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Sir Arthur Bliss

3 of 39 portraits by Wyndham Lewis

© Wyndham Lewis and the estate of the late Mrs G A Wyndham Lewis by kind permission of the Wyndham Lewis Memorial Trust (a registered charity)

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Sir Arthur Bliss

by Wyndham Lewis
pencil, 1922
22 1/4 in. x 15 3/8 in. (565 mm x 390 mm)
Bequeathed by Gertrude (née Hoffmann), Lady Bliss, 2009
Primary Collection
NPG 6865

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • (Percy) Wyndham Lewis (1882-1957), Painter and novelist. Artist or producer associated with 39 portraits, Sitter in 18 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This drawing is related to Lewis's design for the cover of the subsequently published score of Bliss's Colour Symphony (1924). Lewis’s dynamic sketch of his friend evokes the energy and sense of purpose Bliss felt after the war.

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Events of 1922back to top

Current affairs

The British Broadcasting Company (later British Broadcasting Corporation) is established to experiment with radio broadcasting. It is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, providing radio, television and Internet services to the public in Britain and across the world.

Art and science

1922 is a key year for modernist literature with the publication of James Joyce's novel, Ulysses and T.S. Eliot's poem, The Waste Land. Both broke new ground with Ulysses (loosely based on Homer's Odyssey) introducing the 'stream of consciousness' narrative technique, and The Waste Land experimenting with multiple voices and a patchwork of literary, historic, mythological and personal allusions.

International

The Soviet Union is formed under Joseph Stalin who takes power after Lenin suffers a debilitating stroke.
In an attempt to avoid civil war, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy invites Benito Mussolini to form a new government following the Fascist Party's March on Rome.

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