Anne Dunn
Encyclopedia
Anne Dunn is an English artist associated with the second generation of the School of London.
.
Dunn studied in London at Chelsea School of Art (1949–50) and at the Anglo-French Centre (1952) under Henry Moore
and guest artist Fernand Léger
before going to the Académie Julian
in Paris, France in 1952.
in Fredericton
, New Brunswick, the Arts Council Collection
in London, and many private collections. Two drawings and two paintings are in the Government Art Collection: U.K. Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Her first solo show was at the Leicester Galleries of London in 1957, with subsequent shows there in 1959, 1960, 1962, and 1964. Thereafter her major exhibitions took place in New York with shows at the Fischbach Gallery
in 1967, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1989.
In 1990 Dunn had a solo show at the Christopher Hull Gallery in London. Richard Shone wrote in the catalogue: "Call these paintings landscapes if you must, fragments of nature. But Dunn is no 'impressionist', relating her findings with a nice exactitude of representation (though that is there too). Nor is she part of that tradition of landscape-abstraction, tightroping between 'pure' painting and the flora and fauna of the place itself. She needs the subject but needs the painting more. This is most clearly seen in the spectrum of her 'unreal' colour which, descriptive to a point, transcends the motif, is defiantly not its portrait."
Her most recent solo show was in 2005 at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery
in New York.
-John Russell
- The New York Times, 18 May 1979
" ...These somewhat mysterious drawings project an air that is both sensuous and ascetic."
-John Ashbery
- New York Magazine, 21 May 1979
" ...for Anne Dunn drawing is a satisfying expression of itself. She relies on simplicity to imply the complexities of things."
-John Bernard Myers - Art World, New York, May 1982
" A true painter is on hand here, and one who could trust herself to work with emptiness."
- John Russell - The New York Times, 15 November 1985
"Dunn's work comes as a gift to an art world beleagered by trash. It is not precious, but it is extremely valuable, in its summation of things the way they were, are and still can be - if only the right artist sets her sights on them."
Gerrit Henry - Art In America, March 1986
Her close friendships with poets resulted in illustrations and covers for books by John Ashbery
, William Corbett, Barbara Guest
and James Schuyler
. From 1964-68 she edited the journal Art and Literature with Rodrigo Moynihan
, Sonia Orwell and John Ashbery
. A taped interview with the artist is held by the National Life Story Collection at the British Library Sound Archive
.
Immediately after she and Wishart divorced, in 1960, Dunn married the Anglo-Spanish artist Rodrigo Moynihan
(1910–1999), as his second wife. By him she has a son, Danny Moynihan, an artist and writer, as well as a stepson, John Moynihan.
She has been painted and drawn by many fellow artists including Joe Brainard
, Lucian Freud
, and Rodrigo Moynihan
.
Dunn has links with France, Switzerland and New York City, but spends parts of her summers at a retreat on the Nigadoo River near Bathurst
, New Brunswick.
Background and education
Born in London, England, Dunn is the daughter of the Canadian steel magnate Sir James Dunn, 1st baronet (1874–1956) and his second wife, Irene Clarice Richards, a former musical-comedy actress who had previous been married to Francis Douglas, 11th Marquess of QueensberryMarquess of Queensberry
Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family...
.
Dunn studied in London at Chelsea School of Art (1949–50) and at the Anglo-French Centre (1952) under Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
and guest artist Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
before going to the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
in Paris, France in 1952.
Career
Dunn's art has been exhibited in Europe and North America and can be seen at the Beaverbrook Art GalleryBeaverbrook Art Gallery
The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is a small art gallery on the southwest bank of the Saint John River at the edge of the central business district of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada...
in Fredericton
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
, New Brunswick, the Arts Council Collection
Arts Council Collection
The Arts Council Collection is the largest loan collection of modern and contemporary British art in the world. With presently over 7500 works of art spanning more than sixty years, the Collection can be seen in exhibitions and displays at home and abroad, as well as through long-term loans to...
in London, and many private collections. Two drawings and two paintings are in the Government Art Collection: U.K. Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Her first solo show was at the Leicester Galleries of London in 1957, with subsequent shows there in 1959, 1960, 1962, and 1964. Thereafter her major exhibitions took place in New York with shows at the Fischbach Gallery
Fischbach Gallery
The Fischbach Gallery was founded by Marilyn Cole Fischbach in 1960 in New York City at 799 Madison Avenue. The gallery in its early days became known for hosting the first significant solo exhibitions of now leading art world figures including Alex Katz, Ronald Bladen and Eva Hesse. Knox Martin...
in 1967, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1989.
In 1990 Dunn had a solo show at the Christopher Hull Gallery in London. Richard Shone wrote in the catalogue: "Call these paintings landscapes if you must, fragments of nature. But Dunn is no 'impressionist', relating her findings with a nice exactitude of representation (though that is there too). Nor is she part of that tradition of landscape-abstraction, tightroping between 'pure' painting and the flora and fauna of the place itself. She needs the subject but needs the painting more. This is most clearly seen in the spectrum of her 'unreal' colour which, descriptive to a point, transcends the motif, is defiantly not its portrait."
Her most recent solo show was in 2005 at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery
Tibor de Nagy Gallery
The Tibor de Nagy Gallery is an art gallery in New York City, USA. It was involved in the discovery of many of the Second Generation Abstract Expressionist Movement’s most important artists and also representational artists of the era including Grace Hartigan, Alfred Leslie, Helen Frankenthaler,...
in New York.
Critical opinion
" Anne Dunn is one of the most tenacious draftsmen around, and as she knows what to put in or leave out, we end up knowing that chill clear neck of the woods as well as if we lived there ourselves."-John Russell
John Russell (art critic)
John Russell CBE was a British American art critic.-Life and career:John Russell was born in Fleet, Hampshire, England, in 1919. He attended St Paul's School and then Magdalen College, Oxford....
- The New York Times, 18 May 1979
" ...These somewhat mysterious drawings project an air that is both sensuous and ascetic."
-John Ashbery
John Ashbery
John Lawrence Ashbery is an American poet. He has published more than twenty volumes of poetry and won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But Ashbery's work still proves controversial...
- New York Magazine, 21 May 1979
" ...for Anne Dunn drawing is a satisfying expression of itself. She relies on simplicity to imply the complexities of things."
-John Bernard Myers - Art World, New York, May 1982
" A true painter is on hand here, and one who could trust herself to work with emptiness."
- John Russell - The New York Times, 15 November 1985
"Dunn's work comes as a gift to an art world beleagered by trash. It is not precious, but it is extremely valuable, in its summation of things the way they were, are and still can be - if only the right artist sets her sights on them."
Gerrit Henry - Art In America, March 1986
Her close friendships with poets resulted in illustrations and covers for books by John Ashbery
John Ashbery
John Lawrence Ashbery is an American poet. He has published more than twenty volumes of poetry and won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But Ashbery's work still proves controversial...
, William Corbett, Barbara Guest
Barbara Guest
Barbara Guest née Barbara Ann Pinson was an American poet and prose stylist. Guest first gained recognition as a member of the first generation New York School of poetry....
and James Schuyler
James Schuyler
James Marcus Schuyler was an American poet whose awards include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1980 collection The Morning of the Poem...
. From 1964-68 she edited the journal Art and Literature with Rodrigo Moynihan
Rodrigo Moynihan
Rodrigo Moynihan was an English painter.-Biography:Moynihan was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, in 1910. His Anglo-Spanish family moved to London in 1918 and then to Wisconsin...
, Sonia Orwell and John Ashbery
John Ashbery
John Lawrence Ashbery is an American poet. He has published more than twenty volumes of poetry and won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But Ashbery's work still proves controversial...
. A taped interview with the artist is held by the National Life Story Collection at the British Library Sound Archive
British Library Sound Archive
The British Library Sound Archive in London, England is one of the largest collections of recorded sound in the world, including music, spoken word and ambient recordings....
.
Personal life
Dunn's first husband was the artist Michael Wishart (1928–1996); they were married for 10 years before divorcing; by him, she has one son, Francis Wishart, a painter and winemaker. Michael Wishart's autobiography High Diver 1978 is dedicated to her and gives a touching picture of the artist as a young woman.Immediately after she and Wishart divorced, in 1960, Dunn married the Anglo-Spanish artist Rodrigo Moynihan
Rodrigo Moynihan
Rodrigo Moynihan was an English painter.-Biography:Moynihan was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, in 1910. His Anglo-Spanish family moved to London in 1918 and then to Wisconsin...
(1910–1999), as his second wife. By him she has a son, Danny Moynihan, an artist and writer, as well as a stepson, John Moynihan.
She has been painted and drawn by many fellow artists including Joe Brainard
Joe Brainard
Joe Brainard was an American artist and writer associated with the New York School. His prodigious and innovative body of work included assemblages, collages, drawing, and painting, as well as designs for book and album covers, theatrical sets and costumes...
, Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
, and Rodrigo Moynihan
Rodrigo Moynihan
Rodrigo Moynihan was an English painter.-Biography:Moynihan was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, in 1910. His Anglo-Spanish family moved to London in 1918 and then to Wisconsin...
.
Dunn has links with France, Switzerland and New York City, but spends parts of her summers at a retreat on the Nigadoo River near Bathurst
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....
, New Brunswick.