“Many people recognise this image even if they’re not sure who it’s by or where they may have seen it.
Someone said to me just the other day that he remembered his girlfriend at university had a poster of it on her wall. Even though he had not been particularly interested in art, the picture was familiar and he had an association with it.
Leighton’s landmark work became one of the most reproduced images of the 19th century. This exhibition returns it to the room in which it was painted and traces its history and journey around the world.
It was first bought by the proprietor of the art magazine The Graphic, who gave away a free poster of it with a Christmas issue. He was the first to realise the potential in the warmth of the painting’s colour and the striking image of a curled female figure set against a Mediterranean background on a square canvas.
Flaming June was later sold to the Watney family of brewers, but there was a period from the early 1930s until 1962 when it simply disappeared from view.
Nobody, however, seemed to realise it had gone and it’s interesting how far the picture symbolises what happened to Victorian art in general and Leighton’s reputation in particular: both endured rollercoaster rides in and out of fashion during the 20th century.
The story goes that it was eventually taken to an art dealer on Battersea Rise by some builders who said they had found it behind panelling in a house they were renovating just off Clapham Common.
It was offered to all the obvious places in this country that you imagine would have wanted to buy it, but there were no takers. The painting was eventually noticed by Luis A Ferré, a businessman who later became governor of Puerto Rico. He bought it for the country’s Museo de Arte de Ponce in 1963 and it’s from there that Flaming June has enjoyed a renaissance from valueless object to international recognition.
A photograph taken in 1895 shows a few of Leighton’s paintings – including Flaming June – lined up on easels in his studio ready to be taken to the Royal Academy of Arts, shortly before he died. I’ve wanted to reunite them for a long time, and although the Museo de Arte is very careful about where the painting goes, they were intrigued by my idea. In return, we are lending them pictures from our collection for a show next year.”
Interview by John Holt. Flaming June: The Making of an Icon runs from 4 November until 2 April 2017
Someone said to me just the other day that he remembered his girlfriend at university had a poster of it on her wall. Even though he had not been particularly interested in art, the picture was familiar and he had an association with it.
Leighton’s landmark work became one of the most reproduced images of the 19th century. This exhibition returns it to the room in which it was painted and traces its history and journey around the world.
It was first bought by the proprietor of the art magazine The Graphic, who gave away a free poster of it with a Christmas issue. He was the first to realise the potential in the warmth of the painting’s colour and the striking image of a curled female figure set against a Mediterranean background on a square canvas.
Flaming June was later sold to the Watney family of brewers, but there was a period from the early 1930s until 1962 when it simply disappeared from view.
Nobody, however, seemed to realise it had gone and it’s interesting how far the picture symbolises what happened to Victorian art in general and Leighton’s reputation in particular: both endured rollercoaster rides in and out of fashion during the 20th century.
The story goes that it was eventually taken to an art dealer on Battersea Rise by some builders who said they had found it behind panelling in a house they were renovating just off Clapham Common.
It was offered to all the obvious places in this country that you imagine would have wanted to buy it, but there were no takers. The painting was eventually noticed by Luis A Ferré, a businessman who later became governor of Puerto Rico. He bought it for the country’s Museo de Arte de Ponce in 1963 and it’s from there that Flaming June has enjoyed a renaissance from valueless object to international recognition.
A photograph taken in 1895 shows a few of Leighton’s paintings – including Flaming June – lined up on easels in his studio ready to be taken to the Royal Academy of Arts, shortly before he died. I’ve wanted to reunite them for a long time, and although the Museo de Arte is very careful about where the painting goes, they were intrigued by my idea. In return, we are lending them pictures from our collection for a show next year.”
Interview by John Holt. Flaming June: The Making of an Icon runs from 4 November until 2 April 2017
