THE ILLUSTRATORS: THE BRITISH ART OF ILLUSTRATION 1800 – 2008

BLISS WAS IT IN THAT DAWN TO BE ALIVE

BRITISH WATERCOLOURS AND DRAWINGS 1750-1850

7 OCTOBER - 7 NOVEMBER 2008

The Chris Beetles Gallery is proud to announce one of the most significant exhibitions of early English watercolours since ‘The Great Age of British Watercolours: 1750-1880’ at the Royal Academy in 1993. Ten years in the making, with over 300 examples of the finest quality and condition, this substantial show will provide an opportunity to rediscover and reassess one of the most innovative periods in British art.

The exhibition is accompanied by a 176 page comprehensive catalogue, with newly researched and written essays and biographies, and over 300 colour images. It will be available from the gallery for £20 + £4 postage (UK only).

FUCK: THE HUMAN ODYSSEY

AN EXHIBITION OF ARTWORK FROM THE BOOK BY MARTIN ROWSON THE STORY OF THE EARTH FROM THE BIG BANG TO THE END OF THE WORLD IN 67 SPLENDIDLY SATIRICAL IMAGES

22 - 27 SEPTEMBER 2008

This is a brave and important book in the history of graphic humour. Hopeless and despairing as it is in this collection, humour is one of the only weapons left that artists have to fight the relentless greed and cruelty of progress. FUCK is a remarkable book which will further comfort the sensibilities of Mankind in the face of the bleak inevitability of Evolution.

VIEW THE EXHIBITION

Fuck: The Human Odyssey is available from the gallery at £16.99 + £3 P & P (UK only)

The Last Soper Show

A FINAL EXHIBITION OF THE ARTWORK OF GEORGE AND EILEEN SOPER

10 - 27 September 2008

Since 1989 Chris Beetles Limited has managed and marketed the estate of George and Eileen Soper on behalf of the Artists General Benevolent Institution to whom Eileen Soper willed all future income. The increasing popularity and collectability of these two artists has resulted a large and steady income for this charity and, with this in mind, Chris Beetles has not increased the retail prices of the etchings and artwork which now routinely make more in auction.

This exhibition will be the very last ever Chris Beetles exhibition dedicated to all aspects of their art; book illustrations, wild life watercolours and etching - many from her much-loved book 'Wild Encounters', published by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd in 1957. In addition we will be launching a large group of delightful inexpensive wild life drawings that have never before seen the light of day!

George & Eileen soper as printmakers

Chris Beetles Ltd took over the Soper Estate on behalf of the Artists General Benevolent Institution (AGBI) in 1995. With this charity in mind we have continued to keep the etchings as originally priced and these prices are now mostly surpassed in auction. The etchings on the website are now very limited in number and will be removed from the site as they sell.

Chris Beetles publishes the two definitive books on George and Eileen Soper:

The Catalogue Raisonné of Prints and Etchings of George and Eileen Soper priced at £25 + P & P
The Art of George and Eileen Soper priced at £15 + P & P.

Louis Wain and the Summer Cat Show 2008

Exhibition runs until Saturday 6 September 2008

The annual spectacular with the world’s largest display of cat imagery on show. The exhibition focuses on more than 100 fine paintings and drawings by Louis Wain (1860-1939). This celebrated, highly collectable Edwardian artist invented a wacky world of cats engaged in human activities such as golf, ice skating, fishing and dancing.

The anthropomorphic fun continues with the playfully subversive images of contemporary artist Susan Herbert. Taking a completely unique approach to cat art, Susan Herbert wittily recreates the world’s great films, paintings and plays, replacing the human form with the feline.

Quentin Blake and Friends at Nunnington Hall

1 July - 7 September 2008

Nunnington Hall is a delight. Situated in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, this ancient manor house, dating from the 1680s, is now owned by the National Trust.

A visit to Nunnington Hall is the perfect day out, combining a fascinating house, extensive gardens and delicious homemade cooking. The exhibition is pretty good too.

Three of England’s leading illustrators - Michael Foreman, Peter Brookes and Emma Chichester Clark join their close friend Quentin Blake for an exhibition of 120 artworks demonstrating the narrative and fantastical fun of their artistic range.

The Chris Beetles Summer Show 2008

Opens 11^th June and continues throughout the summer

The Chris Beetles Summer Show is now a well-established highlight of the season, noted for presenting the best of British art.

This year’s exhibition traces the continuing importance of landscape for native artists – from ALBERT GOODWIN’s synthesis of Turnerian atmosphere and Pre-Raphaelite precision at the turn of the twentieth century to the contemporary Neo-Romanticism of KEITH GRANT. A selection of masterpieces by British architectural photographer EDWIN SMITH and the distinctive sculptures of PAUL DAY are also represented.

The exhibition is accompanied by a 56-page fully illustrated catalogue, available for £10 UK post free from the gallery

LICHFIELD

14^th May – 4^th June 2008

Patrick Lichfield’s photography has graced the world’s media for over forty years.

We are thrilled to announce the first-ever selling show of his remarkable work.

Lichfield’s archive is a rich seam of culturally important photography, much of which has become synonymous with our perception of the celebrated and fashionable in the late 20th century. Since his death in 2005 his archive has been extensively catalogued, and we will show a selection of these well-known images alongside recent discoveries made public for the first time.

A fully illustrated, 73 page catalogue, with a comprehensive biography, is available from the gallery at £10 post free.

THE CARTOONISTS 2008: THE SECOND ANNUAL CARTOON SHOW

8^th April – 3^rd May 2008

Following on from the gallery’s highly successful exhibition last year, You Havin’ a Laugh? we are proud to present another selling show devoted to the art of British cartooning.

We have brought together some of Britain’s best-loved cartoonists from publications such as The Times, The Sunday Times, Private Eye, The Spectator, the Daily Express, the Evening Standard, the Telegraph, Punch, and The Economist, representing the best British cartoons of the last 100 years.

The great variety and diversity of cartoons are reflected in the range of prices, with works from £50-£5000.

This exhibition includes over 600 cartoons. You can view 100 of these online by clicking the link below.

JOHN SWANNELL: PORTRAITS, NUDES AND FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

19 March – 3 May 2008

John Swannell’s reputation as one of the biggest names in British photography is no accident, his consistently inventive work and unerring professionalism having kept him in demand by press and public for over 35 years.

Our retrospective show will include over 60 of John Swannell’s pictures, juxtaposing classic images with lesser-known, more intimate portraits and those new to the public eye. John’s witty approach to portraiture gives us national darling Joanna Lumley like a latter day Cruella de Vil, a combative looking Queen Elizabeth II guarding the banqueting hall at Windsor Castle, Spike Milligan distinctly unamused in his back garden, Sir John Gielgud leaping into the air at eighty, and many more unusual and insightful portraits.

We will also hang a group of spectacular nudes. Produced in a limited edition of 25 platinum prints, these images represent the best of his career-long devotion to the genre.

VIEW THE EXHIBITION