BOOK:Joanna Drew and the Art of Exhibitions,Skira Publications

In the book “Joanna Drew and the Art of Exhibitions” by Skira Publications, Caroline Hancock accounts the life and work of Joanna Drew through drawing on the memories of her colleagues, contemporaries and friends as well as featuring the artist’s own perspective on exhibition making. At a time when powerful positions in the art world were largely occupied by men, Joanna Drew broke the mould. During a long and distinguished careershe wielded immense and benevolent influence. She began her impressive career at the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1952 and during the next 40 years organized an extraordinarily diverse range of exhibitions across time and cultures, from prehistoric art to contemporary art, folk art and high art. The 150 exhibitions Drew made for the Arts Council and, later, the Hayward Gallery, included the sensational Picasso exhibition held at the Tate Gallery in 1960 and other landmark exhibitions at Tate, V&A, RA, ICA and in other major venues in London and the UK. Between 1975 and 1992 Joanna Drew was successively Director of Exhibitions, Director of Art at the Arts Council and finally Director of the Hayward Gallery. During her career, she curated landmark exhibitions such as Matisse (1968), Anthony Caro (1969), Renoir (1985), Leonardo da Vinci (1989), Toulouse-Lautrec (1990) and Bridget Riley (1969 and 1992).    In the book Drew’s recollections of working with Picasso, Miró, Max Ernst, Jean Arp, Henry Moore, Claes Oldenburg and many other artists are voiced in her extensive interviews for the British Library’s National Life Stories, created in 2002.-Dimitris Lempesis