Last chance to see art exhibition

The exhibition, which has attracted huge interest, comes to a close on April 17.

John Bratby was a prolific painter, writer and enfant terrible of the British art scene during the 1950’s and 60’s.

Rather than create a traditional retrospective of his oeuvre Jerwood Gallery, launched a rare opportunity for the UK public to produce the content of a major gallery exhibition.

It called for submissions of privately owned Bratby’s, along with personal recollections, letters and photos. The response was staggering.

Hundreds of people, including many household names such as Michael Palin and Julian Sands, got in touch with their remarkable – and often totally unknown until now – Bratby works and stories.

The resultant exhibition opened on 30 January 2016 and has seen record visitor numbers for Jerwood.

Bratby painted a whole raft of celebrities and notable figures during his life. Included in the exhibition is a portrait of Sir Paul McCartney, painted in 1967 at the height of the Beatles’ fame.

The exhibition features several self-portraits - including Self Portrait with David and Friend (1965) and Self Portrait with a Sunflower (1977) from the collection of Bratby’s widow Patti, who has lent a number of her paintings. John died in his adopted home town of Hastings in 1992 whilst walking home from his local chippy the day after his 64th birthday.

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