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Bomberg

[ Exhibition )

Self-portrait by David Bomberg in an abstracted style in red and brown tones

David Bomberg, Last Self-Portrait (1956) Pallant House Gallery (The Wilson Gift through the Art Fund, 2004) © The Wilson Family

Why did the art world neglect David Bomberg in his lifetime?

Marking the 60th anniversary of David Bomberg’s death, this exhibition illustrated the profound developments in Bomberg’s works and his significant achievement within the context of British modernism.

David Bomberg (1890 – 1957) is revered as one of the greatest British artists of the 20th century. Taught by Walter Sickert and part of the Slade School of Art’s ‘golden generation’, Bomberg in turn taught artists including Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff, inspiring the formation of the Borough Group in 1946.

Using more than 70 works, this exhibition reassessed Bomberg’s stylistic evolution, which started with a trip to Paris where he met Picasso, Derain and Modigliani. It explored key themes within the artist’s remarkable career, including engagement with his Jewish East End upbringing and with Yiddish culture, his contribution to pre-war British modernism and his role as a war artist in both World Wars which saw the development of a more figurative and expressionist style. It also illustrated his achievements in landscape painting, in particular those created in Spain and Palestine, and as a graphic artist, alongside a rich sequence of self-portraits and portraits of friends and family.

The exhibition was curated by Ben Uri Gallery and Museum in association with Pallant House Gallery and drew upon the significant holdings of Bomberg’s work held by both institutions, alongside loans from major public and private collections. It toured to The Laing Art Gallery and Ben Uri during 2018.

In partnership with the Ben Uri Gallery and Museum.

Style is ephemeral – Form is eternal.

David Bomberg

Discover our collection of David Bomberg's works

Painting by David Bomberg depicting an expressionistic view of bridge crossing deep gorge. White buildings on cliffs either side.

David Bomberg, Ronda Bridge (1935)

David Bomberg, Ronda Bridge (1935) Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (Hussey Bequest, Chichester District Council, 1985) © The Estate of David Bomberg

Painting by David Bomberg of a figure (slight abstract style) wearing a hat, painted in heavy brushstrokes in brown and red tones.

David Bomberg, Talmudist (1953)

David Bomberg, Talmudist (1953) Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (Wilson Gift through the Art Fund) © Colin St John Wilson

Painting by David Bomberg of an abstract landscape of yellow/orange mountains upper left, red rocks upper middle right with bluish sky

David Bomberg, Tajo and Rocks, Ronda (The Last Landscape) (1956-57)

David Bomberg, Tajo and Rocks, Ronda (The Last Landscape) (1956-57) Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (Wilson Loan, 2006) © Colin St John Wilson

Painting by David Bomberg depicting a townscape (slight abstract appearance) in a near desert setting of cream yellows and light orange. A few trees border a field below town walls and the sky is very pale blue

David Bomberg, The South-East Corner, Jerusalem (1926)

David Bomberg, The South-East Corner, Jerusalem (1926) Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (Wilson Gift through the Art Fund) © Colin St John Wilson

Self-portrait by David Bomberg in an abstracted style in red and brown tones

David Bomberg, Last Self-Portrait (1956)

David Bomberg, Last Self-Portrait (1956) Pallant House Gallery (The Wilson Gift through the Art Fund, 2004) © The Wilson Family

What the press said

Looking back on his career you can see how stimulating, innovative and forward-looking he really was.

Richard Cork, BBC Radio 4, Front Row

…offers a fresh evaluation of the artist’s career…
The most comprehensive survey to date…

Florence Hallett, The New European

…consistently excellent: evidence that Bomberg had talent oozing from every pore.

Mark Hudson, The Telegraph

Want to know more?

If you’re conducting research into this artist or another aspect of Modern British art and would like to use our library and archive, please contact Sarah Norris, Collections Manager on s.norris@pallant.org.uk.

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