Day Five of five Things that Influenced me as a kid
Living in Liverpool in the 70's, one could have been forgiven for thinking that the only culture left was the unisong of Kop supporters singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone', or hearing the Beatles on the radio.
That certainly would have been the case, had it not been for faded 19th Century coliseum building in the town center called the Walker Art Gallery.
My first visit must have been with my Old Man, or perhaps my Grandad-I was still too much of a tot to remember who exactly-but what I do recall is the opulence of the lobby, the smell of varnished oak and high ceilings with gold flourishes, a side room with alabaster statues before the marble staircase with vast canvases resplendent with Napoleon or Greek allegory.
It was my first introduction to real Art,and although it would be years before I was to see a faded reprint of Bosh's Earthly Delights, my calling was assured in the years between. I've visited so many times since, from bunking off from school to sit for hours studying the masterworks, to seeing it's glories fresh through my children's eyes.
Below are five pieces that consumed me.
'A Horse Frightened by a Lion'-George Stubbs. 1770
'Interior at Paddington'-Lucian Freud-1951
'And when did you last see your father?' William Frederick Yeames-1878
'Echo and Narcissus', John William Waterhouse, 1903
'The Murder'-Paul Cezanne-1868
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