The Dulwich Picture Gallery has confirmed that it will be hosting a major exhibition of watercolours by John Singer Sargent, going on display in June 2017.
This newly announced exhibition will be the first major UK exhibition to explore the artist’s watercolours since 1927.
It will feature a number of key works from over 30 lenders will be displayed including The lady with the umbrella, 1911, offering a new perspective of the artist’s work and focusing on the technical style of his work and the individuality of the art that he created.
The exhibition will bring together nearly 80 works from Sargent’s greatest period of watercolour production between 1900 and 1918 and will be displayed thematically, to give a comprehensive guide to his work in watercolour.
This display will also showcase Sargent’s landscapes, architectural structures and figurative scenes, drawing visitor’s attention to the most radical elements of his work such as his use of the close-up to focus attention on a specific motif.
Co-curator of the exhibition Richard Ormond said: “In Sargent’s watercolours we see his zest for life and his pleasure in the act of painting. The fluency and sensuality of his paint surfaces, and his wonderful command of light, never cease to astonish us. With this exhibition we hope to demonstrate Sargent’s mastery of the medium and the scale of his achievement.”
The show will begin with some of the best examples of the artist’s fragments and close-ups and finish with a selection of Sargent’s figurative paintings, including depictions of his travel companions and fellow artists.
The exhibition will be curated by Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray, widely accepted as the UK reigning experts in this field. Richard Ormond is Sargent’s grand-nephew. He was previously director of the National Maritime Museum, London. Elaine Kilmurray is an art historian, author and curator. She has worked with Richard on numerous publications and co-curated exhibitions on Sargent’s work in London, Washington, D.C., Boston, Ferrara and Los Angeles.
Sargent: The Watercolours will go on display at the Dulwich Picture Gallery from the 21st June until the 8th October 2017. For more information visit: http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/2017/june/sargent-the-watercolours/