The English Matisse: The Landscapes of Matthew
Smith
The first ever exhibition devoted to the
dazzling landscapes of Matthew Smith (1879-1959) will be on show at
the Bath & North East Somerset Council run Victoria Art Gallery
from 26 June.
Once described as an English ‘Fauve’ or wild
beast on account of his use of brilliant colours, Smith’s work
stemmed from his love for the South of France and the work of
colourists such as Cézanne and Matisse. Although Smith produced
over a hundred landscapes in the course of his career, they have
tended to be overlooked in the past in favour of his still lifes
and nudes.
Manager of the Council run Victoria Art
Gallery, Jon Benington said:
“Matthew Smith’s uninhibited use of colour had
enormous influence. Such unbridled passion ran contrary to the
English grain, hence Matthew Smith looked to European painters for
inspiration, especially Rubens and Matisse.”
Dating from 1911 to 1956, the forty-nine works
in the show demonstrate Smith’s evolution – from a hesitant painter
of scenes in his native Yorkshire, to the brooding Cornish
landscapes of 1920, and finally the high-keyed colour of the later
views of Provence. Also included in the show are a number of views
of Bath’s twin town, Aix-en-Provence, where Smith moved in
1936.
Organised in collaboration with the Crane
Kalman Gallery, London, the Bath exhibition includes loans from
Tate, the Guildhall Art Gallery, the Government Art Collection and
the British Council.
The exhibition continues until 5 September and
is accompanied by a catalogue written by Andrew Lambirth. The
Victoria Art Gallery, by Pulteney Bridge, Bath is open
Tuesday-Sunday, closed Monday. For more information, visit the
website http://www.victoriagal.org.uk/
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
Matthew Smith (1879-1959)
Smith always painted his landscapes
out-of-doors, relying on his trusty Citroen to access the remoter
areas.
Despite the confident, sweeping brushstrokes
of his paintings, Smith as a person was nervous, diffident and
highly strung. A late developer, his artistic inclinations were
discouraged by his industrialist father and his teachers at the
Slade School of Art. He was 31 when he attended the Parisian art
school of Henri Matisse.
Smith went on, however, to prove all his
critics wrong, for he would later be awarded a CBE as well as a
knighthood for his services to art. His speciality was to ‘draw’
with the brush, straight onto the canvas, allowing the rhythmic
strokes to form the structure of the painting.
Victoria Art Gallery – The
Victoria Art Gallery, run by Bath & North East Somerset
Council, houses the area’s permanent collection of British and
European art from the 15th century to the present day including
works by Gainsborough, Turner and Sickert. The gallery has one of
the best temporary exhibition programmes in the region, ranging
from prints to sculpture, including national touring exhibitions
and major retrospectives. There are frequent workshops, holiday
activities and a full programme for schools.
For further information and images
contact:
Jon Benington, Manager of the Victoria Art
Gallery, on Tel: 01225 477772 or
e-mail: jon_benington@bathnes.gov.uk