''Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision'' is one of the paintings that was made as a part of the

Stuckism Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art."Visual arts: Saying knickers to Sir Nicholas
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 7 September 2004. Retrieved from findarticles.com, 7 April 2008. and is recognized as a "signature piece" for the movement, It was painted by the Stuckism co-founder

Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson ...

in 2000, and has been exhibited in a number of shows since, as well as being featured on placards during

Stuckist demonstrations Stuckist demonstrations since 2000 have been a key part of the Stuckist art group's activities and have succeeded in giving them a high-profile both in Britain and abroad. Their primary agenda is the promotion of painting and opposition to conce ...

against the

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...

. It depicts Sir

Nicholas Serota Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota, (born 27 April 1946) is an English art historian and curator, who served as the Director of the Tate from 1988 to 2017. He is currently Chair of Arts Council England, a role which he has held since February 2017. Se ...

, Director of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

, and chairman of the Turner Prize jury. "Emin" satirises

Young British Artist The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Goldsm ...

Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Associate of the Royal Academy, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawi ...

's installation ''

My Bed ''My Bed'' is a work by the English artist Tracey Emin. First created in 1998, it was exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1999 as one of the shortlisted works for the Turner Prize. It consisted of her bed with bedroom objects in a dishevelled stat ...

'', consisting of her bed and objects, including

knickers Panties (in American English; also called pants, undies, or knickers in British English) are a form of women's underwear. Panties can be form-fitting or loose. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genita ...

, which she exhibited in 1999 as a Turner Prize nominee.Cassidy, Sarah
"Stuckists, scourge of BritArt, put on their own exhibition"
, ''

'', 23 August 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2008.

Background and description

In 1999, Thomson was the co-founder, with

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...

of the

Stuckism Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.figurative painting Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract ...

, in opposition to

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

, which they identified with the

(whose jury chairman was Sir

) and the

Young British Artists The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Goldsm ...

, of which

(who had once been in a relationship with Childish) was a leading representative. Thomson's painting shows Serota, the director of the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

gallery. He is smiling behind a large pair of red

on a washing line, saying "is it a genuine Emin (£10,000)" and thinking, "or a worthless fake?". This is a reference to

's ''

'', literally a display of her (dishevelled) bed with detritus which included a pair of her knickers, shown in the 1999

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

. The image was painted over a few days and in a final 24-hour non stop stint."Charles Thomson"
stuckism.com. Retrieved 22 March 2008.

Shows

2000 The Resignation of Sir Nicholas Serota

The painting was first exhibited in March 2000 at Joe Crompton's Gallery 108, Leonard Street,

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

, London, as the highlight of the third Stuckist show, ''The Resignation of Sir Nicholas Serota'', which included a display of paintings about Serota. A small black-and-white image appeared in the Daily Telegraph. It was displayed again in the Stuckists ''Real Turner Prize Show'' later in the year. Richard Dean wrote: The painting was included in the show catalogue, a signed copy of which was left at the

for Serota by Thomson and

, the co-founder of the Stuckists.Milner, Frank (Editor). ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'', p.14-15, National Museums Liverpool, 2004. . The essa
"A Stuckist on Stuckism"
on stuckism.com is from the book. Artist Ranko Bon described greeting Serota at the opening of that year's

: :"Ah," I grabbed him by his bony shoulders, "when I look at you like this, I cannot but see Charles Thomson's portrait of you, which I saw last night at The Real Turner Prize Show in Shoreditch." I emphasized the word "real" with all my might. "Yes," Nick beamed back at me without even blinking, "I must see it!" It was exhibited in summer 2002 during ''The First Stuckist International'', the inaugural show at Thomson's

Stuckism International Gallery The Stuckism International Gallery was the gallery of the Stuckist art movement. It was open from 2002 to 2005 in Shoreditch, and was run by Charles Thomson, the co-founder of Stuckism. It was launched by a procession carrying a coffin marked ...

(which closed in 2005). Sarah Kent (a staunch advocate of

Britart The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Goldsm ...

) said: "One might forgive his puerile humour if Thomson didn't consider it a serious weapon ... cut the ranting and Thomson could be a reasonable painter." Thomson pointed out in response, "it's reality. A few weeks after I did the painting, Tracey Emin was shown on TV getting very angry about an installation because someone had substituted another pair of knickers for hers ... That makes it a bit sad." The Stuckists Punk Victorian 3

The painting was also shown at the 2004

Liverpool Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom. Every two years, the city of Liverpool hosts an extensive range of artworks, projects, and a programme of events. The biennial commissions leading ...

The Stuckists Punk Victorian ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' was the first national gallery exhibition of Stuckist art.Moss, Richard"Stuckist's Punk Victorian gatecrashes Walker's Biennial Culture24, 17 September 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2009. It was held at the Walker A ...

show at the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

. Serota went to the show and commented that it was "lively", while standing next to Thomson's painting of him.Pia, Simon. "Simon Pia's Diary: Now the Stuckists are on the move", ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'', p.22, 22 September 2004. Retrieved fro
newsuk
15 March 2008. John Russell Taylor started his review of the Biennial in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', "Say what you will about the Stuckists, they certainly know what they don’t like. In the eccentric British group’s latest show the most explicit target is clearly the Turner Prize: the attitude can be summed up in one painting, Charles Thomson’s ''Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision''". 160 paintings from the show were offered as a donation to the Tate, including Thomson's painting of Serota, but "not surprisingly" rejected by Serota, who said, "We do not feel that the work is of sufficient quality in terms of accomplishment, innovation or originality of thought to warrant preservation in perpetuity in the national collection." SpectrumLondonGallery

The painting was the centrepiece at

Spectrum London Spectrum London was a London art gallery which showed contemporary figurative painting, photography and sculpture. It staged '' Go West'', the first commercial West End show of the Stuckists, and a retrospective by Sebastian Horsley. It closed ...

gallery in September 2006 in the '' Go West'' exhibition and priced at £30,000. The show at Spectrum London was the Stuckists' first show in a commercial gallery in the West End of London. The Spectrum London director, Royden Prior, said people shouldn't just look at the politics, but should look beyond them because "These artists are good, and are part of art history," Jane Morris wrote in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', "If the stuckists go down in art history, and the jury is still out as to whether they will, ''Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision'' by stuckist co-founder Charles Thomson may well become their signature piece." The ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' said some people would see the display of the painting as revenge against Serota, after he had rejected the Stuckists' offer to donate work to the Tate; it also mentioned that the Stuckists had first drawn attention to the Tate's purchase of ''

The Upper Room The Cenacle (from the Latin , "dining room"), also known as the Upper Room (from the Koine Greek and , both meaning "upper room"), is a room in Mount Zion in Jerusalem, just outside the Old City walls, traditionally held to be the site of t ...

'' by

Chris Ofili Christopher Ofili, (born 10 October 1968) is a British Turner Prize-winning painter who is best known for his paintings incorporating elephant dung. He was one of the Young British Artists. Since 2005, Ofili has been living and working in Trin ...

, a Tate trustee, which had led to the Tate being censured by the

Charity Commission , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

in 2006.

General election

In 2001 Thomson stood in the General Election as the Stuckist Candidate. His opponent was Chris Smith, the then

Culture Minister A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

. Thomson adopted the painting of Sir Nicholas Serota and the knickers as the official logo of his party."Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota and Tracey Emin", Diary, ''

'', 14 May 2001. Retrieved from newsuk.co.uk, 21 March 2008. He said "I can't see how the Electoral Commission would find it offensive. The real thing is on display at Tate Modern. What's more her knickers were funded by Chris Smith using public money."

Demonstrations

The painting was used on one of the placards, when the Stuckists staged a protest at the unveiling of

Rachel Whiteread Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993. Whiteread was one of the Young British Ar ...

's sculpture, ''Untitled Monument'', in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

on 4 June 2001. Serota remonstrated with Thomson and told him the demonstration was a "cheap shot".Milner, Frank (Editor). ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'', p.6, National Museums Liverpool, 2004. . The essa
"A Stuckist on Stuckism"
on stuckism.com is from the book. 2006, Stuckist Turner Prize demo 2006 (1)

2006, Stuckist Turner Prize demo 2006 (1)

The image has also been used on posters in

which were held outside the

2000–2006. Photographs such as the one shown are used on the Stuckist web site to promote and record the demonstration. In December 2006, during the Stuckists' demonstration, Thomson handed Serota a leaflet with the painting on it. This incident was caught by a freelance photographer, Rick Friend, on video, which was put on the Stuckism web site, along with the still image from it shown here. Serota stood on the steps of the Tate and held up the postcard, saying, "Can't you make another image?"

Influence

Thomson has said that his painting was the idea that

Stella Vine Stella Vine (born Melissa Jane Robson, 1969) is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting, with subjects drawn from personal life, as well as from rock stars, royalty, and other celebrities. In 2001, she ...

used for her painting of

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, ''Hi Paul Can You Come Over'', that launched her to fame when it was bought by

Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest a ...

in 2004. Three years before, she had been a member of the Stuckist group and also briefly married to Thomson, who said that she was aware of the media appeal of the idea, as he had shown her press cuttings of the painting. He said that she had not previously done a painting in that way D, Mark and Thomson, Charles
"Gina Bold"
, heyokamagazine.com, 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2008. and that "Her painting of Princess Diana was based on the same idea as my painting ''Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision'' — namely to imagine what a famous person is thinking and write the words next to a portrait of them. She has made an intelligent, innovative and personal interpretation of influences to form her own identity, which is what all artists do. It is only fair and honest to acknowledge there was this help and there has been an influence." Vine refutes the idea that Thomson and the Stuckists had any role to play in her development, citing her inspiration instead as

Sophie von Hellermann Sophie von Hellermann (born 1975, Munich) is an artist based in London who gained a fine art degree at the Royal College of Art. She went to art school in London, and stayed because "It's magical." She has been inspired by German Romanticism and ...

Elizabeth Peyton Elizabeth Joy Peyton (born 1965) is an American contemporary artist working primarily in painting, drawing, and printmaking. Best known for figures from her own life and those beyond it, including close friends, historical personae, and icons of ...

, Anna Bjerger,

Karen Kilimnik Karen Kilimnik (born 1955) is an American painter and installation artist. Life and work Karen traveled through much of the United States and Canada as a young child. She often spoke of Russell, Manitoba as being an inspiration for her later wo ...

and Paul HousleyBillen, Andrew
"I made more money as a stripper
''

'', 15 June 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2008. Mark D

Thomson also drew a comparison between his and Vine's painting and a later work, ''Break Art Free'', by Gina Bold: "You can't deny there's a connection between those works, but they are all also works with a strong individual identity. You certainly wouldn't say it’s plagiarism, but they spring from the same underlying idea."

Mark D Mark D, born Mark Randall,Deedes, Henry ''The Independent'', 13 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008. is a British punk musician (guitarist and songwriter). He is also associated with the Stuckist group of artists. Mark D was born and spen ...

in turn made a satirical version of Vine's painting, substituting

Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice. Wi ...

for Princess Diana.Deedes, Henry
"Vine's Stuckist rival sticks one on her at exhibition"
''

'', 13 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.

Gallery

File:2000 Real Turner Prize Show (2).jpg, ''The Real Turner Prize Show'', Pure Gallery,

, London, 2000. File:2001 The Stuckists show.jpg, Artbank gallery,

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

, London, 2001. File:2001 Vote Stuckist (2).jpg, Fridge Gallery,

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, London, 2001.

makes a window display. File:2002 First Stuckist International (2).jpg, ''The First Stuckist International'',

, London, 2002. File:2002 Stuckist Turner demo.jpg, Stuckist demonstration against the

, 2002. File:2003 Stuck in Wednesbury (3).jpg, ''Stuck in Wednesbury'', Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery,

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, 2003. File:2005 Painting is the Medium of Yesterday (2).jpg, La Viande gallery,

, London, 2005. File:2007 A Gallery (2).jpg,

A Gallery The A Gallery was a contemporary art gallery in Wimbledon, London run by Fraser Kee Scott. Founding The A Gallery was founded by Fraser Kee Scott in 1997.Groves, Nancy"The science of art" Newsquest, 13 April 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2008. ...

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which includes ...

, 2007. Left:

Paul Myners Paul Myners, Baron Myners, (1 April 1948 – 16 January 2022) was a British businessman and politician. In October 2008 he was elevated to the House of Lords as a life peer and was appointed City Minister in the Labour Government of Gordon Br ...

Chairman. Right: Fraser Kee Scott, A Gallery director.

References and notes

External links

Video of Sir Nicholas Serota given a postcard of the painting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision English contemporary works of art Stuckism British paintings 2000 works 2000 in art 2000 paintings