99) - 'The District Line'

The District Line, 1964

Prunella Clough

Prunella Clough (1919-99) - 'The District Line' 1964.

NEWHG : OP.0100. Oil on canvas presented by the Contemporary Art Society, 1968.

Rowntree, like Gowing before him, was able to secure a significant group of British 20th century artists for the Collection through the Contemporary Art Society
Rowntree, like Gowing before him, was able to secure a significant group of British 20th century artists for the Collection through the Contemporary Art Society

Letter from the Contemporary Art Society, 1968

Kenneth Rowntree

Rowntree, like Gowing before him, was able to secure a significant group of British 20th century artists for the Collection through the Contemporary Art Society. Under Rowntree they were, like Clough, increasingly ‘contemporary’.

David Bomberg (1890-1957) - 'Study for a Painting (Imaginative Composition)’
David Bomberg (1890-1957) - 'Study for a Painting (Imaginative Composition)’

Study for a Painting, 1920

David Bomberg

David Bomberg (1890-1957) - 'Study for a Painting (Imaginative Composition)’ c.1920.

NEWHG : OP.0119. Oil on paper purchased from Sotheby's, 1968.

This painting is from an unusual group of about 50 transitionary works, which Bomberg referred to as ‘Imaginative Compositions’, made around 1920, between his fragmented ‘Vorticist’ works and more painterly landscapes and portraits.

Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714-1789) - 'Figures in a Landscape'
Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714-1789) - 'Figures in a Landscape'

Figures in a Landscape, 1750

Claude-Joseph Vernet

Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714-1789) - 'Figures in a Landscape' c.1750.

NEWHG : OP.0040. Oil on canvas purchased from P&D Colnaghi, 1968.

Rowntree again had to apply to the V&A Purchase Grant Fund to raise sufficient money to complete the acquisition
Rowntree again had to apply to the V&A Purchase Grant Fund to raise sufficient money to complete the acquisition

Letter to the V&A Museum, 1968

Kenneth Rowntree

P&D Colnaghi, and particularly Roderic Thesiger, remained under Rowntree, as with Gowing, the main source of old master works for the Collection. With prices increasing and the funds available dwindling, Rowntree again had to apply to the V&A Purchase Grant Fund to raise sufficient money to complete the acquisition.

John Minton (1917-57) – ‘The Thames’
John Minton (1917-57) – ‘The Thames’

The Thames, 1941

John Minton

John Minton (1917-57) – ‘The Thames’ 1941.

NEWHG : D.0002. Ink on paper. Presented by Judge Lyall Wilkes, 1968.

By the end of the 1960s occasional gifts would become the main source of additions to the Permanent Collection
By the end of the 1960s occasional gifts would become the main source of additions to the Permanent Collection

A letter to Judge Lyall Wilkes, 1968

Henry Miller

By the end of the 1960s occasional gifts would become the main source of additions to the Permanent Collection, here the new University Vice-Chancellor, Henry Miller writes expressing his thanks to Judge Lyall Wilkes (1914-1991), an English historian, circuit judge and Labour Party politician, for the gift of the Minton work on paper.