The Easel

1st September 2020

The greats outdoors: the pioneering Lakeland landscapes of Francis Towne

Michael Prodger | New Statesman | 26th August 2020

Towne mostly avoided London, building a small regional following. Attempts at election to the Royal Academy were unsuccessful and, when he died in 1816, that was that. An art scholar in the 1930’s saw something quite different. Towne’s use of ink and watercolour, without the usual washes, created flat images that emphasised “visual impression” over mood. So 20th century! Towne is now seen as a pioneer of the British landscape watercolour tradition.

David Goldblatt: Seven decades of Johannesburg

Hannah Abel-Hirsch | British Journal of Photography | 14th August 2020

This London show is a reminder of the impact of Goldblatt’s work. Some have puzzled why, in apartheid South Africa, he focused not on its chaotic and violent events but on the “moral weight” of the everyday. “Events in themselves are not so interesting to me as the conditions that led to the events. These conditions are often quite commonplace, and yet full of what is imminent.” More images are here.

25th August 2020

Gauguin and the Impressionists review, Royal Academy: the dazzling spoils of a very canny collector

Lucy Davies | The Telegraph | 4th August 2020

Living in neutral Denmark during WW1, Hansen could get French art on the cheap. He bought brilliantly – the best Impressionists, their eminent predecessors and, for good measure, Cezanne and Matisse. Reflecting his restrained Nordic character, many of the works are “understated, meditative”. And then, boom – his Gauguins – each “a stunner of colour, people, places”. In an exhibition of superstars, what emerges most clearly is the collector. Images are here.

Photos that should not be possible

Sean Sheehan | Lensculture | 1st August 2020

LensCulture street photography awards are a major accolade in world photography. One of the 2020 winners was a series focused on the youth of Belfast. Collectively, it is a portrait of marginalized Protestant and Catholic communities that do not share a common vision. As the writer notes, “artless joy looks to be in short supply.”

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