WINSLOW HOMER

Spending a year in a small fishing village on the English coast, the through and through New Englander Winslow Homer’s life changed. He had spent decades making a living as an illustrator, and was moving into painting with moderate success. His subjects were society folks, historical vignettes and scenes of pastoral, rural idyl that spoke to a nostalgic view of America. A naturally gifted painted, and almost entirely self-taught, the work is moving, delicate, and beautifully rendered though at times emotionally shallow. His time spent in England changed his understanding of the purpose of painting, as he saw the quiet, everyday heroism of working people. For the rest of his life, after that year, he rarely painted anything else. His theme became the eternal battle between man and nature, and he depicted with respect and revelry those who fought small battles for sustenance every day. Here, two men, precarious in their small boat against a rolling sea, pull in herring from a net. Winslow’s use of scale is remarkable - the figures absorb the eye, looming large against the horizon as if by their sheer heft they conquered nature. Yet the boat is small, and their actions, though painted in drama, are mundane and ordinary. Homer elevated daily life into something profound, and found the heroism in the overlooked.

JUAN GRIS

The student paints his master in an act of homage, and in doing so steps out of his shadow. When Juan Gris moved to Paris at the turn of the century, he was well timed to meet Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque as they were beginning to define the new language of the 20th century they were to call Cubism. Immediately infatuated with the style, and in awe of Picasso’s genius, Gris spent many years on the sidelines of this artistic scene, not as a full fledged member of the movement but instead as a disciple. This picture marked Gris’ entrance into the artistic milieu that managed to redefine the movement he had admired since it’s inception. Retaining the multiple perspectives and geometric forms of early Cubism, Gris’ portrait adds in an optical illusion effect with the crystalline structure of the geometry to create what would be coined ‘Analytical Cubism’. It is a fitting subject for a seminal work: his teacher and inspiration serves as the stepping stone to Gris’ emergence as an essential artist in his own right.

ELLSWORTH KELLY

In an age of modernity, where religion’s powers are waning and art was moving away from the representative, Ellsworthy Kelly wondered what would become of the altar-piece. Spending nearly a decade in Europe in the late 40s and early 1950s, he spent time in classical churches and cathedrals and became infatuated with the large scale, multi-panel works that served as their centre-pieces. On his return to America, he tried to incorporate this idea of art works composed of separate pieces, each serving as stand-alone painting but contributing ultimately to something greater than the sum of their parts. This seven panel work was the answer to his wondering, arranging the colours through chance techniques, he removed himself from the aesthetic decision making of the work and instead let the beauty of the artwork live in the intersections of its medium. The dialogue happens at the edges of the panels, where block colours interact across flat planes, and like the religious altarpieces that inspired it, the work tells a story of humanity and emotion when seen in its totality.