Share: Share on Facebook Share on X

Michael Jackson forcibly removed

Not the person, but the portrait of Jackson by Maggi Hambling (perhaps
an opportunistic choice of subject by the artist) was rejected by
the Royal Academy’s ‘Summer Exhibition’, following distaste
expressed by Anthony Green – who holds no little sway behind closed
doors. Both the President, Philip King, and David Hockney (joint
curator of the show) supported Hambling – but the Presidential casting
vote was not used to keep Hambling’s portrait of Jackson in. Internal
politics in the RA had a bearing on Allen Jones’ lining up with
Green (Jones is co-curator with Hockney). Fresh from disputes at
Aldeburgh and her memorial, ‘The Scallop’ to Sir Benjamin Britten,
Hambling can be forgiven for a strain of martyrdom, not unlike that
which characterises this painting (a brilliant exercise in portraiture).
Which is why we may well soon see this portrait in the National
Portrait Gallery instead. It is the Royal Academy’s true loss.

related articles…

  • British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers

    This show’s ambition to address testing times feels muted by a restrospective feel and with the exception of a few works, notably by Shiraz Bayjoo and Precious Okoyomon, there is little that is challenging or innovative

  • Kaari Upson: Dollhouse – a Retrospective

    In Upson’s work, the domestic is explored not just as a built structure, but as the space where the human psyche is formed, moulded like her silicone casts

  • Vietnam: Don McCullin – book review

    This book, which McCullin has said will be his last, documents his work across three campaigns in Vietnam, including images that have never before been seen publicly

  • Liz Larner – interview

    On the event of her first UK institutional show at Camden Art Centre, the American sculptor discusses plastics, ceramics and the legend of Lilith

  • Sophie Calle: Something Missing?

    Frequently working more as a sociologist than an artist, the interrogative French artist explores human behaviour, from the banal to the profound. Her work can make you laugh but it can also make you cry