Which painter are these acrobats paying homage to? The great British art quiz

Acrobats Waiting to Rehearse, 1936, Glyn Warren Philpot. Photograph: Brighton and Hove Museums and Art 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 Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove. The Brighton Museums collection ranges from late 15th-century European woodcuts and old master paintings to modern British paintings and 20th-century abstract expressionist works. It contains nearly 1,500 oil paintings, 4,000 watercolours and drawings, and more than 10,000 prints. It also includes topographical material on the history of Brighton and Hove, and prized Chinese export watercolours and oil paintings.

You can see art from Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove on Art UK here. Find out more on the museums’ website here.

1. 

   How long did it take to transform the Royal Pavilion into an Indian military hospital in 1914?

   1. Six days

   2. Six weeks

   3. Three months

   4. Six months

2. 

   Who painted this moonlit landscape?

   1. Abraham Pether

   2. JMW Turner

   3. Henry Pether

   4. Joseph Wright of Derby

3. 

   The artist Angelica Kauffman was one of only two female founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Who was the other one?

   1. Mary Wollstonecraft

   2. Mary Moser

   3. Mary Gartside

   4. Mary Delany

4. 

   Robert Bevan was born in Hove and worked in London and Sussex. To which early 20th-century group of artists did he belong?

   1. The Bloomsbury Group

   2. The Vorticists

   3. The Camden Town Group

   4. The Euston Road School

5. 

   Which European artist may have influenced this painting by Glyn Philpot?

   1. Salvador Dalí

   2. Pablo Picasso

   3. Edward Burra

   4. George Grosz

6. 

   This marble statue represents Saint Cecilia. She is the patron saint of which of the following?

   1. Artists

   2. Hangovers

   3. Musicians

   4. Flying

7. 

   The artist Walter Sickert had a reputation for being a ladies' man, but his name has been linked to which unsavoury figure?

   1. Jack the Hat

   2. Jack the Giant Killer

   3. Jack the Ripper

   4. Jake the Poacher

8. 

   This couple, Barbara and Fitz, founded which British retail company?

   1. Ann Summers

   2. Monsoon Accessorize

   3. Athena

   4. Biba

Solutions

1:A - During the first world war, hospitals were urgently needed. By 1915, almost 30,000 Indian and Gurkha troops had served on the Western Front. At least 3,000 were killed and 14,000 wounded. An impression was given that the pavilion was an occupied royal palace and that George V, who was Emperor of India, had given it up for this use. The pavilion was in fact owned by the local authority. Image: Music Room of the Royal Pavilion as a Hospital for Indian Soldiers, 1915, by CHH Burleigh (1869–1956) © the artist's estate. Credit: Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries , 2:A - Painter, philosopher and mathematician Abraham Pether was born in Chichester, West Sussex. He specialised in landscapes doused in moonlight. Moonlight is notoriously difficult to paint, but Pether excelled in it. He passed on his passion for moonlight to his sons Henry and Sebastian, who also became known for their moonlit landscapes. Image: Moonlit Scene, by Abraham Pether (1756–1812). Credit: Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries , 3:B - Kauffman and flower painter Moser were well-known figures in the 18th-century British art world. Both secured royal commissions and made a living as artists. Despite their status, they faced many restrictions at the Academy. For example, women were not allowed to attend life-drawing sessions or attend Academy dinners. The next woman to become a full Royal Academician was Laura Knight in 1936. Image: Penelope at Her Loom, 1764, by Angelica Kauffmann (1741–1807). Credit: Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries , 4:C - Influenced by Gauguin and Renoir, Robert Polhill Bevan painted in the post-impressionist style typical of the Camden Town Group artists. He participated in the landmark Exhibition of the Work of English Post Impressionists, Cubists and Others held at Brighton Public Art Gallery in 1913-14. The Cabyard, Night was bought by the gallery and was the only work by Bevan to enter a public collection during his lifetime. Image: The Cab Yard, Night, c.1909–1910, by Robert Polhill Bevan (1865–1925). Credit: Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries , 5:B - Glyn Philpot served alongside Henri Matisse on the jury of the 1930 Carnegie International competition in Pittsburgh, where Picasso was awarded first prize. The colour and mood of Acrobats Waiting to Rehearse are reminiscent of Picasso’s "rose period". The painting marks a change in style from Philpot’s early society portraits and mystical paintings, and suggests homoeroticism. Brighton Museum & Art Gallery holds the largest regional collection of work by Philpot. Image: Acrobats Waiting to Rehearse, 1936, by Glyn Warren Philpot (1884–1937). Credit: Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries. , 6:C - St Cecilia experienced visions containing music. Her body was discovered in 1599 in the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome. The sculptor Stefano Maderno depicted her body exactly as it was found. This marble sculpture is a reproduction of Maderno’s work, which is displayed in the church. Saint Catherine of Bologna, Saint Bibiana and Saint Joseph of Cupertino are the patron saints of artists, hangovers and flying respectively. Image: Saint Cecilia, after Stefano Maderno (c.1576–1636). Credit: Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries , 7:C - Sickert was known to have taken an interest in the Whitechapel murders of 1888, and painted Jack the Ripper's Bedroom in 1907. He was never considered a suspect at the time, or during his life. However, since the 1970s various people have made the claim that Sickert himself was the murderer, despite evidence that he was living in France at the time. Image: The Laundry Shop, Dieppe, France, 1885, by Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942). Credit: Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries , 8:D - Bárbara Hulanicki, with the help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon, founded the Biba fashion label in 1964. Biba was the nickname of Biruta, her younger sister. Image: Barbara and Fitz, 1975–1994, by Chris Price. Credit: © Chris Price / Brighton and Hove Museums and Art 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!