The great British art quiz: set by Gallery Oldham

1. 

   This 1887 painting, Venus Born of the Sea Foam, by William Stott of Oldham (1857–1900), caused a public scandal and an argument between Stott and another artist. With whom did he have a physical fight at the Hogarth Club, Fitzrovia, in 1889?

   1. John Singer Sargent

   2. James Abbott McNeill Whistler

   3. Jules Bastien-Lepage

   4. Stanhope Forbes

2. 

   Gallery Oldham holds a stunning portrait of Dame Sarah Lees, by Hugh Goldwin Rivière (1869–1956). What did Lees become known for in 1910?

   1. Scientific discoveries

   2. Editor of the Women’s Suffrage Journal

   3. Elected mayor

   4. Qualifying as a lawyer

3. 

   John William Waterhouse’s (1849–1917) painting Circe is one of the most popular in the gallery's collection. What does Circe hold in her right hand?

   1. Red wine

   2. Poison

   3. A magical potion

   4. Blood

4. 

   This painting by James Purdy (1900-72), shows the unveiling of Oldham’s war memorial in 1923. Who is the memorial’s sculptor?

   1. Gilbert Ledward

   2. Albert Toft

   3. Henry Alfred Pegram

   4. Charles Sargeant Jagger

5. 

   Gallery Oldham added the painting Damilola by Nigerian-born artist Titus Agbara to its collection in 2017. What does the Yoruba name Damilola mean in English?

   1. Hope

   2. Wealth

   3. Faith

   4. Prosperity

6. 

   The only painting by Frank Auerbach in the Gallery Oldham collection is EOW on Her Blue Eiderdown. EOW was a model with whom Auerbach worked frequently. What was her name?

   1. Esme Olivia Wilson

   2. Erica Ophelia Waring

   3. Estella Olive West

   4. Elizabeth Orla Williams

7. 

   Kanak Champa Chakma’s painting In the Red entered the Gallery Oldham collection in 2002. The artist is an activist for the Chakma hill people in which Asian country?

   1. Myanmar

   2. Afghanistan

   3. Bangladesh

   4. India

8. 

   Gallery Oldham holds a collection of watercolours, donated to the people of Oldham by Charles Edward Lees. Included in this group is JMW Turner’s Swiss Alpine Valley. In which year was Turner born?

   1. 1775

   2. 1835

   3. 1875

   4. 1755

Solutions

1:B - Venus is modelled by Maud Franklin. Franklin and Whistler were in a relationship and were friends with William and Christina Stott. Whistler was unaware that Franklin had modelled for this painting until he attended a private view at the Paris Salon. Image: Gallery Oldham, 2:C - Sarah Lees was a leading philanthropist who became the Mayor of Oldham in 1910. She was the second woman in the UK to take up this role after the suffragist Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became mayor of Aldeburgh in 1908. Image: © the artist’s estate/Gallery Oldham, 3:C - Waterhouse completed this painting – Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses – in 1891. It depicts a scene from the Odyssey, where the sorceress Circe offers Odysseus (or Ulysses) a magical potion that will bring him under her spell and turn him into a pig. A crewman, magically transformed into a pig, can be seen beside Circe’s feet. Image: Gallery Oldham, 4:B - Albert Toft (1862–1949) agreed not to repeat this design on any sculpture within a 25-mile radius of Oldham. The central figure was used again in his memorial for the Royal Fusiliers in Holborn, London. Image: Gallery Oldham, 5:D - Damilola is a close friend of the artist who helped him when he first moved to the UK. Gallery Oldham is the only museum in the UK to hold a painting by Titus Agbara. Image: © Titus Agbara/Gallery Oldham, 6:C - Estella Olive West was better known as Stella West. She sat for Auerbach over 23 years, one of the few models that he chose to paint time and time again. Image: © the artist/Gallery Oldham, 7:C - The Bangladeshi artist is known for her paintings focusing on the lives of women and ethnic minorities from her home country. This year, Kanak Champa Chakma has been nominated for the prestigious Sovereign art prize, an annual competition to highlight contemporary artistic talent across Asia. Image: © the artist/Gallery Oldham, 8:A - Charles Lees – seen here in a circa 1880 portrait by John Pettie (1839-93) – and his family donated roughly 100 works of art to the town of Oldham. He was the husband of Sarah Lees, the prominent suffrage campaigner and mayor featured above. Image: Gallery Oldham

Scores

1. 6 and above.

   Like the Inspiral Carpets, your result is Cool as [snip – ed]

2. 0 and above.

   A valiant but somewhat disappointing effort

3. 3 and above.

   A fair stab at a tricky subject