The Lightbox is a groovy gallery and art centre 10 minutes walk from Woking station. Its outdoor café overlooks the scenic Basingstoke canal and inside it has no fewer than three separate galleries as well as a permanent display on the history of Woking.
The three-room space on the third floor is currently showing a selection from the collection of Ruth Borchard (1910 to 2000). Borchard was the daughter of a Jewish Hamburg merchant. In 1938 the Borchard family fled the Nazis and settled in Reigate (it must have been quite a culture shock). She was a writer with an eye for art, and enjoyed visiting London’s art galleries and shops until one day she had the idea of filling the blank spaces on her parents’ walls with self-portraits by up-and-coming new artists.
Ruth Borchard by Michael Noakes (1958)
She set herself a budget limit of 21 guineas and took to visiting private art galleries, art schools and artists’ studios, seeking out new talent and sometimes commissioning established artists to paint themselves. This show displays around 100 of these self-portraits.
None of them are by first division artists – David Hockney, Peter Blake etc – but I recognised Michael Ayrton, Keith Vaughan, Ken Howard, and a few of the others. They’re the kind of interesting but not-quite-famous names you see at the Royal Academy Summer show year in, year out. Taken together it amounts to a fascinating overview of what was possible in this genre, by mostly British painters (i.e. not European or American) from the War until the very early 60s (before Pop), a period I’ve always found worthy but a little drab.
Borchard’s collection includes a number from before she began collecting – the earliest from 1929 – and the last from 1970.
The artist as nice old boy
There’s quite a diversity of style but certain themes or similarities emerged. I liked works which showed the artist as all too often they are – nice middle-aged, middle-class men – such as this self-portrait by Lawrence Gowing (1918 to 1991), who went on to become a noted art expert and curator.
Self-portrait by Lawrence Gowing (1963)
Self-portrait by John Wynne-Morgan (1906 to 1991).
Self-portrait by John Wynne-Morgan (1960)
Obviously the styles and visions are distinct, but there’s a basic sense that the artist is a decent cove. The self-portrait by Ken Howard (b.1932) is an early work by an artist who’s gone on to have a long career.
Self-portrait by Ken Howard (1961)
Self-portrait by Michael Ayrton (1921 to 1975). His works from the 50s varies from neo-Romantic to Surreal. I know him for his statue of the Minotaur.
Self-portrait by Michael Ayrton (1961)
Michael Noakes (b.1933) who became known for his portraits of actors, writers, academics, diplomats, politicians, lawyers, churchmen, senior military personnel, businessmen, leaders of the industry and members of the Royal Family.
Self-portrait with a beard by Michael Noakes (1958)
Go mad!
At the other extreme are the guys who decided to let rip! Frederick Newton Souza (1924 to 2002) the first post-independence Indian artist to achieve high recognition in the West. According to Wikipedia, ‘Souza’s style exhibited both low-life and high energy.’
Self-portrait by Frederick Newton Souza
Andrej Kuhn (1929 to 2014). Maybe the foreign names are an indicator that they felt free to work outside the conventions of English niceness.
Self-portrait with wood carving by Andrej Kuhn (1963)
Trevor Hodgson (b.1931) There’s not much info about Hodgson on the internet, but I liked this a lot, very characteristic of the era. Good.
Self-portrait by Trevor Hodgson (1958)
Let’s pretend to be French
I liked this sort of Vorticist image by William Gear (1915 to 1997) a Scottish artist who spent the late 1940s living in Paris.
Self-portrait with wood carving by William Gear (1953)
Marek Zulawski (1908 to 1985) was born in Rome but lived and worked in London. I like this Cro-Magnon version of Matisse.
Self-portrait with a beard by Marek Zulawski (1949)
Mud
There was a clutch of works characterised by the use of heavy wadges of paint laid on with a spatula, in the style made famous by Frank Auerbach and which I loathe if nothing else, because they’re so samey. And so drab. Dennis Creffield born 1931.
Self-portrait by Dennis Creffield (1959)
Dorothy Mead (1928 to 1975) was the first woman president of the student annual exhibiting society at the Slade School of Art in 1959.
Self-portrait by Dorothy Mead (1960)
Mario Dubsky (1939 to 1985) a youthful prodigy who came under the influence of Keith Vaughan at the Slade.
Self-portrait by Mario Dubsky (1960)
Women
Not enough women artists, but the earliest and the last example are by women.
This is an early work by Ithell Colquhoun who went on to develop a distinctive, naive-style surrealism, infused with her personal brand of spiritualism. ‘After the 1950s, she was regarded as a ‘fantamagiste’, an unorthodox surrealist who focus on the occult’ (Wikipedia). Worth exploring more.
Self-portrait by Ithell Colquhoun (1929)
Lucinda ‘Linda’ Mackay, painted herself in 1971.
Self-portrait by Lucinda Mackay (1971)
Related links
- Artists’ self portraits from the Ruth Borchard Collection continues @ the Lightbox until 25 June 2017
- Artists’ self portraits from the Ruth Borchard Collection online
- The Ruth Bourchard Collection website
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