The first major exhibition of work by an influential County Durham-born artist will open next week.
John Cecil Stephenson, who was born and raised in Bishop Auckland, is widely acknowledged within the art world as one of the leading names in British abstract art.
Pioneer of Abstraction, at the DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery from Saturday, 25 February, illustrates the path from his early figurative paintings to the geometric images of the 1930s which established him as one of the principal Modernists of the era.
Stephenson studied at Darlington Technology College before winning a scholarship to Leeds School of Art and then attending the Royal College of Art in London.
He returned to County Durham during the First World War too work at a munitions factory and it was this experience of construction and engineering that would eventually lead to his focus on abstract and geometric shapes.
However, it was not until the 1930s, more than a decade after moving back to London, where his neighbours included Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Herbert Read, that he began his first abstract works. Over the next 10 years, he exhibited in shows in England, France and the USA.
This new exhibition features about 40 paintings and drawings loaned from both private and public collections, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Galleries of Scotland and the Government Art Collection as well as the Stephenson family’s own collection. Some pieces will be on public display for the first time.
Sally Dixon, Durham County Council’s arts team manager, said: “John Cecil Stephenson was a remarkable artist who was the forefront of advances in modern art during the mid-twentieth century.
“His is arguably the most important artist of the twentieth century to come from County Durham and we are, therefore, particularly delighted to be mounting this significant exhibition of his work in the county.”
John Cecil Stephenson: Pioneer of Abstraction will be on display at the DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery from Saturday, 25 February to Sunday, 29 April.
The exhibition, and an accompanying lecture programme delivered by a host of experts in British Modernism, is supported by partners including the Northern Rock Foundation and the Bishop Auckland and Shildon Area Action Partnership (AAP).
The AAP has also funded catalogue which gives a lasting record of Stephenson’s work and is available to buy at the museum.
The DLI museum and Durham Art Gallery is open from 10am to 4pm until the end of March and from 10am to 5pm from April to October. Admission charges apply.
For more information visit www.durham.gov.uk/dli, call 0191 384 2214 or email [email protected]