Robert Medley 1905-1994
Biography
Robert Medley's career spanned much of the twentieth century. He followed a distinctive path by building bridges between the abstract and the figurative, between public statement and private reverie.
His paintings, nonetheless, parallel the concurrent work of artists as varied as Roger Hilton, Graham Sutherland and Peter Lanyon.What stands out is the sophistication of Medley's touch. As John Berger recently wrote: "What makes Medley's work so rewarding and unusual is its dexterity. Dexterity in its strict sense refers to an inborn or acquired skill in dealing with, or being at home with, the tangible. Something close to the fingertipsDexterity also implies panache, a quality of gesture. One can think of the cast of a master fly-fisherman. The stance of a prodigious violinist. The aim from the shoulder of a champion billiard player. Medley's paintings have the concentration and elegance of such performances."
Works
Exhibitions
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Celebrating 25 Years of James Hyman Gallery
27 Oct - 20 Dec 202427th October 2024 marks twenty five years since the founding of James Hyman Fine Art in 1999. To mark this anniversary we are staging a special online exhibition. Based in St James’s and Mayfair for most of this time, the gallery has specialised in Twentieth Century British Art with a...Read more -
Modern British Art 2024
Rarities. An Online Exhibition 19 Jul - 1 Sep 2024We are pleased to present this summer selection of 20th Century British works. The focus is on rarities. These include previously unrecorded photographs by John Deakin, a rare 1960s Derrick Greaves, one of Kossoff’s largest and most powerful portrait works on paper, historically important works by Eduardo Paolozzi and Nigel...Read more -
Robert Medley. Figuring it Out
18 Mar - 30 Apr 2024In 1971 Bryan Robertson, the celebrated director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery, wrote that Robert Medley stood alongside Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Graham Sutherland, Francis Bacon and Edward Burra as 'one of the most gifted and independent artists of an older generation'. However, despite such powerful supporters, in his lifetime...Read more -
Modern British Art
1 Sep - 23 Dec 2022Tony Bevan, Prunella Clough, John Davies, Derrick Greaves, Nigel Henderson, Leon Kossoff, Edward Middleditch, Peter Phillips, Paula Rego, Walter Richard Sickert, Jack Smith and Aubrey Williams.Read more -
Twentieth Century British Art 2012
6 - 21 Dec 2012Artists whose work is presented include: Frank Auerbach Tony Bevan John Bratby Edward Burra Jake & Dinos Chapman Geoffrey Clarke Prunella Clough John Davies Eric Gill David Hockney Gary Hume Conrow Maddox Robert Medley Paul Noble Hughie O'Donoghue Eduardo Paolozzi Peter Phillips Walter Richard Sickert Jack Smith William Turnbull and...Read more -
Beyond the Human Clay
5 May - 18 Jun 2011In 1976 the great figurative painter and polemicist R.B. Kitaj organized a group exhibition for the Arts Council of Great Britain entitled The Human Clay. To mark the 35th anniversary of Kitaj's seminal exhibition and to celebrate a decade of exhibitions focused on Twentieth Century British figurative art at James...Read more -
A Tribute to Sir Colin St John Wilson
21 Nov - 1 Dec 2007James Hyman is proud to present a personal tribute to Sir Colin St John Wilson, one of Britain's greatest architects and art collectors of the last half-century. The exhibition follows the death of Colin St John Wilson in May this year and coincides with the 10th anniversary of the opening...Read more -
Robert Medley. After the Old Masters
26 Apr - 25 May 2007The exhibition will include important loans from Private Collections as well as works for sale from the Estate of the Artist. Throughout his life Robert Medley developed his imagery by building on what he learnt from studying the art of the past. As a young man, visiting the Louvre was...Read more -
Home and Away
Michael Andrews, Peter de Francia, Derrick Greaves, Robert Medley, Edward Middleditch, William Townsend, Arnold van Praag 12 Dec 2006 - 19 Jan 2007Read more -
Robert Medley. A Centenary Tribute
3 Nov 2005 - 27 Jan 2006However, despite powerful supporters, in his lifetime Medley was diffident about fame and since his death a decade ago his work has tended to fall from view. This makes the present exhibition an opportune chance to reassess a major artist. Marking the centenary of the birth of Robert Medley who...Read more
Publications
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Museum Quality
The Colony Room Mural and Other Important Modern British Works from James Hyman Gallery 2009Hardback, 48 pagesRead more
Publisher: James Hyman Gallery
Dimensions: 29.5 x 25 cms -
The Battle for Realism
Figurative Art in Britain during the Cold War 1945 - 60 James Hyman, 2001Hardback, 272 pagesRead more
ISBN: 0-300-09089-7
Dimensions: 28 x 23 cms