Warhol Marilyn print in guided tour
THE woman who put together a show of work by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol and Henri Matisse that’s now at Inverness museum – will lead a tour around it today (Thursday).
Gill Saunders, the Victoria & Albert Museum’s senior curator of prints, put the Modern Masters In Print exhibition together for the London venue.
"These ‘modern masters’ each had a profound influence in the art world, but also beyond. Their legacy pervades our culture," said Gill of the prints which include the famous print of Marilyn Monroe – one of a series issued in 10 different colourways by Andy Warhol.
Though Marilyn Monroe became one of the most iconic faces of the 20th century with lots of different images of her in wide circulation, Warhol’s is probably now the most familiar representation of her face.
The show – which is now on tour across the country – will stay in Inverness until Feburary 28 next year.
All four of the artists featured – Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol – were accomplished printmakers.
Drawn from the V&A’s collections of prints, posters and artists’ books, Modern Masters showcases their work in print.
Each artist used the print in his own way.
For Matisse and Picasso, printmaking was one of the many artistic media they employed. They used it to explore themes and motifs from other areas of their work. The exhibition contains Picasso prints from different stages in his career from 1904 to 1957.
For Salvador Dalí, printmaking was an exercise in experimentation. As well as his famous print of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, there is an image of an owl on display in the exhibition which is unlike the surrealist paintings for which he is usually known.
Around 1950, Dali said: "... to be a surrealist forever is like spending your life painting nothing but eyes and noses".
Warhol’s prints were central to his work. His screen-prints based on mass-produced images challenged the concept of the "original" print.
The Victoria & Albert Museum’s curator of prints Gill Saunders will be holding a tour around the prints today (Thursday) at Inverness Museum & Art Gallery at 5.30pm. Though free, you need to book a place on tonight’s tour, so phone IMAG on 01463 237114.
The exhibition runs there until February 28 and the venue is extending its normal opening hours for the show to: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm with late opening on Thursday until 7pm.
High Life Highland has had support from the Inverness Common Good Fund to stage the exhibition.
