Untitled
Photograph
1995 (made)
1995 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Richard Billingham (born 1970) began photographing his family when he first went to art school to do a foundation course in 1990. Ray, his alcoholic father, was usually drunk, often unconscious. When Billingham moved on to study fine art at University of Sunderland, he continued to photograph his family - partly with the idea of painting from them, perhaps for other reasons. Billingham has spoken about his pictures, 'working like therapy'. The picture of his mother doing a jigsaw puzzle is his most tender and subtle photograph.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | R-type colour print |
| Brief description | Photograph by Richard Billingham, 'Untitled', photograph depicting the artist's mother doing a jig-saw puzzle, from the series 'Ray's a Laugh', r-type colour print, Birmingham, 1995 |
| Physical description | A colour photograph depicting a woman, in a floral patterned dress, seated on a green sofa, doing a jig-saw puzzle. On the table with the puzzle there is also a packet of Sky cigarettes, an ash tray with several cigarette ends and a glass mug of tea. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Richard Billingham came to prominence through his unusually candid documentary photographs of his family. He produced a body of work which looked at the day to day events in his home, observed in a frank and sometimes confrontational manner. The main subjects are his father and, seen here, his mother, and their relationship with one another. Billingham's acute eye for composition is coupled with a flair for timing, capturing emotions ranging from pathos to humour within an unfolding domestic drama.(2008-2009) |
| Object history | This photograph is represented in the following public and private collection: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Saatchi Collection, Eilen and Micheal Cohen; Private Collection, London; Fotomuseum, Winterthur ; Rockefeller, New York. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Richard Billingham (born 1970) began photographing his family when he first went to art school to do a foundation course in 1990. Ray, his alcoholic father, was usually drunk, often unconscious. When Billingham moved on to study fine art at University of Sunderland, he continued to photograph his family - partly with the idea of painting from them, perhaps for other reasons. Billingham has spoken about his pictures, 'working like therapy'. The picture of his mother doing a jigsaw puzzle is his most tender and subtle photograph. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1085-1996 |
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| Record created | February 12, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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