Rex Whistler: More Than Murals, Mottisfont, Hampshire
A display dedicated to this most overlooked artist is a rare treat, says Caroline Ikin – even if the man himself remains an enigma
Rex Whistler is one of the most overlooked artists of the early 20th century. His most impressive commissions are hidden away in private houses, his commercial work is forgotten as ephemera, and his stage sets and costumes for the theatre have long since left the limelight.
Rex Whistler: More Than Murals sets out to display a selection of his varied output to reveal his prodigious talent, and is made up of more than 70 items loaned from the Rex Whistler Archive at Salisbury Museum, the National Trust at Plas Newydd and the Welsh Guards regiment.
Arranged around five small rooms on the upper floor of the National Trust’s Mottisfont house, the gallery space is limited but well suited to the display of two-dimensional artworks. The former bedrooms that make up the spaces are decorated in neutral creams and beiges, and equipped with spotlights on tracking and double blinds at the windows. On a quiet day, the gallery is a calm and contemplative space; with crowds of visitors, it is confining and noisy.
The exhibition is arranged around six themed sections. Beginning with childhood sketchbooks, entries to drawing competitions and homemade Christmas cards, Whistler’s precocious talent is displayed and his fertile imagination evident. Financial necessity led him to take on commercial work such as advertisements for Shell and children’s book illustrations – and the resulting ubiquity of his work is often cited as a reason for his talent as an artist being overlooked. Whistler’s drawings are closely observed and full of detail, and visitors are able to get close to the works – there are even steps provided for youngsters.
As the exhibition progresses, a sense of the character of the artist slowly builds, through quotations from his friends printed on the walls and photographs of him holidaying with his cohorts, the stylish “Bright Young Things”.
The focus on Whistler’s output necessarily restricts the scope for interpretation of his character and relationships, though aspects of his personality are subtly revealed through his work, such as the haunting portraits of Caroline Paget, object of his unrequited love.
Whistler’s whimsical sense of humour is much on display in the early sections of the exhibition, in his illustrated letters and his extraordinary “reversible heads”, which, when flipped 180 degrees, reveal another face with a contrasting expression hidden within the drawing. The desire to handle, turn and pore over these items is so strong that it is disappointing there are no facsimiles to allow visitors to fully engage with them, in the manner the artist intended.
From whimsy to war
The room dedicated to Whistler’s work during the second world war has a more serious tone, and the oil portraits of his comrades display none of the frippery of his early sketches, though doodles in the margins of his training notes and humorous cartoons show that his imagination was still active. We learn that Whistler was offered work as a war artist, and on the home front painting camouflage, but he elected to do his duty in active service as a tank commander. His principles cost him his life, as with so many others, and he was killed in July 1944 on his first day in action.
On display in this room is Whistler’s paintbox, crammed with used tubes of paint, worn brushes and splashes of pigment. Although at first glance an incongruous object to display alongside his war work, the “just left” appearance of the artist’s materials poignantly emphasises the fact that he never returned to carry on where he left off.
Whistler’s legacy can best be appreciated in the large-scale mural decorations that he was commissioned to paint in the houses of his aristocratic clients. Despite its title, the exhibition does focus on several of Whistler’s murals, forming as they do an intrinsic part of the artist’s story. Whistler’s murals at Plas Newydd (also owned by the National Trust) are explored in some depth, though his decoration of the dining room at Tate Britain is not fully illustrated, nor is the magnificent tented scheme executed by the artist at Port Lympne in Kent.
Regular visitors to Mottisfont will be familiar with the extraordinary trompe l’œil decorations in the drawing room, painted by Whistler in 1938-39 for the socialite and art collector Maud Russell, but the presence of this work in the house is curiously glossed over in the exhibition. Given that the drawing room lies at the foot of the stairs leading to the gallery, it seems oddly disconnected from the works on display upstairs, which include the original designs for the scheme.
Filling in the gaps
The link between design and finished work is not fully explored in the exhibition, and it would have made a more rounded display to see completed pieces in the form of printed posters, advertisements, fabrics and books next to Whistler’s design sketches, as well as the larger-scale theatrical costumes and stage sets, if only in photographs.
This is addressed in some measure in a film shown on a loop in the final room of the exhibition. The film was made a few years ago for Salisbury Museum, which acquired the Rex Whistler Archive in 2013, but links well with the current exhibition and fills in some gaps, such as showing the completed mural commissions.
Created by Daniel Whistler, Rex’s nephew, the film brings together images from the archive, historic photographs and footage of the murals as they exist today, all linked by Daniel’s mellifluous narration and a background of evocative music. So good is this film in capturing Whistler’s work that it sparks the desire to see the exhibition all over again with eyes newly opened.
It is a treat to see this selection of Whistler’s work, which clearly shows that he was much more than a muralist. What is lacking in the exhibition is Whistler’s own voice. Aspects of his character are revealed through the work on display, and his personality is hinted at in some of the text panels, but his working practices, motivation and inspiration are not fully explored, and so he remains a tantalisingly enigmatic figure.
Caroline Ikin is a former collections manager at the National Trust and is currently undertaking postgraduate research
Main funder National Trust
Exhibition design In-house
Interpretation In-house
Graphic design The Studio, Romsey
Installation In-house
Lighting In-house
Exhibition ends 23 April
Admission Adult £13.60; child £6.80
Rex Whistler: More Than Murals sets out to display a selection of his varied output to reveal his prodigious talent, and is made up of more than 70 items loaned from the Rex Whistler Archive at Salisbury Museum, the National Trust at Plas Newydd and the Welsh Guards regiment.
Arranged around five small rooms on the upper floor of the National Trust’s Mottisfont house, the gallery space is limited but well suited to the display of two-dimensional artworks. The former bedrooms that make up the spaces are decorated in neutral creams and beiges, and equipped with spotlights on tracking and double blinds at the windows. On a quiet day, the gallery is a calm and contemplative space; with crowds of visitors, it is confining and noisy.
The exhibition is arranged around six themed sections. Beginning with childhood sketchbooks, entries to drawing competitions and homemade Christmas cards, Whistler’s precocious talent is displayed and his fertile imagination evident. Financial necessity led him to take on commercial work such as advertisements for Shell and children’s book illustrations – and the resulting ubiquity of his work is often cited as a reason for his talent as an artist being overlooked. Whistler’s drawings are closely observed and full of detail, and visitors are able to get close to the works – there are even steps provided for youngsters.
As the exhibition progresses, a sense of the character of the artist slowly builds, through quotations from his friends printed on the walls and photographs of him holidaying with his cohorts, the stylish “Bright Young Things”.
The focus on Whistler’s output necessarily restricts the scope for interpretation of his character and relationships, though aspects of his personality are subtly revealed through his work, such as the haunting portraits of Caroline Paget, object of his unrequited love.
Whistler’s whimsical sense of humour is much on display in the early sections of the exhibition, in his illustrated letters and his extraordinary “reversible heads”, which, when flipped 180 degrees, reveal another face with a contrasting expression hidden within the drawing. The desire to handle, turn and pore over these items is so strong that it is disappointing there are no facsimiles to allow visitors to fully engage with them, in the manner the artist intended.
From whimsy to war
The room dedicated to Whistler’s work during the second world war has a more serious tone, and the oil portraits of his comrades display none of the frippery of his early sketches, though doodles in the margins of his training notes and humorous cartoons show that his imagination was still active. We learn that Whistler was offered work as a war artist, and on the home front painting camouflage, but he elected to do his duty in active service as a tank commander. His principles cost him his life, as with so many others, and he was killed in July 1944 on his first day in action.
On display in this room is Whistler’s paintbox, crammed with used tubes of paint, worn brushes and splashes of pigment. Although at first glance an incongruous object to display alongside his war work, the “just left” appearance of the artist’s materials poignantly emphasises the fact that he never returned to carry on where he left off.
Whistler’s legacy can best be appreciated in the large-scale mural decorations that he was commissioned to paint in the houses of his aristocratic clients. Despite its title, the exhibition does focus on several of Whistler’s murals, forming as they do an intrinsic part of the artist’s story. Whistler’s murals at Plas Newydd (also owned by the National Trust) are explored in some depth, though his decoration of the dining room at Tate Britain is not fully illustrated, nor is the magnificent tented scheme executed by the artist at Port Lympne in Kent.
Regular visitors to Mottisfont will be familiar with the extraordinary trompe l’œil decorations in the drawing room, painted by Whistler in 1938-39 for the socialite and art collector Maud Russell, but the presence of this work in the house is curiously glossed over in the exhibition. Given that the drawing room lies at the foot of the stairs leading to the gallery, it seems oddly disconnected from the works on display upstairs, which include the original designs for the scheme.
Filling in the gaps
The link between design and finished work is not fully explored in the exhibition, and it would have made a more rounded display to see completed pieces in the form of printed posters, advertisements, fabrics and books next to Whistler’s design sketches, as well as the larger-scale theatrical costumes and stage sets, if only in photographs.
This is addressed in some measure in a film shown on a loop in the final room of the exhibition. The film was made a few years ago for Salisbury Museum, which acquired the Rex Whistler Archive in 2013, but links well with the current exhibition and fills in some gaps, such as showing the completed mural commissions.
Created by Daniel Whistler, Rex’s nephew, the film brings together images from the archive, historic photographs and footage of the murals as they exist today, all linked by Daniel’s mellifluous narration and a background of evocative music. So good is this film in capturing Whistler’s work that it sparks the desire to see the exhibition all over again with eyes newly opened.
It is a treat to see this selection of Whistler’s work, which clearly shows that he was much more than a muralist. What is lacking in the exhibition is Whistler’s own voice. Aspects of his character are revealed through the work on display, and his personality is hinted at in some of the text panels, but his working practices, motivation and inspiration are not fully explored, and so he remains a tantalisingly enigmatic figure.
Caroline Ikin is a former collections manager at the National Trust and is currently undertaking postgraduate research
Project data
Cost £8,240Main funder National Trust
Exhibition design In-house
Interpretation In-house
Graphic design The Studio, Romsey
Installation In-house
Lighting In-house
Exhibition ends 23 April
Admission Adult £13.60; child £6.80