Glyn Philpot (1884-1937) is one of those 20th Century artists who, successful in his time, was deemed irrelevant by historians of Modern Art (capital letters!) because he did not fit in with the trends of the avant garde, favouring naturalistic depiction over abstraction, and eschewing the extremes of Expressionism, Surrealism - and any other '-ism' you might care to mention. In this way - and maybe others - he is not unlike Laura Knight, their solid craft and unerring eye focussed on high society, actors and authors, not to mention a shared interest in the circus. He was well known for his paintings, drawings and sculptures of Black men, and at a time when sexual acts between men were illegal, he also depicted his male lovers. He regularly portrayed queer subject matter, while also exploring religion. 

The exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester (one of my favourite regional museums) is the first major retrospective of his work in nearly 40 years, and demonstrates that he has been unjustly neglected. It features a broad range of his work - including masterpieces such as the recently-identified portrait of Paul Robeson, long thought to be lost - and is, in the words of The Guardian, both rewarding and complex. 

This talk will cover all aspects of his work, and will be a thorough introduction to the Pallant's exhibition, as well as to his life and career as a whole.