basildonpark@nationaltrust.org.uk
For opening times please visit: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/basildon-park/
wenty-nine works of art have been loaned by the Arts Council Collection, including work by many of the best-known artists of the 1950s such as Patrick Heron, Graham Sutherland, Winifred Nicholson and Dame Elizabeth Frink.
Basildon Park was formerly the home of Lord and Lady Iliffe who discovered the house in the 1950s and lovingly restored it. Keen collectors and patrons of the arts, they turned the fine 18th century mansion into a comfortable home and filled it with fine art and furniture, to be enjoyed by guests at their country house parties.
Lord Iliffe was a great friend of the artist Graham Sutherland, who designed and created the renowned Christ in Glory tapestry for Coventry Cathedral. Sutherland‘s designs for the tapestry and other works are already on display at Basildon Park.
“This is not a conventional exhibition with art works gathered together in one place,” explained House and Collections Manager Donald Ramsay who jointly curated the exhibition with Senior Curator of the Arts Council, Jill Constantine. “We have chosen one piece of 1950s art to display in each of the show-rooms so that visitors can enjoy the work in the context of the rest of the house. We have selected each piece carefully to suit each room, and we hope visitors will enjoy this extra layer of interest which reflects a key period in the history of Basildon Park.”
Artists include Michael Andrews, Edward Bawden, David Bomberg, Robert Colquhoun, Elisabeth Frink, The Earl Haig, Patrick Heron, Roger Hilton, Thurston Hopkins, Henry Inlander, Kenneth Martin, Winifred Nicholson, Sidney Nolan, Victor Pasmore, John Piper, Ceri Richards, William Scott, Jack Smith, Gilbert Spencer, Graham Sutherland, Leon Underwood.