London Calling

This richly illustrated publication accompanies a major exhibition organised by Kunstmuseum Den Haag in collaboration with Tate Modern, exploring the School of London—a group of postwar artists who redefined figurative painting in Britain. Featuring more than seventy works by Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, David Hockney, Paula Rego, Frank Auerbach, and their contemporaries, the book traces how these painters captured the human condition in an era of social and cultural upheaval.

While Paris and New York led the charge in abstraction, London fostered a quieter yet profound revolution centred on the human body and psyche. Through essays and artworks, the catalogue reveals how these artists grappled with shifting notions of identity, intimacy, and power, offering a compelling perspective on 20th-century art and reaffirming London's role as a crucible of postwar creativity.

London Calling brings together a major international collaboration between Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Tate Modern, uniting two leading art institutions. It features over seventy masterpieces by renowned artists including Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, David Hockney, and Paula Rego. The book explores the evolution of figurative painting in postwar Britain, highlighting its emotional and psychological depth, and broadens the narrative of modern British art by including lesser-known artists and parallel movements.

Richly illustrated with insightful essays by leading scholars and curators, London Calling offers a timely reassessment of London's role as a hub of creative innovation in the 20th century. It is essential reading for enthusiasts of modern art, figurative painting, and postwar cultural history.

Authors: Gregory Salter, Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham, specialising in postwar British art; Sanjukta Sunderason, Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam, specialising in Modernism and activist art; Elena Crippa, former curator at Tate; and Thijs de Raedt, curator at Kunstmuseum The Hague.

Selling Points:

• Major international collaboration between Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Tate Modern, uniting two leading art institutions.
• Features over seventy masterpieces by renowned artists including Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, David Hockney, and Paula Rego.
• Explores the evolution of figurative painting in postwar Britain, highlighting its emotional and psychological depth.
• Broadens the narrative of modern British art by including lesser-known artists and parallel movements.
• Richly illustrated catalogue with insightful essays by leading scholars and curators.
• Timely reassessment of London's role as a hub of creative innovation in the 20th century.
• Essential reading for enthusiasts of modern art, figurative painting, and postwar cultural history.

150 colour, 20 b/w illustrations