Government Art Collection: At Work 3 June - 4 September 2011 Gallery 7

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1 Government Art Collection: At Work 3 June - 4 September 2011 Gallery 7 The Whitechapel Gallery presents works of art from the Government Art Collection, shown for the first time in a public gallery. For over 100 years, the Government Art Collection has acquired more than 13,500 paintings, sculptures and work in other media dating from the 16 th century to the present day. Usually on display in more than 400 embassies and government buildings worldwide, their purpose is to promote British art and artists it is shown for the first time in a public art gallery. Government Art Collection: At Work opening at the Whitechapel Gallery on 3 June is a selection from these embassies and government departments, showcasing the diverse nature of the Collection, its locations and function. Highlights include a 16th-Century portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, formerly on display in the Ministry of Justice; the modern masterpiece Lancashire Fair: Good Friday, Daisy Nook by Mancunian artist L.S. Lowry, recently housed at 10 Downing Street; and Derek Boshier s 1962 contribution to British Pop Art, I Wonder What My Heroes Think of the Space Race - previously installed at the British Embassy in Moscow; and, Peas are the New Beans by Bob and Roberta Smith, a humorous comment on accountancy. The first display also includes works by artists including Zarina Bhimji, Edward Burra, Tracey Emin, Elizabeth Frink, Jim Lambie, Michael Landy, Bridget Riley and Walter Sickert. Many works on display are being shown in Britain for the first time in many years. Queen Elizabeth I by an unknown artist is shown in a public gallery for the first time since its acquisition in Frederick V, King of Bohemia ( ) & Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia ( ), The Winter Queen, a pair of portraits by Gerrit von Honthorst, have been on display at the British Embassy, Prague, since View of St. Paul s and Blackfriars Bridge (c1775) painting by William Marlow, has been on display at 10 Downing Street since The first in a series of five displays, Government Art Collection: At Work is part of the Whitechapel Gallery s ongoing programme opening up important public and private collections for everyone. It will be followed by four further displays exploring the diverse nature of the Collection and its role promoting British culture on the world stage including artist Cornelia Parker presenting her personal take on the Collection (16 September 4 December 2011), and historian and broadcaster Simon Schama makes a selection highlighting the role of the Collection in cultural diplomacy (16 December February 2012). 1

2 The exhibition The Government Art Collection: At Work is curated by the Collection in collaboration with the Gallery. The selectors who have chosen works are high profile political and diplomatic figures with a close connection with the works. They are: Lord Boateng, former Government Minister and British High Commissioner to South Africa; the Prime Minister s wife Samantha Cameron; Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg; Lord Mandelson, former Business Secretary; Dame Anne Pringle, British Ambassador to Moscow; Sir John Sawers, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service; and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey. The displays are shown in the dedicated Collections Gallery. Notes to editors The Government Art Collection showcases British art in Government buildings including Downing Street, the Home Office and British Embassies and Residences in nearly every capital city across the world. The Collection promotes British art and culture to the world and facilitates diplomatic and cultural links by selecting works of art with connections between the host country and the UK. Government Art Collection: At Work exhibition is a collaboration between the Government Art Collection and the Whitechapel Gallery. The presentation of the Government Art Collection is part of the Whitechapel Gallery s ongoing programme of opening up collections that are rarely seen by the public in the UK. It follows the presentation of five displays from the British Council Collection from April 2009 May 2010, and four displays from The D. Daskalopoulos Collection, Greece, from June 2010 May Following the end of its run at the Whitechapel Gallery the exhibition will tour Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (16 November February 2013) and Ulster Museum (15 March 9 June 2013) The Whitechapel Gallery Collections programme is supported by Hiscox. Visitor Information Government Art Collection: At Work 3 June September Admission free. Opening times: Tuesday Sunday, 11am 6pm, Thursdays, 11am 9pm. Whitechapel Gallery, Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX. Nearest London Underground Station: Aldgate East, Liverpool Street, Tower Gateway DLR. T + 44 (0) info@whitechapelgallery.org whitechapelgallery.org Press Information For further press information regarding the exhibitions please contact the Whitechapel Gallery press office: Rachel Mapplebeck on , or RachelMapplebeck@whitechapelgallery.org Elizabeth Flanagan on or ElizabethFlanagan@whitechapelgallery.org For press enquiries about the Collection please contact the DCMS press office: Simon Oliver on or simon.oliver@culture.gsi.gov.uk Sandra McKay on or Sandra.mckay@culture.gsi.gov.uk 2

3 History of the Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection traces its history back to the 1890s when the Office (later Ministry) of Works was made responsible for works of art already located in Government buildings. HM Treasury also made a sum of money available for the purchase of additional suitable works for Government buildings in London. In the 1930s funding was extended to allow for the provision of art in Government buildings abroad. After World War II the Collection began to grow on a more substantial basis, assisted by appeals made for funding and gifts and bequests, with the emphasis on the collection and display of British art. In 1949 the Ministry of Works commissioned five paintings by John Piper for the new British Embassy in Rio, and works by a number of artists to mark the 1953 Coronation. The Collection s first specialist curator was employed in During the 1960s attempts were made to broaden the Collection through the acquisition of a significant number of prints by contemporary artists, this emphasis continuing in the mid-1970s when the Collection commissioned graphic work from several artists. A major programme of commissioning site-specific art for British diplomatic buildings abroad began in Bonn in 1979 with a sculpture by Ian Hamilton Finlay. Further commissions in London were to follow in 1985 for the new Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. In 1981 the organisation became known as the Government Art Collection. It was placed under the Department of National Heritage in 1992 (in 1997 this became the Department for Culture, Media & Sport). The Collection was one of the first public artefact collections to computerise its catalogue and in 1997 produced its first summary catalogue- of its 20 th century original works. This was followed by the launch of the Collection s website in Acquisitions and major commissions continued, including work for the new British Embassies in Berlin and Moscow (2000), and for the new Home Office in 2005 and Ministry of Justice in In 2010 the GAC was awarded Accreditation status by the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council. The first book about the GAC is due for publication in the summer of The Government Art Collection today promotes Britain by displaying some two-thirds of its holdings at any one time in over 400 Government buildings in the UK and in most capital cities of the world. It has over 13,500 works of art in its holdings (oil paintings, prints, drawings, watercolours, photographs, sculpture, textiles, video works and examples of historic Government silver). The Collection has operated under23 individual Prime Ministers since it began. 3 Press Images

4 Government Art Collection: At Work 3 June September 2012, Gallery 7 The first display from 3 June 4 September 2011 is chosen by high profile figures that have a close connection with the works. Image 1 Anonymous 16 th Century British Artist Queen Elizabeth I ( ) Reigned Oil on panel 53.5 x 42 cms Crown Copyright: UK Government Art Collection Selected by Lord Mandelson Image 2 L S Lowry Lancashire Fair. Good Friday. Daisy Nook 1946 Oil on canvas; 72 x 92 cm The Estate of L S Lowry, 2010/courtesy of the UK Government Art Collection Selected by Samantha Cameron Image 3 Bob and Roberta Smith Peas Are The New Beans Vinyl paint on panel 61 x 60.4 x 5 cms Bob and Roberta Smith / courtesy of the UK Government Art Collection Selected by Lord Boateng Image 4 Gerrit van Honthorst Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia ( ) Winter Queen c Oil on canvas 226 x cms Crown Copyright: UK Government Art Collection Government Art Collection Selected by Anne Pringle 4

5 Image 5 David Tindle Tea, Acrylic on canvas 93 x 112 cms David Tindle / courtesy of the UK Government Art Collection Selected by Nick Clegg Image 6 Michael Landy Compulsory Obsolescence, 2002 Pen and ink 82.5 x112.5 cms Michael Landy / courtesy of the UK Government Art Collection Selected by Ed Vaizey 5

6 The Government Art Collection: At Work 3 June September 2012, Gallery 7 List of works Bridget RILEY Reflection 1982 Oil on canvas, 171 x cm Albert Arabian Night, Mixed media, 83 x 59 cm GOODWIN Cairo 1876 Claude HEATH Ben Nevis on Blue 2004 Acrylic on polyester, 180 x 186 cm (NB NO FRAME) Jim LAMBIE The Doors (LA Woman) 2005 Wall-mounted painted wooden sculpture, 87 x x 34 cm Norman BLAMEY In the Cellar Mirror 1971 Oil on board, x 155 cm Selected by Sir John Sawyers Gerrit van HONTHORST Frederick V, King of Bohemia ( ) Oil on canvas, 226 x cm Gerrit van HONTHORST W.R. SICKERT Derek BOSHIER Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia ( ) Winter Queen La Giuseppina leaning against a Chaise-Longue I wonder what my Heroes think of the Space Race 1962 Selected by Dame Anne Pringle Oil on canvas, 226 x cm Oil on canvas, 61 x 52.5 cm Oil on canvas, x cm Elisabeth Homme Libellule II Bronze sculpture, height 39 cm FRINK Mary MARTIN White Diagonal 1963 Construction, 85 x 85 cm L.S. LOWRY Lancashire Fair: Oil on canvas, 94 x cm Good Friday, Daisy Nook 1946 William MARLOW View of St. Paul s and Blackfriars Bridge c1775 Oil on canvas, 89 x cm Selected by Samantha Cameron 6

7 Tracey EMIN Margate 1 Sand Monoprint, 53 x 61 cm 2006 Tracey EMIN Still Love You Monoprint, 53 x 61 cm Margate 2006 Michael LANDY Compulsory Obsolescence 2002 Ink drawing, 82.5 x cm Selected by Ed Vaizey Cecil STEPHENSON Design for the Festival of Britain Painting (tempera on canvas on board), 96.5 x 76 cm Unknown artist Queen Elizabeth I ( ) Reigned Painting (oil on panel), 67 x 56 cm John Michael RYSBRACK David DAWSON Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ) Artist 1743 Lucian Freud painting the Queen 2001 Bronze sculpture, height 67 cm Photograph, 56.5 x 76.5 cm Selected by Lord Mandelson Zarina BHIMJI Howling like dogs, I swallowed solid air Transparency & lightbox, x 173 x 12.5 cm David TINDLE Tea painting, 93 x 112 cm David DAWSON Selected by Nick Clegg Lucian Freud painting the Queen 2001 Photograph, 56.5 x 76.5 cm Bob and Roberta SMITH Peas are the New Beans 1999 Painting, 61 x 60.5 cm Osmund CAINE Spider Hutments, Mychett Barracks, Aldershot, Jazz Fans c Edward BURRA Selected by Lord Boateng Painting, 116 x 168 cm Pen and ink drawing, 73 x 63.5 cm 7