The key above for the different individuals and objects assembled by Pauline Boty in one of her most important collages – the c. 1960/61 work “Picture Show” – is part of a new page recently added to the site. Thanks to Boty’s preproduction interview for and commentary during Ken Russell’s 1962 BBC documentary “Pop Goes the Easel”, we have a record of her inspiration behind creating the collage and descriptions of some of its sources, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Proust, Marilyn Monroe and Colette. With most of the contents identified, it is hoped that in time the rest of the items can be also and the list on this page completed. The new page can be accessed here: [link]
Three new items have been identified in the ongoing project to name those chosen by Pauline Boty for the collaged wall she assembled at her flat in west London photographed by, among others, Roger Mayne in 1964. Item #28 is of Queen Victoria and Empress Eugénie, c. 1855, #77 Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, c. 1850s and #136 Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, Giovanni Bellini, c. 1501–1502.
Pauline Boty: collaged wall key for 1964 Roger Mayne photo, V4, April 2024
The Wikipedia entry for Eugénie de Montijo notes: “The empress strongly advocated equality for women, pressured the Ministry of National Education to give the first baccalaureate diploma to a woman and tried unsuccessfully to induce the Académie Française to elect the writer George Sand as its first female member” and “She was perhaps the last Royal personage to have a direct and immediate influence on fashion. She set the standard for contemporary fashion at a time when the luxury industries of Paris were flourishing. Eugénie’s influence on contemporary taste extended into the decorative arts.” Further information is available here: [link]
With thanks to Jasmine Allen of The Stained Glass Museum for identifying the first two detailed above and Rachel Godfrey the third.
“Portrait of Empress Eugénie in Court Dress”, after Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1855–1870, Collection Château de Compiègne. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
All comments, corrections, clarifications and suggestions from visitors to the site about this project would be greatly appreciated, via the Contact page here: [link] The updated page can be accessed here: [link]
Marlborough will be showing Pauline Boty’s 1963 work Cuba Si at Frieze Masters 2022 in London from October 12–16.
The work is among a collection “celebrating the 1950s and 60s, one of the most prolific periods in the history of British art. Conceptualised in collaboration with writer and art critic Martin Gayford, whose 2018 publication Modernists and Mavericks provides a compelling account of the bustling London art scene from postwar Soho bohemia to the ‘Swinging 60s’, the presentation will highlight the plurality of artistic approaches at the time, with artists connected through personal relationships rather than distinct schools or manifestos.” [from the Marlborough Gallery London website].
Other artists exhibited by Marlborough at Frieze Masters will include Frank Auerbach, Gillian Ayres, Francis Bacon, Clive Barker, Frank Bowling, Reginald Butler, Patrick Caulfield, Maggi Hambling, Allen Jones, RB Kitaj, Leon Kossoff, Eduardo Paolozzi, Victor Pasmore, Joe Tilson and Euan Uglow.
Pauline Boty, A Big Hand, collage with gold gilt paint, 1961
Running from 21 January to 12 March 2022, the exhibition is dedicated to the 60s wave of female emancipation in the UK and US and features Pauline Boty together with Judy Chicago, Penny Slinger and Jann Haworth.
“Showing for the second time at the gallery, Pauline Boty (1938–1966) was a founder of the British pop art and Britain’s most notable pop art painter. Her paintings and collage work often made references to female sexuality as well as current affairs, criticising the nature of the “man’s world.” On display in the exhibition is Angel (60s) and A Big Hand (ca. 1961), a collage work depicting a female hand holding sculptural figures from Rome’s Trevi Fountain above a Victorian park scene.
Gallery artist Jann Haworth (b. 1942) moved to London from Los Angeles in 1961 to study at the Slade School of Fine Art, becoming a pioneer of soft sculptures that led her to challenge the notion of female form serving as a muse or object of desire. Exhibited works include the Pom Pom Girl (1964-65), China Cabinet (1963–1964), Dog (1962), Linder Doll (1965), Still Life Marble Fabric ( 1962) and Rhinestones (1963–64).
Penny Slinger (b. 1947) explores feminism and eroticism through work including photography, film and sculpture. On display are a series of vintage black and white photographs from the artist’s subversive Bride Book (1973) and works from her 1973 series Mouthpieces.
Multidisciplinary artist Judy Chicago was a trailblazing pioneer the feminist movement in the 1960s and ’70s; for decades, she has made work that celebrates the multiplicity of female identity. The exhibition features And She Vomited up the Sun and the Moon and then the night had its Own Light (1981) and her pyrotechnic Atmospheres series.
The exhibition title draws on the 60th death anniversary of Marilyn Monroe, whose death represented a departure point for female empowerment. A portion of proceeds will be donated to Women’s Aid.” [from the Gazelli Art House website]
Gazell Art House, 39 Dover Street, London W1S 4NN Tel: +44 207 491 8816 Link to exhibition website: [link]
The key above showing the different individuals and objects assembled by Pauline Boty for one of her most important works, her 1964 painting “It’s a Man’s Word I”, has now been added to the site. Among the figures newly-identified are the 4th century BC Greek statue of Hermes and also Thelonius Monk as a likely contender for another of those represented. As stated on the page, it is greatly hoped that in time the sources of all the items chosen by Boty to make up the work will be identified and the list on this page completed. All comments, corrections, clarifications and suggestions on this item would be greatly appreciated, via the Contact form here: [link] The new page can be accessed here: [link]
“Peter Blake: Collage” published by Waddington Custot in partnership with Thames & Hudson
This first complete overview of collage by Peter Blake, from his early assemblages to his most recent work has been published by Waddington Custot in partnership with Thames & Hudson.
The publication coincides with the opening of “Peter Blake: Time Traveller”, a new exhibition at Waddington Custot [until 13 August] charting the development of Blake’s approach to collage-making, beginning with his layering of subject matter in early painted compositions and experiments with collaged paper after encountering work by Kurt Schwitters in the 1950s. From here, the exhibition travels via Blake’s rise to prominence as the ‘Godfather of British Pop art’ to his current, self-proclaimed Late Period. From his found object constructions to his most recent digital print photo-collages, Blake has broadened the scope of what collage can comprise and what it can communicate. Peter Blake: Time Traveller includes works from Blake’s Alphabet and Museum of Black and White series, as well as pieces made in homage to fellow artists Sonia Delaunay, Kurt Schwitters and Robert Rauschenberg. Clowns, wrestlers and Icons are shown alongside work around souvenirs and holiday postcards. [from the Waddington Custot website].
Works from “Joseph Cornell’s Holiday” at Waddington Custot in the exhibition “Peter Blake: Time Traveller”
Boty makes an appearance in both the book and the exhibition, including within Blake’s recent collage series Joseph Cornell’s Holiday.
EXHIBITION DETAILS
Peter Blake: Time Traveller 18 June–13 August 2021 Waddington Custot, 11 Cork Street, London W1S 3LT
Time slots for the exhibition can be booked here: [link]
BOOKSPECIFICATIONS
Title: Peter Blake: Collage Publisher: Waddington Custot in partnership with Thames & Hudson Format: Hardback without Jacket Dimensions: 300 x 250mm Pages: 316 pp ISBN: 9780500971123 Price: £50
Pauline Boty: collaged wall key for 1964 Roger Mayne photo, v2, March 2021
The collaged wall created by Pauline Boty and photographed by Roger Mayne in 1964 has now been added to the site together with the numbered key shown above identifying some 60 items so far. As stated on the page, it is greatly hoped that this will provide a starting point for identifying the array of items chosen by Boty to adorn the wall, and that in time more of them will be identified and the list expanded further. All comments, corrections, clarifications and suggestions from visitors to the site in this regard would be greatly appreciated, via the Contact form here: [link] The new page can be accessed here: [link]
The screen grab below is of a new map added to the website showing the locations of Pauline Boty’s works in galleries and museums around the world. The map itself is available here [link] NB: not all are permanently on display however, so please be sure to check with the institution in question before making a trip specifically to see a work.
Please note: above shows a screen shot only of the map. Please visit the page itself to see all locations.
The slideshow below of Pauline Boty’s collages shown in Ken Russell’s 1962 documentary Pop Goes the Easel has now also been added to the Collages section of the site [link] as detailed in a previous News item here [link].
I would like to thank the BBC Photo Library for their assistance in confirming that copyright for the images of Pauline Boty’s works shown in Ken Russell’s 1962 documentary Pop Goes the Easel resides with the Estate of Pauline Boty, and am delighted therefore to be able to include them on this website. Commissioned by BBC Television for its Monitor series, Russell’s film includes 16 of Boty’s works shown initially full screen and face-on and then side-on whilst she sat with Peter Blake to discuss their content and sources of imagery. The titles aren’t discussed, but as mentioned in the previous News item, the hope is to ultimately match at least some of them to those of works exhibited in the Blake, Boty, Porter, Reeve exhibition which took place at the AIA Gallery whilst the programme was being filmed.
For UK viewers, Pop Goes the Easel is currently available on iPlayer here: [link]
Pauline Boty 