Trendswatch
Historic houses are updating their offer with increasingly bold displays of contemporary art
In accordance with the architect Sir John Soane’s wishes, the museum named after him in London has largely been preserved as it was when he lived there in the 19th century.
That makes the current setup in the museum’s North Drawing Room all the more striking: a mahogany cabinet has been removed and replaced by three sculptures by contemporary artist Sarah Lucas, in the show Power in Woman, until 21 May.
These plaster casts of the lower halves of the artist’s female friends are displayed on basic furniture, each with a cigarette protruding. The custard-yellow paint used on the North Drawing Room’s walls is known as Turner’s Yellow, but not Joseph Mallord William, although a work by the famous landscape painter does hang on one of the room’s walls.
Jo Tinworth, the exhibitions curator at Sir John Soane’s Museum, points out that the JMW Turner painting can now be viewed from an unusual vantage point – through one of Lucas’s casts’ legs.
“When we were setting up the room, it did occur to me to wonder whether anyone has ever looked at that Turner painting in quite that way before,” says Tinworth.
The cabinet has not been banished for good – it is undergoing conservation work. But Tinworth says that replacing it, albeit temporarily, with work by a living artist of Lucas’s status and celebrity represents a new direction for the museum: “we don’t usually intervene in the traditional spaces in such an overt way
as this,” she says.
Sir John Soane’s Museum is by no means the first historic house to display contemporary art. The palace of Versailles in France displayed 17 Jeff Koons sculptures in 2008, the first of a series of high-profile shows, the latest being the controversial Anish Kapoor exhibition.
Indeed, it seems that as historic houses strive to keep their visitor offer relevant and target new audiences, they are becoming increasingly bold. The Blenheim Art Foundation [see box], a not-for-profit organisation, was founded in 2014 to show contemporary art at Blenheim Palace. Since then, the venue has held displays of work by Ai Weiwei and Lawrence Weiner.
Another example is Norfolk’s Houghton Hall, whose western facade was dramatically lit up last year by US artist James Turrell as part of his exhibition at the property.
Tinworth says: “By including more contemporary displays, we think we can appeal to people who wouldn’t normally discover us, whether they’re young or old.”
The displays are also an opportunity to convey the continuing relevance and legacy of Soane’s life and work.
“Soane collected a lot of traditional objects – but he also had contemporary literary and artistic tastes,” she says.
But the museum, wary of the art’s potential to shock, has placed nudity warnings on its website and on a sign outside the exhibition. “It means people can decide whether to view it for themselves,” says Tinworth.
She thinks the sculptures fit in surprisingly well: “This used to be one of the house’s principal entertaining rooms, so it feels like these ladies are just having a chat round the fireplace.”
“Blenheim Palace, seemingly frozen in the 18th-century, has been propelled into the present by our contemporary art programme.
Art from the past and the present now hang next to, interact with and complement each other.
The Blenheim Art Foundation celebrates the meeting of old and new, contradicting the convention that art should be isolated to its time period or displayed on white walls.
Our contemporary art programme broadens the range of visitors to the palace, most significantly engaging families and children who would not necessarily have had much exposure to contemporary art.
The initiative has expanded Blenheim’s reputation, modernised its image and attracted a whole new audience.”
Michael Frahm is the director of the Blenheim Art Foundation
That makes the current setup in the museum’s North Drawing Room all the more striking: a mahogany cabinet has been removed and replaced by three sculptures by contemporary artist Sarah Lucas, in the show Power in Woman, until 21 May.
These plaster casts of the lower halves of the artist’s female friends are displayed on basic furniture, each with a cigarette protruding. The custard-yellow paint used on the North Drawing Room’s walls is known as Turner’s Yellow, but not Joseph Mallord William, although a work by the famous landscape painter does hang on one of the room’s walls.
Jo Tinworth, the exhibitions curator at Sir John Soane’s Museum, points out that the JMW Turner painting can now be viewed from an unusual vantage point – through one of Lucas’s casts’ legs.
“When we were setting up the room, it did occur to me to wonder whether anyone has ever looked at that Turner painting in quite that way before,” says Tinworth.
The cabinet has not been banished for good – it is undergoing conservation work. But Tinworth says that replacing it, albeit temporarily, with work by a living artist of Lucas’s status and celebrity represents a new direction for the museum: “we don’t usually intervene in the traditional spaces in such an overt way
as this,” she says.
Sir John Soane’s Museum is by no means the first historic house to display contemporary art. The palace of Versailles in France displayed 17 Jeff Koons sculptures in 2008, the first of a series of high-profile shows, the latest being the controversial Anish Kapoor exhibition.
Indeed, it seems that as historic houses strive to keep their visitor offer relevant and target new audiences, they are becoming increasingly bold. The Blenheim Art Foundation [see box], a not-for-profit organisation, was founded in 2014 to show contemporary art at Blenheim Palace. Since then, the venue has held displays of work by Ai Weiwei and Lawrence Weiner.
Another example is Norfolk’s Houghton Hall, whose western facade was dramatically lit up last year by US artist James Turrell as part of his exhibition at the property.
Tinworth says: “By including more contemporary displays, we think we can appeal to people who wouldn’t normally discover us, whether they’re young or old.”
The displays are also an opportunity to convey the continuing relevance and legacy of Soane’s life and work.
“Soane collected a lot of traditional objects – but he also had contemporary literary and artistic tastes,” she says.
But the museum, wary of the art’s potential to shock, has placed nudity warnings on its website and on a sign outside the exhibition. “It means people can decide whether to view it for themselves,” says Tinworth.
She thinks the sculptures fit in surprisingly well: “This used to be one of the house’s principal entertaining rooms, so it feels like these ladies are just having a chat round the fireplace.”
Bringing in new audiences
“Blenheim Palace, seemingly frozen in the 18th-century, has been propelled into the present by our contemporary art programme.
Art from the past and the present now hang next to, interact with and complement each other.
The Blenheim Art Foundation celebrates the meeting of old and new, contradicting the convention that art should be isolated to its time period or displayed on white walls.
Our contemporary art programme broadens the range of visitors to the palace, most significantly engaging families and children who would not necessarily have had much exposure to contemporary art.
The initiative has expanded Blenheim’s reputation, modernised its image and attracted a whole new audience.”
Michael Frahm is the director of the Blenheim Art Foundation