The last lecture of the ‘art in the periphery’ workshop for the academic year 2014-2015 will be delivered by Leonor Oliveira. Leonor is a postdoctoral researcher at the Instituto de História da Arte (FCSH/UNL), with a grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Her research focuses on the relationship between British and Portuguese art, from the 1950s to the 1980s. For her doctoral thesis, she studied the role played by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in the promotion of Portuguese modern art from 1956 to 1969, and she recently curated an exhibition devoted to Paula Rego’s 1960s paintings at the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego (Cascais). Her research interests include the cultural and artistic articulations between Portugal and Britain and the history of art exhibitions and their impact on contemporary arts and culture.

The workshop will take place on Friday, May 22, at 18.00, at the Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (I&D building, room Multiusos 2, floor 4).

Paula Rego and classmates at Slade School (photo from the Slade Archive) – Paula Rego can be seen in the lower right-hand corner

New directions in Portuguese postwar art: Portuguese artists in London in the 50s

In this session the preliminary information concerning Portuguese artists’ presence in England in the postwar period will be presented and examined so as to assess the main reasons for this new migratory destiny. After the Second World War London ascended progressively from a peripheral position to a prominent place in the arts world, thus rivaling Paris. The 1960s vibrant scene confirmed the international standing of British art.

It was, however, during the 1950s that Portuguese artists’ migration to London began, as the cases of Jorge Vieira, João Cutileiro, Bartolomeu Cid dos Santos, and Paula Rego testify. This is a decade that remainsrather under-explored both in Portuguese and British art historiography. By addressing these artists’ experiences, it will be possible to portray the first impressions of British art and culture and its most relevant aspects. Furthermore, this approach will point out the ways through which these new references interacted with the cultural background of Portuguese artists.

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organized by Foteini Vlachou – ‘art in the periphery’ (Instituto de História da Arte, FCSH/UNL)

More information: https://artintheperiphery.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/art-in-the-periphery-workshop-22-may-2015/