A collection of self-portraits by contemporary artists will soon be on display at the newly redeveloped museum dedicated to Thomas Gainsborough in Sudbury, Suffolk. The museum’s executive director Calvin Winner has said the coming together of these works is a “remarkably generous collaboration” between Gainsborough’s House and London’s Royal Academy of Arts (RA). The exhibition will include self-portraits created by current and recent Academicians, as well as a piece by Gainsborough which he didn’t complete before he died in 1787.
As a founding member of the Royal Academy, Gainsborough was often at loggerheads with his peers in the organization, particularly over the hanging of his pictures on display in the Annual Exhibition. In contrast, the self-portraits acquired from the RA for the Gainsborough exhibition bear witness to a united front. Major contemporary artists such as Chantal Joffe and Patrick Procktor will be contrasted with portraits by Nathaniel Hone and Sir Thomas Lawrence among others.
Image of the Artist: Portraits from the Royal Academy, part of Gainsborough’s impressive display, is set to open on 16 November. The Royal Academy of Arts is still run by artists and architects recognised by their peers in honour of their exceptional creative work. The exhibition’s range of self-portraits will offer an irresistible display of works for the artistically adventurous – and for anyone interested in contemporary expressions of identity.
Gainsborough’s House, which reopened after a £10m redesign last year, was the childhood home of the 18th century artist born in Sudbury, Suffolk. The level of collaboration between the museum and RA which has facilitated the display of these significant portraits is set to make an unmissable addition to the South-East’s cultural calendar.
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