Night to remember as gallery’s goddess is conserved
The Goddess of Night by artist Quentin Bell is part of a new exhibition exploring different portrayals of women over the past 400 years, after it was the subject of a careful restoration project by specialist paper conservator James Caverhill.
Separating the fragile piece from its backing, James began the painstaking process of repairing a split which had occurred in the brittle paper over many years.
Drawn and coloured in astonishing detail on fragile material, this remarkable piece is one of a pair, with its companion the Goddess of Day - also part of the gallery’s collection – having both been generously gifted last year by Vanda Walton.
Both pieces are now proudly on display in the gallery as part of its current Portrayals of Women exhibition, which explores how women have been depicted from the 17th century to the present day.
Bell was the nephew and biographer of Virginia Woolf, as well as a renowned ceramicist and former Professor of Fine Art at The University of Leeds. Initially we believed that Bell had based both artworks on his wife Anne Olivier Bell, known as Olivier. However, we discovered that this was not the case when Bell’s daughter Virginia Nicholson contacted the gallery on behalf of herself and her siblings.
Thanks to Virginia’s information we now know that the two drawings were created c.1967 as preparatory works for paintings on wooden panels. Those paintings never came to fruition, but the preparatory drawings were hung between the windows in the family dining room, having been created with those spaces in mind. The works remained there until the early 1980s when Bell gifted both drawings to his friend and colleague Peter Walton, Vanda’s late husband.
The works, which were cherished and well cared for, remained in Peter and Vanda’s home until last year when they were generously donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries.
Kirsty Young, Leeds Art Gallery’s assistant curator of fine art, said: “Bell’s works frequently reference classical mythology and these works that have a strong architectural quality to them are a perfect reflection of this.
In various mythologies, day and night are personified as female deities that control the cycles of light and darkness. These portrayals often highlight female power, beauty, wisdom and influence. The figures here are clearly identifiable through the symbolic items they are holding.
The nature of works on paper means that, over time, they can be subject to this kind of deterioration as the paper can become very brittle, so we’re extremely fortunate to have James’s expertise in conserving the Goddess of Night in readiness for display.
In reaching out to us, Virginia and her family have been immensely helpful, filling in the background to the artistic intention behind the works and their life before they were gifted to Peter and Vanda Walton. The story behind the works had taken on a romantic character that was never the artist’s intention. So we are grateful to the family for giving us a much fuller understanding of the works - one which will benefit future interpretation and displays.”
Virginia Nicholson said: “It is truly wonderful that they have been so treasured and looked after all these years – and now they have a new life at the City Art Gallery.”
Bell’s works are part of Leeds Art Gallery’s impressive fine art collection which is designated as being of national and international importance. The collection of works on paper is one of the finest in Britain and consists of over 10,000 items dating from 1450 to the present day.
The Portrayals of Women exhibition brings together a range of artworks from Leeds Art Gallery’s nationally renowned works on paper collection. It features a selection of works including historic pieces by Ottavio Leoni and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, to recent acquisitions by contemporary artists Skye Davies and SHARP.