To mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of The Weiss Gallery in London back in May 1986, the gallery is celebrating with a large-scale exhibition dedicated to the Anglo-Dutch portraitist Cornelius Johnson. The exhibition will include loans from private collections as well as museums in the UK and USA.
Study day
The exhibition will open with a study day on 29 June 2016, with invited guests exploring the works of Johnson under the guidance of Mark Weiss and five invited guest speakers, including Karen Hearn (historian of British art and culture ca. 1500 – ca. 1710 and exhibition curator), Edward Town (postdoctoral research associate at the Yale Center for British Art), and Susan North (Curator of Fashion, 1550-1800, at the Victoria and Albert Museum).
For more information and registration, please contact Charlie Mackay.
Information from the organizer, 17 May 2016
The exhibition will comprise over 30 works including loans from institutions such as The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, The Huntington Library Art Collection in San Marino, California, the Yale Center for British Art in Connecticut and the great English country house, Petworth House, bearing testament to the long-standing relationships Weiss has built with collectors and museums over the years. In addition, there are works from The Weiss Gallery collection for sale.
Highlights in the exhibition include two important Royal commissions depicting Queen Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) and her son Charles as Prince of Wales (1630-1675). These works are being loaned from a private collector in the USA and neither have previously been shown in a public display. The small-scale full-length portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria, which was once in the collection of Charles I, is a collaboration between Johnson and Gerard Houckgeest (1600-1661). Johnson painted the portrait whilst Houckgeest created the interior.
From The Weiss Gallery collection, is a portrait of Sir William Campion of Combwell, painted around 1633 just one year after he was appointed ‘his Majesty’s servant in ye quality of Picture Drawer.’ This portrait is an exceptional example of Johnson’s masterful technique, evident in the depiction of the intricate lacework of the sitter’s collar and the delicate brushstrokes used to recreate the sitter’s hair and cavalier beard. It is comparable in quality to the Unknown Gentleman, 1632, sold by The Weiss Gallery to The Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, also on display in this exhibition.