. Eleven essays marking the centenary of London’s Ben Uri Gallery and Museum, relating ‘Art, Identity and Migration’ addressing the 100 years of British art and Jewish emigre community history. Marking the remarkable century of Ben Uri Gallery and Museum, from humble beginnings in London’s East End in 1915 to a fully-fledged mainstream art museum, under its banner Art, Identity and Migration , this publication reveals eleven essays covering each aspect of the century’s art history in parallel with the effect of emigre and Jewish artists on the cultural mosaic of Britain and Europe. They discuss the museum’s world class collection including masterworks by some of the greatest artists of the twentieth century, including Soutine, Chagall, Auerbach, Bomberg, Kitaj and Kossoff. An array of distinguished scholars survey the ‘Whitechapel Boys’; Yiddish London, Les Peintres Juifs de L'Ecole de Paris, Official War artists from both conflicts; mid-century emigres influencing the direction of the arts, and contemporary artists making ground-breaking work across new media. They point to this unique collection, primarily of artists born into the Jewish faith, many shaping modern British, European and American art history, representing a distinct visual survey of artistic and social life in Britain and the cultural heritage of British Jewry.
AUTHOR: Sarah MacDougall is the biographer of British modernist artist Mark Gertler. A senior curator since 2002 at Ben Uri she is Head of Collections at Ben Uri and the Eva Frankfurther Research and Curatorial Fellow for the study of emigre artists. She is a recognised scholar on emigre artists to Britain and Jewish artists and writes and lectures extensively both in her own right and jointly with colleague Rachel Dickson.
Rachel Dickson is the Head of Curatorial Services at Ben Uri following many years as a senior curator since 2002. She has curated a great many exhibitions including most recently ‘Transatlantic Dialogues with Judy Chicago, Tracey Emin, Louise Bourgeois and Helen Chadwick’. She co-curates with Sarah MacDougall and alongside Sarah is a leading scholar in the field of Emigre and Jewish artists. Both in her own right and jointly with Sarah she writes and lectures extensively.
66 colour and 36 b/w illustrations