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'These images and their unique manuscript texts bear witness to a magnificent world -- a world in its primal state, free and vital. But for how much longer?...' Anne Igou
The Hotel Nord Pinus in Arles is very well known to the photo community. Situated in the heart of the town, and distinguished by the surviving columns of the ancient Roman forum embedded in its façde, it has become a favourite meeting point during the annual Arles Rencontres. The owner, Anne Igou, is a great enthusiast of the medium and has enjoyed presenting in the hotel's public areas photographic work that she loves and admires. Some twenty years ago, she had purchased two prints by Peter Beard from a Los Angeles gallery. Captivated by his vision, a few years later, in 1997, she invited Beard to Arles and commissioned a series of works with the idea of devoting the principal walls of the hotel to their display.
The artist responded with enthusiasm and took particular care in enriching these prints with full and poignant manuscript inscriptions, both in his own words and drawing on such sources as Leonardo da Vinci who, in his Prophesies of circa 1490, had foretold deforestation -- 'the immense forests of the world shall be laid level with the ground' -- and had anticipated the remorseless extinction of species.
While, after more than a decade on display, this exceptional group of prints is now to be dispersed, a lasting trace of Beard's time at the hotel remains in a frieze inscription that he made in the lobby cornice. Here, we are reminded of his story: 'I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills. The geographical position and the height of the land combined to create a landscape that had not its like in all the world. The views were immensely wide. Everything that you saw made for greatness and freedom and unequalled nobility.' But Beard realised this awe-inspiring world would not survive. Already, in 1965, his first book, The End of the Game, documented the remorseless logic that would destroy this earthly paradise. Through unique and powerful works that combine image, word and gesture, Peter Beard has created a moving testament to a vanishing Africa. The Nord Pinus collection constitutes an exceptional expression of his perspective on this epic chapter in the evolution of the continent, its flora and fauna -- a haunting metaphor for the potential fate of the planet.
PETER BEARD (B. 1938)
Elephant reaching for the last branch on a tree, 'End-Game' trip through Tsavo, June 1960
Details
PETER BEARD (B. 1938)
Elephant reaching for the last branch on a tree, 'End-Game' trip through Tsavo, June 1960
unique oversized gelatin silver print, with blood artwork and inscriptions, in original frame, printed 1997
signed, titled, dated and inscribed in ink (image, recto)
image 59½ x 40in. (151.1 x 101.6cm.)
sheet 62 x 42in. (157.5 x 106.7cm.)
This work is unique.
Elephant reaching for the last branch on a tree, 'End-Game' trip through Tsavo, June 1960
unique oversized gelatin silver print, with blood artwork and inscriptions, in original frame, printed 1997
signed, titled, dated and inscribed in ink (image, recto)
image 59½ x 40in. (151.1 x 101.6cm.)
sheet 62 x 42in. (157.5 x 106.7cm.)
This work is unique.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist in 1997.
Literature
Peter Beard, Taschen, Cologne, 2008, cover of slip case (image only, not the specific artwork);
Peter Beard, The End of the Game, Paul Hamlyn, London, 1965, p.2 (image only, not the specific artwork);
Peter Beard, Thames & Hudson, London, 2008, pl. 5 (image only, not the specific artwork).
Peter Beard, The End of the Game, Paul Hamlyn, London, 1965, p.2 (image only, not the specific artwork);
Peter Beard, Thames & Hudson, London, 2008, pl. 5 (image only, not the specific artwork).
Brought to you by
Alexander Montague-Sparey
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