Exhibition reunites 'goddesses' after restoration

A life-sized artwork depicting the painter's wife as a goddess has gone on display after being restored.

Goddess of Night by artist Quentin Bell has been repaired by experts at Leeds Art Gallery after a split was found in its brittle paper.

The piece is on display as part of the gallery's Portrayals of Women exhibition, which explores different portrayals of women over the past 400 years.

Leeds Art Gallery assistant curator of fine art Kirsty Young said Bell's wife Anne Olivier Bell was a huge inspiration to him artistically.

She said: "Works by Bell have a unique and timeless beauty, even more so because of the personal story behind them and the powerful emotional connection the artist clearly had with his subject.

"Bell's works frequently reference classical mythology and these works that have a strong architectural quality to them are a perfect reflection of this.

"In various mythologies, day and night are personified as female deities that control the cycle of light and darkness. These portrayals often highlight female power, beauty, wisdom and influence."

The Portrayals of Women exhibition features a selection of works including pieces by Italian painter Ottavio Leoni and Dutch master Rembrandt.

Mr Bell was the nephew of writer Virginia Woolf, as well as a renowned ceramicist and former professor of fine art at the University of Leeds.

Mr and Mrs Bell met during a study trip to Paris in 1937, when he first painted her.

The delicate work on paper was restored by specialist conservator James Caverhill after it was gifted to the gallery last year by Vanda Walton.

Peter and Vanda Walton were friends of Bell, who gifted Goddess of Night and its sister work Goddess of Day to them in 1980.

Ms Young said: "The nature of works on paper means that over time they can be subject to this kind of deterioration as the paper can become very brittle, so we're extremely fortunate to have James's expertise in conserving Goddess of Night in readiness for display."

Ms Bell, known as Olivier in her lifetime, was a distinguished art expert and one of the first members of the Arts Council.

In the 1940s she worked for the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Branch of the Control Commission for Germany, which was responsible for protecting cultural property during and after World War Two.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.