Which 'kitchen sink' whiz painted Macca? The great British art quiz

Paul McCartney and Flowers painted in 1967 – but who was the artist? Photograph: Kirklees Museums & Galleries

This quiz is brought to you in collaboration with Art UK, the online home for the UK’s public art collections, showing art from more than 3,000 venues and by 45,000 artists. Each day, a different collection on Art UK will set the questions.

Today, our questions are set by Kirklees Museums & Galleries: Huddersfield Art Gallery. The Kirklees collection consists primarily of British art from the 19th century to the present. The collection includes works by leading British artists including Francis Bacon, LS Lowry, Henry Moore, Frank Auerbach and Stanley Spencer, in addition to a number of works by members of the Camden Town Group. The collection can normally be seen at Huddersfield Art Gallery, which is currently closed for refurbishment.

You can see art from Kirklees Museums & Galleries: Huddersfield Art Gallery on Art UK here. Find out more on its website here.

1. 

   This view of Huddersfield was painted by William Cowan in 1849. Which radical figure described Huddersfield as “the handsomest by far of all the factory towns in Yorkshire and Lancashire by reason of its situation and modern architecture"?

   1. Harold Wilson

   2. Friedrich Engels

   3. Tony Benn

   4. Jeremy Corbyn

2. 

   You’ll recognise the sitter as Paul McCartney. But which 'kitchen sink' painter is responsible for this portrait?

   1. Jack Smith

   2. Edward Middleditch

   3. John Bratby

   4. Derrick Greaves

3. 

   This painting by Chris Gollon titled Einstein and the Jealous Monk was inspired by the lyrics “Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood with his memories in a trunk, passed this way an hour ago with his friend, a jealous monk”. Which famous song writer wrote these lyrics?

   1. Neil Young

   2. Van Morrison

   3. Bob Dylan

   4. Bruce Springsteen

4. 

   One of the highlights of our collection is this masterpiece titled Tea in the Bedsitter. It was painted by a member of the Camden Town Group. Can you name the artist?

   1. Walter Sickert

   2. Harold Gilman

   3. Sylvia Gosse

   4. Spencer Gore

5. 

   This epic painting was painted by John Martin in 1848. Martin’s brother Jonathan, nicknamed "Mad Martin", was an infamous arsonist. Which cathedral did he set fire to in 1829?

   1. Salisbury Cathedral

   2. Durham Cathedral

   3. Canterbury Cathedral

   4. York Minster

6. 

   This painting is by the Irish artist Jack Butler Yeats. Which of the following facts about the artist is untrue?

   1. He was the brother of the poet WB Yeats

   2. He was a close friend of the playwright Samuel Beckett

   3. He won a medal at the Olympic Games

   4. He was born in Dublin

7. 

   This mid 19th-century portrait is of which famous novelist?

   1. George Eliot

   2. Jane Austen

   3. Charlotte Brontë

   4. Mary Shelley

8. 

   The artist who created this painting also lived in a Red House (this one being in Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast), can you name her?

   1. Ethel Walker

   2. Mary Potter

   3. Eileen Agar

   4. Wilhelmina Barns-Graham

Solutions

1:B - The German philosopher, historian and businessman Friedrich Engels was right about Huddersfield’s handsome architecture. The town boasts the third highest number of listed buildings in the country. Image: View of Huddersfield, 1849, William Cowen (1791–1864), Credit: Kirklees Museums and Galleries , 2:C - Bratby painted this portrait of Paul McCartney from life in 1967. He described his sitter as “rather tired and unshaven”. Kitchen Sink painters is a term applied to a group of British artists working in the 1950s who painted ordinary people in scenes of everyday life. Image: Paul McCartney and Flowers, 1967, John Randall Bratby (1928–1992). Credit: Kirklees Museums and Galleries , 3:C - The late Chris Gollon loved music and this painting was directly inspired by Bob Dylan’s Desolation Row, the final track on his album Highway 61 Revisited. Image: Einstein and the Jealous Monk, 2004, Chris Gollon (1953–2017) © the artist's estate. Credit: Kirklees Museums and Galleries , 4:B - Harold Gilman was renowned for his domestic interiors painted with a subtle, quiet realism. This painting depicts his lodgings in Fitzrovia, London. The enigmatic painting with its isolated figures lost in their thoughts continues to fascinate viewers. Tea in the Bedsitter, Harold Gilman (1876–1919). Credit: Kirklees Museums and Galleries , 5:D - John Martin is renowned for his spectacular paintings featuring panoramic scenes of battles, biblical catastrophes and the vastness of nature. His elder brother, Jonathan, caused extensive damage to the York Minster but was spared the hangman’s noose on the grounds of insanity. Image: Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, 1848, John Martin (1789–1854). Credit: Kirklees Museums and Galleries , 6:D - Yeats was actually born in London but he does hold the distinction of being Ireland’s first medallist at the Olympic Games. He won a silver medal in the arts and culture segment of the 1924 Paris Olympics. He is the younger brother of Nobel prize winner WB Yeats. Image: The Explorer Rebuffed, 1953, Jack Butler Yeats (1871–1957), © the copyright holder. Credit: Kirklees Museums and Galleries , 7:C - The Yorkshire-born writer Charlotte Brontë published Jane Eyre under the male pseudonym Currer Bell in 1847. This painting copied after Richmond’s chalk sketch of Brontë in the National Portrait Gallery was painted on porcelain. Image: Charlotte Brontë, mid-19th century, copy after George Richmond (1908–1896). Credit: Kirklees Museums and Galleries , 8:B - Mary Potter swapped houses with Benjamin Britten, who continued to live at the Red House until his death in 1976. She was known for her restrained palette of subtle colours. Image: The Shed, 1966, by Mary Potter (1900–1981). Credit: Kirklees Museums and Galleries

Scores

1. 8 and above.

   A brush with greatness!

2. 7 and above.

   A great impression!

3. 6 and above.

   A good impression

4. 5 and above.

   A decent impression

5. 4 and above.

   A decent impression

6. 3 and above.

   Could be worse…

7. 2 and above.

   Start brushing up!

8. 0 and above.

   Start brushing up!

9. 1 and above.

   Start brushing up!