Harry Becker Exhibition at Gainsboroughs House
Harry Becker was a painter, draughtsman and printmaker and one of the most distinct and creative artists to be closely associated with East Anglia. His subject-matter was rooted in Suffolk country life and the ploughmen, harvesters and gleaners who worked the land at that time. He was a prolific and passionate artist, adopting a wide range of materials and was innovative in his techniques and free handling of paint or line.
Becker was born in Colchester of German immigrant parents and spent much of his life in East Anglia, although trained in Antwerp and Paris. The artists prime interests in unromanticised scenes of rural life, in plein air painting and in colour, were shared with some other artists of the era, also influenced by French Impressionism, although Becker remained aloof from the art establishment. The last fifteen years of his life from 1912 to 1928 were spent leading a solitary and impoverished existence near the Suffolk coast.
The exhibition is the second of two shows in 2010 to explore the East Anglian rural tradition. Beckers work, often executed with great speed, gave a glimpse into agricultural life in Suffolk in the early twentieth century, in what was a rapidly changing world. The display will encompass small-scale oils and many of his lively drawings and prints, selected mostly from private collections in Suffolk. To complement the exhibition, there will be a series of lectures by some eminent speakers, including Ronald Blythe and Martin Bell
Gainsboroughs House is the birthplace of the great eighteenth-century artist Thomas Gainsborough and displays more of his work at any one time than any other museum in the world.
The House is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm; Closed on Sundays and between Christmas and the New Year. Entry is free on Tuesday afternoons (1-5pm)
Gainsboroughs House, 46 Gainsborough Street, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2EU Telephone: 01787 372958 Fax: 01787 376991 mail@gainsborough.org