Art and Alcohol

Nice exhibition looking at Tate Britain looking at how British artists have depicted alcohol consummation from both an approving and disapproving stance. As the commentary said “In British art, binging is nothing new.”

Of course is started with a copy of Hogarth’s Gin Lane but basically it was a chance to see some little seen pictures in a different context. I loved an Edward Le Bas called “Saloon Bar” of a single woman in bar, from the 1940s commenting on a changing society at the time.

Who could resist the wonderful big picture by George Cruikshank “The Worship of Bacchus” a compilation of vignettes on the evil of drink partly inspired by the death of his father, the cartoonist, in a drinking competition. As someone who was nursing the end of a hangover it seemed very poignant!

Closes autumn 2016

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