• This spring, if you are searching for things to do near Bristol and Bath and love high-quality art, we certainly...

    This spring, if you are searching for things to do near Bristol and Bath and love high-quality art, we certainly recommend a trip to the Holburne Museum. 

    The Holburne Museum’s latest exhibition, featuring Bacon, Warhol and Blake, explores the myriads of ways in which the rise of photography and mass media redefined portraiture in the post-war era. Though the exhibition offers a snapshot into a dynamic moment in art and pop cultural history, its sentiment feels incredibly timely. It’s hard to get lost in nostalgia when the driving forces of each artwork feel like a necessary road map for navigating a society increasingly defined by its media.

     

    We are delighted to have household names in common with this exciting new showcase. Significantly, among our collection is Blake’s original screenprint ‘The Beatles, 1962’, produced in 2012. This limited-edition print was inspired by Blake's iconic 1968 painting of the same name, which is currently on display at the Holburne Museum. 

  • Highlights from Iconic: Portraiture from Francis Bacon to Andy Warhol

  • Peter Blake Peter Blake Peter Blake Peter Blake

    Peter Blake

    The Pop art movement is largely defined by its artists’ consideration of photographic sources, exploring how film, advertising and glossy magazines can both establish celebrity and shape its audience. Peter Blake championed the movement, and the Holburne Museum has brought in a fantastic example of his work: ‘Portrait of David Hockney in a Hollywood Spanish Interior’, 1965. The painting depicts Hockney wearing his distinctive glasses and is based on an image taken by the photographer Michael Cooper. Since Blake and David Hockney were fellow alumni from the Royal College of Art, Blake could have easily depicted his contemporary in person. Instead, by using a reference photo, the painting becomes naturally two-dimensional and focuses on Hockney’s identity as a public figure.

     
  • Andy Warhol Andy Warhol Andy Warhol Andy Warhol

    Andy Warhol

    One of the exhibition’s main attractions is Warhol’s ‘Self Portrait’ from 1967, a screenprint with acrylic paint on canvas. From close up, the viewer sees an abstract composition of red and blue, but just a few steps back we are met with Warhol’s face. The portrait asserts the artist’s position as a permanent fixture of popular culture – though his image fades into the composition, he simply cannot fade into total obscurity. Warhol’s influence is omnipresent across contemporary art and culture, and his reflections on consumerism and mass media only feel more relevant over time.

  • The Holburne Museum has achieved its aim of bringing outstanding artworks, many of which are rarely seen outside of London, closer to people’s doorsteps. It’s a mission that we at Hidden share, specialising in a similar collection of eminent artists including Warhol, Bacon, Blake, Hockney and more. We support both art enthusiasts and collectors in taking home the prestige of a museum and our museum-quality artworks, available for purchase, bring untouchable artists within reach.
     

  • Feeling inspired? Browse our collection of Modern masterpieces below