Publisher's Synopsis
Marking the remarkable century of Ben Uri Gallery and Museum, from humble beginnings in London's East End in 1915 to a fully-fledged mainstream art museum, under its banner Art, Identity and Migration , this publication reveals eleven essays covering each aspect of the century's art history in parallel with the effect of emigre and Jewish artists on the cultural mosaic of Britain and Europe. They discuss the museum's world class collection including masterworks by some of the greatest artists of the twentieth century, including Soutine, Chagall, Auerbach, Bomberg, Kitaj and Kossoff. An array of distinguished scholars survey the 'Whitechapel Boys'; Yiddish London, Les Peintres Juifs de L'Ecole de Paris, Official War artists from both conflicts; mid-century émigrés influencing the direction of the arts, and contemporary artists making ground-breaking work across new media. They point to this unique collection, primarily of artists born into the Jewish faith, many shaping modern British, European and American art history, representing a distinct visual survey of artistic and social life in Britain and the cultural heritage of British Jewry.
