Exhibition Articles

Reynolds 300: Italian Sketchbook | The Box Plymouth
Art - May 2023

Reynolds 300: Italian Sketchbook

In 2014, Plymouth secured £326,300 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and a range of other funding partners to acquire two important items connected to artist, Sir Joshua Reynolds. One was an early self-portrait from the mid-1740s. The other was a fantastic sketchbook compiled on his ‘Grand Tour’ to Italy from 1750 to 1752.

Reynolds 300: Portrait of Charles Rogers | The Box Plymouth
Art - May 2023

Reynolds 300: Portrait of Charles Rogers

The Box's historically important Cottonian Collection contains thousands of fine and rare prints, drawings, paintings, watercolours, books, sculpture and furniture, and represents the changing tastes and interests of five generations of men over a period of more than 250 years. The man in this portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) is the second of the five.

Reynolds 300: Early Self-Portrait | The Box Plymouth
Art - May 2023

Reynolds 300: Early Self-Portrait

Sir Joshua Reynolds didn’t just paint portraits of the rich and famous, he also created portraits of himself! In 2014, The Box was delighted to acquire two important works by him – one of which was this early self-portrait from 1746.

Reynolds 300: Age of Innocence | The Box Plymouth
Art - May 2023

Reynolds 300: Age of Innocence

Today our childhoods should be an age of innocence, a time when we get to be children and explore the world on our own terms and in our own way. But it wasn’t always so. Until the 1700s, it was entirely normal to think of children as little adults, to dress and educate them as such and to expect them to behave accordingly.

Reynolds 300: Portrait of Frances Reynolds | The Box Plymouth
Art - May 2023

Reynolds 300: Portrait of Frances Reynolds

Many people aren’t aware that famous portrait artist Sir Joshua Reynolds also had a talented sister. Frances Reynolds (1729-1807) was affectionately known as Fanny. She was six years younger than her brother and would have appreciated, perhaps even emulated his artistic talent whilst growing up.

Sue Williamson: Monument I and Monument II | The Box Plymouth
Art - May 2023

Sue Williamson: Monument I and Monument II

This pair of screen prints in artist Sue Williamson's 'Between Memory and Forgetting' exhibition (until 4 June) date from 1981. They mark the beginning of her preoccupation with monuments, and the way in which people in power try to tell and celebrate their stories for future generations.

Quinlan and Hastings: Mapping the queer landscape | The Box, Plymouth
Press Release - May 2023

Quinlan and Hastings: Mapping the queer landscape

Through their work, Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings explore the history, politics and iconography of queer culture; mapping the queer landscape in a variety of ways that place underrepresented narratives in the spotlight. Explore this in more detail through ‘Gaby’, a 2018 film work that is currently playing in their ‘Portraits’ exhibition.

Sue Williamson: Colouring In | The Box Plymouth
Art - Apr 2023

Sue Williamson: Colouring In

The basis for this work is a children's colouring in book, the title of which translates to 'My Anglo Boer War Colouring In'. The resulting work mixes the book's original illustrations with archive images, drawing parallels between the oppression suffered by Black South Africans during the Boer War and later under the Apartheid government.

Quinlan and Hastings: The history of feminism | The Box Plymouth
Art - Apr 2023

Quinlan and Hastings: The history of feminism

Through their art, Quinlan and Hastings explore the history of feminism on the political right in the UK, from the Edwardian period to today. Two works within their 'Portraits' exhibition (on display until 4 June 2023) look in detail at this subject.

‘Friend in my Studio’ by Rose Hilton | The Box Plymouth
Art - Apr 2023

‘Friend in my Studio’ by Rose Hilton

Rose Hilton (1931-2019) was the fourth of eight children born to Julia and Robert Phipps in Kent in August 1931. This pink-hued work is called ‘Friend in My Studio’. It was painted in 1978/9 and acquired for Plymouth’s collections in 1979 with the support of the V&A’s Purchase Grant Fund.

Quinlan and Hastings: Power and space | The Box Plymouth
Art - Apr 2023

Quinlan and Hastings: Power and space

Through the use of drawings, etchings and films, artist duo Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings produce skilled and thought-provoking work that explores the various forms of authority, power and disorder that exist within our public spaces, and questions how social hierarchy, class, order and obedience are negotiated. Take a look at three works on display in their ‘Portraits’ exhibition (until 4 Jun) to learn more.

Sue Williamson: A Few South Africans | The Box Plymouth
Art - Apr 2023

Sue Williamson: A Few South Africans

Created by artist Sue Williamson between 1982 and 1987, when South Africa was firmly under the grip of apartheid, 'A Few South Africans' is a series of mixed media portraits featuring some of the many women who made an impact on the country’s liberation struggle. Here, we look at them in more detail.