NEW YORK CITY – For part of July and August, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, 20 East 79th Street, will put on the first American exhibition of paintings by the distinguished English art critic Adrian Stokes (1902-1972). This exhibition is being held concurrently with a conference and exhibition in Bristol, England. Stokes is known for his oil paintings, still lifes, nudes and landscapes.
In his introduction to the catalog, David Carrier writes: “[Adrian Stokes] was known, first, as a brilliantly original writer about Old Master art, then as a critic; and, finally, later in life, for his paintings. Such diverse people as Henry Moore, the critic and painter Andrew Forge, the art historians John Golding and Lawrence Gowing, the literary scholar Frank Kermode, the philosopher Richard Wollheim, and David Sylvester championed Stokes’s writings. They thought him a major intellectual. Stokes has been compared with John Ruskin and Walter Pater.”
Born on October 27, 1902, Stokes grew up in Edwardian England and traveled extensively in Italy. He is most well-known for his writing about early Renaissance sculpture and painting, especially his books, The Quatro Cento (1932) and Stones of Rimini (1934), which have just been reprinted in a single volume by the Pennsylvania State University Press.
In addition, Stokes wrote criticism about the ballet and contemporary art. He was also an early enthusiast for the Freudian analysis of the English psychiatrist Melanie Klein and he brought elements of her thought into his critical interpretation of art. Stokes was involved in the community of British artists including Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore and William Coldstream, dean of the Slade Academy of Art. Coldstream had a studio in Stoke’s Hampstead home during the 1970s.
This exhibition is accompanied by a color catalog with essays by David Carrier, David Sylvester and Adrian Stokes.
The gallery will be closed to the public July 12 to August 12. The gallery exhibition will run through August 30. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. For information 212-879-6606.
