Who is hiding behind the canvas? Take the great British art quiz

1. 

   York Art Gallery's collection was started in 1882 by a bequest from a local art collector named John Burton. How did Burton make his living?

   1. Artist

   2. Mine owner

   3. Horse dealer

   4. All of the above

2. 

   Who painted this seascape, one of the most popular paintings in York Art Gallery's collection?

   1. Paul Nash

   2. John Nash

   3. Eric Ravilious

   4. William Roberts

3. 

   This portrait of Captain Foote was painted by the first president of the Royal Academy in 1768. What was his name?

   1. Sir Joshua Reynolds

   2. Pompeo Batoni

   3. JMW Turner

   4. Thomas Lawrence

4. 

   This painting is titled Hogarth's Studio in 1739 and shows a group of children visiting and admiring the portrait in progress. But who is the subject of the painting (who is also hiding behind the canvas)?

   1. Benjamin Hoadley, Bishop of Winchester

   2. Thomas Pellett MD

   3. Captain Thomas Coram

   4. Martin Folkes

5. 

   York holds the study for Nameless and Friendless by Emily Mary Osborn, but in which British collection is the finished painting?

   1. Ashmolean Museum

   2. Tate

   3. The Fitzwilliam Museum

   4. Manchester Art Gallery

6. 

   This painting is signed Alma Broadbridge in the lower left hand corner, but under which name is this artist best known?

   1. Alma Claude Burlton Cull

   2. Alma Stacey

   3. Alma Gogin

   4. Anna Alma-Tadema

7. 

   Although recognised now as the more accomplished artist, during her lifetime Gwen John was often overshadowed by her famous brother, who was also a painter. Who was he?

   1. Caspar John

   2. Augustus John

   3. Walter Sickert

   4. JMW Turner

8. 

   Which famous Venetian artist has York-born painter William Etty copied for his work entitled The Standard Bearer?

   1. Titian

   2. Veronese

   3. Tintoretto

   4. Giorgione

Solutions

1:D - Still Life with Fish and a Cat by Alexander Adriaenssen was part of John Burton’s personal art collection, which was bequeathed to the gallery in 1882. A York horse dealer, mine owner, amateur artist and art collector, Burton’s bequest of 126 paintings laid the foundations for a permanent collection of art for York. Image: Still Life with Fish and a Cat, 1631, Alexander Adriaenssen (1587–1661), York Art Gallery, 2:A - Paul Nash painted this dark seascape during his time living in Dymchurch, on the Kent coast, during the 1920s and 1930s. He moved there with his wife after the end of the first world war, where he served as official war artist. This painting reflects Nash's poor mental health and his sense of the conflict of being a "war artist without a war". Image: Winter Sea 1925–1937, Paul Nash (1889–1946), York Art Gallery, 3:A - Joshua Reynolds was an English painter, specialising in portraits. He held the position of president of the Royal Academy until his death in 1792. Captain Foote of the East India Company was a friend and neighbour of Reynolds. The beautifully detailed jama that he is wearing in this portrait is also in the York collection. Image: Captain John Foote, 1761–1765, Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), York Art Gallery, 4:C - Painted in 1863 by EM Ward, this painting imagines a scene in the studio of William Hogarth (1697-1764) over 120 years earlier, when Hogarth painted the portrait of Captain James Coram. Coram was a philanthropist who established a Foundling Hospital in London for children who could not be otherwise properly cared for. The children shown in this painting are a group of foundling children. Image: Hogarth's Studio in 1739, 1863, Edward Matthew Ward (1816–1879), York Art Gallery, 5:B - Nameless and Friendless depicts the conflicting agendas of the Victorian woman artist, shown here dragging her portfolio and family around a city’s art dealers. Emily Mary Osborn was associated with the campaign for women’s rights in the 19th century, many of her paintings showing female subjects in difficult situations. There is another preparatory drawing for the painting in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Image: Study for Nameless and Friendless, 1857, Emily Mary Osborn (1828–1925), York Art Gallery, 6:C - Tea Leaves is an early example of the work of painter Alma Broadbridge (1854-1948), more commonly known by her married name Alma Gogin. She exhibited at the Royal Academy, The Royal Society of British Artists and the Society of Women Artists. Recent conservation work has revealed that the signature has been touched up, suggesting that a previous owner of the painting was proud to have a work by this artist. Image: Tea Leaves, Alma Broadbridge (active 1879–1894), York Art Gallery, 7:B - Gwen John painted this unidentified model many times whilst she was living in Paris. When starting a painting John sought an "abstract form" upon which she then built up her subject matter, applying small brush strokes of thick paint in muted colours. This somewhat explains the slightly elongated form of the woman in this painting. Image: Young Woman in a Red Shawl, 1917–1923, Gwen John (1876–1939), York Art Gallery, 8:A - A lifelong admirer of Titian, Etty made a special pilgrimage to the master's tomb in the Church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice, and documented its appearance in his sketchbooks during his Continental tour of 1822-24. In a further act of homage, in 1823 Etty created a full-size, remarkably accurate replica of Titian’s Venus of Urbino in the Uffizi, Florence, which remained in his possession until his death. Image: The Standard Bearer (after Titian), c.1822–1827, William Etty (1787–1849), York Art Gallery, 9:, 10:

Scores

1. 6 and above.

   Even more impressive than York Minster.

2. 0 and above.

   This result is worse than the smell of the latrine in the Jorvic Viking centre.

3. 3 and above.

   A middling effort but not a complete Shambles (get it)?