Five iconic paintings by one of the leading British painters of the 20th century, Francis Bacon, will join the redisplay of the notable permanent collection at Ferens Art Gallery, thanks to National Lottery players.
The Francis Bacon: Nervous System exhibition marks the very first time that Bacon’s work has been brought to Hull and the series will be on display between Saturday 21 January – Monday 1 May 2017.
Bacon’s renowned painting, Head VI (1949) is on a year-long loan from the Arts Council Collection, and acts as the centrepiece for the group. It is accompanied until 1 May 2017 by four other of the so-called ‘screaming pope’ series, painted in the years immediately after it. These significant additional loans come from the collections of Aberdeen Art Gallery, The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich and a private collection.
Bacon is known for his darkly visceral, yet striking portraits. The five powerful canvases convey the darker side of the human condition suggesting what lies beneath everyday life. Bacon himself expressed his working processes in very direct terms stating, ‘Painting is the pattern of one’s own nervous system projected onto canvas’.
Drawing from varied sources including photography, film and Surrealism, Bacon was also inspired by the Old Masters and in this case Diego Velazquez’s 17thcentury portrait of Pope Innocent X. The results are unsettling and united by their uneasy human presence.
The artworks will be shown alongside highlights from the Ferens’ strong modern and contemporary portrait collection from the last 100 years including Wyndham Lewis’s iconic and deliberately repellent Self – Portrait As a Tyro of 1920-21.
Councillor Terry Geraghty, Portfolio Holder for Culture and Leisure and Chair of Hull Culture and Leisure Limited, said:
“The display of these spectacular art works underscores the very reason for undertaking the major investment in the Gallery that has just been completed.
“With the new environmentally controlled galleries, the Ferens is able to display the work of internationally acclaimed artists amongst its very own permanent collection displays.
“These Francis Bacon loans make a powerful dramatic statement to open our UK City of Culture year.”
Kirsten Simister, Curator of Art at the Ferens Art Gallery, said:
“We are extremely grateful to our lenders, and the Heritage Lottery Fund who have made it possible to bring these exceptional works to Hull audiences this year.
“It is amazing to show Bacon’s extraordinary 20th century secular paintings at the same time as the equally extraordinary 14th century sacred paintings by Lorenzetti and his Sienese contemporaries.”
The exhibition was made possible with funding of £70,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It also had the support of Hull UK City of Culture 2017.
Fiona Spiers, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Yorkshire and the Humber, said:
“This new exhibition reinforces the leading role the Ferens is taking in this year’s UK City of Culture programme, following its recent re-opening. We are delighted that National Lottery players have been able to support this excellent endeavour.”
Entry is free to all our museums and art gallery and are open: Monday – Saturday 10am – 5pm and Sunday 11am – 4.30pm. The Maritime Museum and Ferens Art Gallery is also open until 7.30pm every Thursday.
