Artworks by major contemporary British artists including Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread and Tracey Emin have been given a permanent home at Pallant House Gallery. The six works by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Peter Blake, Rachel Whiteread, Gavin Turk and Michael Craig Martin are a gift to the Gallery from Frank and Lorna Dunphy under the Cultural Gifts Scheme.
Damien Hirst, Bognor Blue (2008). ©Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2018. Courtesy Pallant House Gallery.
Ranging from paintings to sculptures, the new artworks help demonstrate the legacy of British Pop Art and the development of conceptual art in Britain through the works of the Young British Artists (YBAs). The YBAs were a loose group of British artists who began exhibiting together in the late 1980s. They became famous for their openness to materials and processes, shock tactics and an entrepreneurial attitude.
Pallant House Gallery is home to one of the most important collections of British art from 1900 to now, comprised of donations from passionate collectors like the Dunphys. Formed with different tastes and impulses, each of these groups of works offer different perspectives on the story of Modern British art, making the Gallery’s collection one that is rich, engaging and unique. The new works are among the most contemporary in the collection and will allow the Gallery to demonstrate the story of British art more fully.
Frank Dunphy was Damien Hirst’s manager from 1995 until 2010. He and his wife Lorna have a lifelong love of art and have amassed a collection that charts the radical 1990s art scene, of which they were at the very heart. This September, 200 more works from their collection will be displayed and auctioned at Sotheby’s in London, further cementing their importance as collectors.
Frank Dunphy said:
‘We love our connection with Pallant House Gallery and the fact that we can come and see the works when they are on show. There is nobody more deserving. We prefer to give to a smaller gallery than one of the nationals where half of it will never be shown. We’re so happy to make this gift… really proud.’
The works the Dunphys have chosen to give to the Gallery were all initially bought for display in their homes, including in Bognor Regis. The couple have previously lent one of the works, LOVE (2007) by Peter Blake, to the Gallery for the 2012 exhibition ‘Peter Blake and Pop Music’.
Amongst the new works given to the Gallery is Bognor Blue by Damien Hirst, part of the artist’s 2008 Butterfly series which incorporated real butterflies into his paintings. The painting was named at the Dunphy’s home in Bognor Regis in a homage to the colour of the sea. Roman Standard (2005) by Tracey Emin was initially placed in the Dunphy’s garden. The sculpture, a small bronze bird perched on top of a 3.5 metre pole can now be found in the Gallery’s courtyard.
Tracey Emin Roman Standard Courtesy Pallant House Gallery.
Also currently on display in the Gallery is Rachel Whiteread’s Untitled (For Frank) (1999). One of the first pieces Frank Dunphy acquired for his collection, the sculpture is a plaster relief of bookshelves created by Whiteread as part of an room installation in the MOMA collection.
Simon Martin, Director of Pallant House Gallery, said:
‘We are thrilled to receive Frank and Lorna Dunphy’s generous gift, comprising of major contemporary artworks by Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread, Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk, Peter Blake and Michael Craig-Martin. Pallant House Gallery is often described as a ‘collection of collections’ and this remarkable addition will enable us to present the continuing history of British art from the 20th century to the present day. We are hugely grateful to Frank and Lorna for this extraordinary gift, as well as Sotheby’s, Arts Council England and DCMS for their support.’
Collection information:
Frank Dunphy Gift
Rachel Whiteread
UNTITLED (FOR FRANK)
plaster, polystyrene and steel, in three parts
each: 26 by 90cm.
Executed in 1999
Tracey Emin
ROMAN STANDARD
bronze
sculpture length: 10.2 by 18cm.
stand height: 365.5cm.
Executed in 2005, this work is number 2 from an edition of 6.
Damien Hirst
BOGNOR BLUE
butterflies and household gloss on canvas
91 by 91cm.
Executed in 2008
Gavin Turk
DUMP
painted bronze
43 by 47 by 61cm.
Executed in 2004, this work is from an edition of 8
Lorna Dunphy Gift
Peter Blake
LOVE
enamel, wood collage and found objects laid on panel
97.8 by 156.8 by 10.1cm.
Executed in 2007.
Michael Craig-Martin
SCISSORS (WALLPAPER PINK)
acrylic on aluminium
81 by 84cm.
Executed in 2004.
