Sir Nicholas Serota Makes An Acquisitions Decision - Background and Description

Background and Description

In 1999, Thomson was the co-founder, with Billy Childish of the Stuckism art group, which set out to promote figurative painting, in opposition to conceptual art, which they identified with the Turner Prize (whose jury chairman was Sir Nicholas Serota) and the Young British Artists, of which Tracey Emin (who had once been in a relationship with Childish) was a leading representative.

Thomson's painting shows Serota, the director of the Tate gallery. He is smiling behind a large pair of red knickers on a washing line, saying "is it a genuine Emin (£10,000)" and thinking, "or a worthless fake?". This is a reference to Tracey Emin's My Bed, literally a display of her (dishevelled) bed with detritus which included a pair of her knickers, shown in the 1999 Turner Prize at Tate Britain. The image was painted over a few days and in a final 24 hour non stop stint.

"My painting of Serota has become an icon of the Stuckist movement because it states our position in art," said Thomson. "We are for new figurative painting and anti stale, old conceptual art."