Rex Whistler: The Triumph of Fancy
14 April to 3 September 2006
This exhibition is the first major retrospective to bring together Rex Whistler’s
work in all media, from his days at the Slade School of Art, through the years
of his greatest success in the 1930s, and culminating in the poignant jeux d’esprit
of his final months. It reveals the full extent of Whistler’s achievement
in the context of his life and times.
The inventiveness, quality and scope of Whistler’s oeuvre has never been
doubted, yet much of his best work has never before been brought together on public
display, because many items are held in private collections.
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| Rex Whistler, HRH
The Prince of Wales Awakening the Spirit of Brighton |
The Triumph of Fancy, researched and devised by Stephen Calloway, author and
curator at the V&A, traces Whistler’s glittering career as a painter,
illustrator, muralist and stage designer for theatre, ballet and opera. It also
shows how he moved in the most brilliant literary, social and artistic circles,
numbering among his friends the Sitwells, Cecil Beaton, Edward James, Lord Berners
and Stephen Tennant.
The exhibition is divided into three chronological sections, which represent all
Whistler’s principal projects, relating them to his life through portraits,
photographs and mementos of his wide social circle.
Rex Whistler (1905-44) first achieved fame with his mural decorations for the
Tate Gallery restaurant, completed when he was only 22. This precociously brilliant
architectural fantasy, shot through with vivid humorous touches, immediately established
Whistler as the leading painter of his generation in this genre.
An elegant, debonair figure, Rex Whistler delighted all he met with his wit, his
charm – and the seemingly endless stream of decorative fantasies that flowed
from his pen. He achieved widest recognition for the idiosyncratic, decorative
and often highly amusing illustrations and jackets which he made for Gulliver’s
Travels, Hans Andersen’s Tales and many popular books of his day.
With his death in action as a tank commander during the last months of World War
II, Whistler’s reputation as a tragic, romantic genius and quintessential
icon of the inter-war years was secured.
Lenders to the exhibition include:
The Tate; National Portrait Gallery; National Army Museum; National Trust; Royal
Pavilion, Libraries & Museums, Brighton; Ashmolean Museum; Edward James Foundation;
Welsh Guards Museum; Salisbury Museum; The Victoria & Albert Museum; Strang
Print Room, University College London; Royal Opera House; The Whistler Family
Archives and other major private collectors.
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