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Pin Up 1963 – for Francis Bacon
Sam Walsh1963
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Liverpool, United Kingdom
Sam Walsh wrote of this painting that he aimed to adapt techniques reminiscent of 1950s American gestural paintings and ‘Cornball’ (his term for the St Ives artists in Britain) to suit the fashionable Pop art style of the younger generation. Walsh paid homage to the artist Francis Bacon (1909-1992), whose work he genuinely admired, by jokily turning him into a kind of pop star or model. Walsh was introduced to Bacon by George Melly, the musician, writer and raconteur.
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Details
- Title: Pin Up 1963 – for Francis Bacon
- Creator: Sam Walsh
- Creator Lifespan: 1934/1989
- Creator Nationality: Irish
- Creator Gender: Male
- Creator Death Place: Liverpool, England
- Creator Birth Place: Enniscorthy, Ireland
- Date Created: 1963
- tag / style: Sam Walsh; portraiture; Pop art; Francis Bacon; face; eyes
- Physical Dimensions: w1215 x h1215 cm (Without frame)
- Artist biographical information: Walsh was born in Ireland, studied in Dublin and lived briefly in London. He moved to Liverpool in 1960. Walsh’s Liverpool contemporary Adrian Henri (1932-2000) described him as a “portrait painter for money and an abstract painter for love.” Walsh painted many ‘large head’ celebrity portraits, with subjects including Mick Jagger, Marylin Monroe and Mao Tse Tung. As well as portraits, he painted local and regional scenes, landscapes and some interiors.
- Additional artwork information: The picture is painted on hardboard in a mix of household paint and cheap, student-quality oils, a choice governed by Walsh’s lack of money. Aping Bacon’s style, Walsh scrubbed the paint on with brushes and wiped it with cloth. To take a closer look at this painting and the story behind it please follow this link to our online feature: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/20c/walsh.aspx
- Type: Oil on hardboard
- Rights: Purchased in 1963
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