SIR PETER O’SULLEVAN (1918-2015) THE BBC’S MATCHLESS ‘VOICE OF RACING’, WAS A DEDICATED ART COLLECTOR, SINCE 1998 CHAIRMAN OF THE OSBORNE STUDIO GALLERY, LONDON’S LEADING GALLERY FOR RACING AND EQUESTRIAN ART
CELEBRATION OF SIR PETER 0’SULLEVAN’S LIFE IN AN EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS, SCULPTURE, PHOTOGRAPHS AND EPHEMERA FROM HIS PRIVATE COLLECTION (SOME OF WHICH ARE FOR SALE). FROM MARCH 9TH UNTIL APRIL 1ST 2016-02-04 AT THE OSBORNE STUDIO GALLERY
Sir Peter O’Sullevan, flawless commentator, bon viveur, winner of a plethora of awards for his contributions to broadcasting and racing, lover of jazz and birdsong, was also an art collector and connoisseur of distinction. Hugh McIlvanney in his Sunday Times obituary noted that Sir Peter ‘enriched the lives of all he encountered.’
His Chelsea flat was crammed with paintings and sculpture, most of them equestrian subjects, but also works from his travels to remote places, especially in North Africa, and the occasional haunting portrait of a whiteface clown or melancholy Pierrot. Many great artists (Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec) have been as fascinated by the circus as the racecourse, both resonant with colour and drama.
Sir Peter readily agreed to become Chairman of the Osborne Studio Gallery in Belgravia, soon after his retirement in 1996 and played an active role encouraging many young equestrian artists.
Geoffrey Hughes writes that Sir Peter was his ‘boyhood hero’ whose ‘inquisitive and intelligent nature observed hidden depths in the paintings that others, often missed.’
The Osborne Studio Gallery will show many works owned by Sir Peter, together with a number of bequeathed works from his collection. A beneficiary of these sales will be the Peter 0’Sullevan Charitable Trust.
The period of the exhibition includes the four days of the Cheltenham Festival, his favourite time of the year.
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