The Representation of Association Football in Fine Art in England From
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The Representation of Association Football in Fine Art in England From its Origins to the Present Day by Ray Physick A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire April 2013 The Representation of Association Football in Fine Art in England King Kenny by Christine Physick (2011) From its Origins to the Present Day Ray Physick: The Representation of Association Football in Fine Art in England Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ 4 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Preamble ................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter One: Introduction (part one) ............................................................................... 15 Chapter Two: Introduction (part two) and Literature Review ..................................... 41 Chapter Three: Representations of Football in Art - Origins to 1918 ........................ 76 Chapter Four: Representations of Football in Art – 1918-1945 .................................. 135 Chapter Five: Representations of Football in Art – 1945-1960 .................................. 200 Chapter Six: Representations of Football in Art – 1960-2010 ..................................... 256 Chapter Seven: Conclusions ............................................................................................ 331 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 344 Appendix 1: List of Plates ................................................................................................. 368 Appendix 2: Plates………………………………………………………………………..377 Appendix 3: Football and the Fine Arts: List of artists and works exhibited ......... 474 Appendix 4: Football and the Fine Arts: Prize winners .............................................. 482 3 Contents Ray Physick: The Representation of Association Football in Fine Art in England Acknowledgements The completion of a thesis is impossible with the support, help and guidance from people and institutions. I would like to thank my Director of Studies John Hughson for his help, guidance and above all his expertise in the field that I have researched. His comments and criticisms throughout have ensured that my thesis retained its focus. Likewise I would like to thank my second supervisor Kevin Moore whose expert knowledge of football, as well as football art, has been of great value to the outcomes of the research. Kevin also very kindly put the service of his staff at the National Football Museum at my disposal. I received help from numerous people at the museum but it was Peter Holme, who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the museum archives, who provided the greatest assistance. Throughout the three-year period of the research I visited many galleries, museums and archives, each place I visited I received great help and co-operation as well as advice on possible routes to follow. Of particular importance was the help of the archivists at Colindale, the British Library, St Pancras annexe, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Britain, Manchester Art Gallery and Birkenhead Museum. Also, Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers’ Association allowed me to consult their extensive art collection, provided me with printed details of their collection and was always on hand to answer my emails. I also received great assistance from several artists whose work is either based upon football or forms a significant part of their work. The artists are as follows: Tim Vyner, Neville Gabie, Colin Yates, Ben Kelly, Amrit and Rabrindra Singh, Colin Brown, Laura Green, Lubaina Himid, Leo Fitzmaurice and Christine Physick. All the artists concerned were interviewed about their work as well as about representation of football in art in general. Their interviews have been invaluable to the research. All of the artists, with the exception of the Singh Twins and Leo Fitzmaurice, also contributed to the Football in the Frame exhibition held at UClan’s PR1 gallery in February 2011. I would also like to thank my wife Christine who, as well as being a practising artist, has helped enormously with day-to-day issues such as the relevance and importance of various artists and art movements, as well as more mundane tasks such as proofreading. Lastly, I would like to thank my daughter Shelley who also proofread the text. They are not responsible, however, for any errors that may occur. 4 Acknowledgements Ray Physick: The Representation of Association Football in Fine Art in England Abstract This thesis aims to explore the representation of football in art from its origins in Ancient Greece to the present day, although the main focus of the analysis will be upon representations of football in English art from the late Victorian period up to 2010. In general terms, with minor but notable exceptions, the analysis will centre on the work of fine artists working in 2D, whose work has length and width much like a football pitch. The thesis will look at how artists have approached the game be it action on the pitch, a focus upon spectators or the location of the football stadium. The thesis will also assess the work of artists have who explored societal issues such as gender, identity, race as well as violence in society using football as visual content to explore these issues. The aim throughout will be to place the artwork in a social and historical context, to provide a social analysis of football through art, to demonstrate that art ‘is always a social servant and historically utilitarian.’1It could be argued that an historical approach to art may well impact upon aesthetic appreciation, but knowledge of when and how a piece of art was produced also helps to place the work in context. In other words, aesthetic appreciation is linked to historical relevance. What is also clear is that visual images, in themselves, cannot provide the sports historian with a history of football. They can, however, provide an invaluable resource that can be used by social historians. The key source material for this thesis is first and foremost the artwork itself, a significant body of which is located at the National Football Museum. However, other sources such as press and art magazine articles, exhibition catalogues, the art archives at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Manchester Art Gallery as well as the substantial Football Association archive at National Football Museum, have also been of crucial importance. Also, a number of interviews with contemporary artists have provided invaluable primary source material: these artists have also allowed me to view their work and provided me with copies to facilitate the study of their work. The major findings arising from the research are that the representation of football in art was not, once again with notable exceptions, prevalent until the foundation of the Premier League in 1992. These exceptions include popular art depictions of football in the Edwardian period, work commissioned by Frank Pick on behalf of London Transport and the milestone Football and the Fine Arts exhibition of 1953. Overall analysis of the artwork has shown that art is a useful source for historians and that focus upon a particular art genre, in this instance football art, can provide different insights into a significant cultural practice. Originality of the thesis I confirm that the thesis is my own work; and that all published or other sources of material consulted have been acknowledged in notes to the text or the bibliography. I confirm that the thesis has not been submitted for a comparable academic award. I confirm that the thesis has been submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Central Lancashire 30 June 2012. 1 Trotsky, Leon: The Social Roots and Social Function of Literature 5 Abstract Ray Physick: The Representation of Association Football in Fine Art in England Preamble A study of how football has been represented in the arts over a distinct historical time does not provide some fixed route through which the history of football can be analysed. However, without an understanding of history, particularly social history, it would be difficult, if not impossible to understand both the development of art and football. An understanding of the social, political and economic processes that change society is, therefore, essential if sense is to be made of the varied visual representations of football that the thesis will assess. For this reason each chapter of the thesis will be prefaced with an historical overview of society and the broad developments that affected both art and football in the period covered by each chapter. Such an approach will prepare a strong foundation from which to discuss the artwork both as individual pieces and/or as a body or collection of work. Throughout the thesis there will be an emphasis upon both football and art being part of the material world and therefore, a social historical analysis of both is essential, if we are to understand the cultural representation of football in art. The thesis