Lawrence Gowing

As one of the leading critical voices on art of the postwar years, polymath Lawrence Gowing (1918 1991) combined a passion for close visual involvement with formidable literary skills.

Edited by art historian Sarah Whitfield, four decades of Gowing's writing are brought together for the first time in this volume, covering subjects from the Old Masters to Francis Bacon and Howard Hodgkin. Having first gained success as a painter, Gowing's 1952 monograph on Vermeer brought him early recognition as a writer with the ability to combine aesthetic experience with a meticulous historical perspective. Gowing's foremost commitment was to the pioneering painters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, notably Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse. The exhibitions he curated at the Tate and Museum of Modern Art famously helped to mould and reshape public perceptions. Characterised by a desire to instruct and encourage, his writing reflects a highly successful career as a curator and teacher.

About the Authors

Sir Lawrence Gowing (1918 1991) began his career as a painter of portraits and landscapes, later becoming a distinguished curator, writer, professor of art and museum trustee, including at the Tate and British Museum. He was Keeper of the British Collection and Deputy Director of the Tate Gallery, London from 1965-67, Professor of Fine Art at the University of Leeds from 1967 to 1975 and Slade Professor of Fine Art at University College, London from 1975 until his retirement in 1985. A central figure in both the UK and USA art establishments, his writings include monographs on artists ranging from Vermeer and Turner to Cezanne and Freud. Sarah Whitfield is an art historian, writer and curator who has published widely on Surrealism, as well as on Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Lucio Fontana and other twentieth-century artists. She co-authored the catalogue raisonne of Rene Magritte and sits on the authentication committee of the Francis Bacon Estate.