85LatershewasassociatedwithEnglishneo-romantic
artists such as John Piper, Graham Sutherland and
Paul Nash and was friendly with Ben Nicholson and
Barbara Hepworth, although she did not share their
enthusiasm for abstraction.
In an exhibition of this magnitude and with its
emphasis on Hodgkins (New Zealand’s first truly
modernist painter) in Europe, locating her work
in relation to modernism is necessarily central
to the enterprise. European Journeys does seek to
contextualise Hodgkins’ practice through the inclusion
of works by a number of her contemporaries. All these
‘collateral’ works are from the Auckland Art Gallery
collection and, although they do give an idea of what
was being made at the time, not all are representative
of the work that would have particularly engaged
Hodgkins’ interest (I’m thinking here of Matisse’s 1923
La Grande Liseuse and Picasso’s Portrait of Vollard II
from 1937). Inevitably, too, there are gaps, particularly
in relation to influences on Hodgkins’ impressionistic
style, some of which could have been filled by minor
loans from other New Zealand institutions. Nor are
the artistic links between the collateral works and
Hodgkins’ made sufficiently clear, something more
detailed wall texts could have aided. Two paintings
by Duncan Grant, a member of the Bloomsbury set,
appear to have been included in ‘The French Riviera’
section only because one depicts a chateau where
Hodgkins had previously made a drawing of two
acquaintances. Instead Grant’s works would have
been more productively located in the section on ‘The
Rise of English Modernism’ in which the Bloomsbury
group played a part.
At times the random and looping nature of
Hodgkins’ travels makes for a confusing journey
through the exhibition and this is not helped by
encountering the section ‘England 1928–32: The Rise
to Fame’ before the earlier works in ‘The French
Riviera’. Here, it seems, the gallery architecture has
been allowed to impose a structure that does not serve
the exhibition or the visitor particularly well. A central
arrangement on coloured plinths of scarves, jugs and
other ceramics in ‘England 1928–32’ also seems to be
a response to this large gallery space but does not add
to the visitor’s understanding of the artist’s practice.
There is, however, a great deal to enjoy in European
Journeys. It is exhilarating to see so many of Hodgkins’
major works brought together, including a number
that I have encountered only in reproduction or, in
some cases, not at all. Stand-outs for me include the
magnificent Spanish Shrine (1933–35), Private Bathing
(1935–36), Houses and Outhouses, Purbeck (c.1938),
Study for Pembrokeshire Landscape (1938), and the group
of works made during World War II—the list could
go on! A lighter side comes through in paintings such
as the lyrical Two Sicilian Shepherds (c.1933), and the
knowingly frivolous China Shoe (1942).
Auckland Art Gallery has been strongly
committed to acquiring the work of this artist for
many years and this exhibition offers an opportunity
to showcase its collection. However, there are notable
loans from other New Zealand institutions and
private collectors and some from Australia, Britain
and Canada, including Chairs and Pots (c.1938) from
the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Still Life
with Eggs and Mushrooms (c.1929) from Royal Pavilion
and Museums, Brighton and Hove, and Spring in the
Ravine, Ibiza (c.1933) from the National Gallery of
Canada. Unfortunately there are none from Tate which(opposite) FRANCES HODGKINS Private Bathing 1935–36
Gouache, 550 x 760 mm.
(Private collection, Auckland)
(right) FRANCES HODGKINS Le Reveil (Mother and Child) 1912
Watercolour, 515 x 483 mm.
(Collection Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, purchased 1955)
(below) FRANCES HODGKINS China Shoe 1942
Gouache on paper, 562 x 412 mm.
(Private collection)