Tag: John Craxton

John Craxton (1922– 2009) drawing at the house of painter Nikos Ghika (1906–1994) on the island of Hydra, Greece, in a photograph by Wolfgang Suschitzky (1912–2016), 1960. Photograph © Wolfgang Suschitzky, courtesy of the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture and the Ghika Gallery, Athens, Greece. A painter, designer, draftsman, and longtime resident of Greece, John Craxton was one of those eccentric British modernists, like his friends and near contemporaries Paul Nash, Graham Sutherland, John Piper, Ivon Hitchens, and Keith Vaughan, who achieved a significant measure of recognition or renown at various points in their careers in the mid-twentieth century, but are woefully underknown or under-appreciated in today’s art world. Francis Bacon and other School of London practitioners have certainly overshadowed their achievements in the annals of recent British art. Landscape with the Elements by Craxton, 1975–1976. University of Stirling, United Kingdom. Except as noted, the objects illustrated are in the collection of the Craxton Estate, London; photographs © Craxton Estate, courtesy of DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society), London. Occasionally, however, an exhibition comes along that offers a more equitable treatment of an artist and a rare opportunity to reassess their work. Such is the case with John Craxton: A Greek Soul, a gem of a survey that debuted at the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture in Athens—where I saw the show—and is currently on view at the Municipal Art Gallery of Chania on the island of Crete. In the spring, the exhibition will travel to Istanbul, and plans are in the works to bring the show to London later this year. Organized by Craxton’s friend and biographer Ian Collins, the exhibition contains some ninety works, including numerous paintings and works on paper never