Glyn Philpot
I know Philpott’s work well and am fond of it but had not realised that his family had donated a lot of his work to this museum. It was lovely to see so much of it together and to learn a bit more about his life. He started as a good society portrait painter and there was a delightful picture of his niece, who donated the work, as a child.
It told the stories of his main relationships including with Henry Thomas, his black chauffeur who modelled for him an a number of occasions and there were some lovely examples of these paintings and sculptures shown with pictures painted of jazz musicians in New York. It also told the sad story of Vulcan Forbes, who Philpot met in the First World War and shared a house and studio with from 1923-1935 and who killed himself the day after Philpott’s funeral.
I’d not come across the lovey works commissioned by Syrie Maughan, the interior designer, for the white interiors of her clients. It’s always interesting to see how artists earned their bread and butter.
Closes on 23 September 2018
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