The Estorick Collection
Regular readers may be aware of my apparent indifference to Art. My trusty guidebook, thankfully, does not include many entries that require me to pay to see Art; the Estorick Collection was one of these entries and, I’ll be honest, I felt a little short changed.
The Estorick Collection is the legacy of Eric Estorick, who had a passion for collection Italian modern art, and on his death left 80 pieces to a charitable trust; these are now to be found in a Georgian townhouse in Canonbury. Estorick’s main interest was in Futurist art, a style devoted to throwing off the influences of the past and focussing on developing an entirely new style inspired by speed, technology, youth, and violence. The movement was not restricted to paintings, but also included (among other things) sculpture, industrial design, interior design, theatre and film, fashion, music and architecture. It’s a strange style and not always immediately obvious what one is looking at (though I did enjoy one about future fish).
Not all the collection is dedicated to Futurism – there’s a whole gallery where most of the pictures seem to depict bottles on tables, surrounded by other indeterminate items (my theory is the artist could only draw bottles). By the way, when I say “gallery”, I mean “small room” – and there are only 6 of them.
Go if you like Italian modern art. Otherwise save yourself £6 (or more if you by souvenirs or visit the café) and go to one of the fine pubs in the area.
