Longlisted for the William MB Berger Prize for British Art History 2021

Arthur Jeffress was an art dealer and collector from a Virginian family who bequeathed his “subversive little collection” (Derek Hill) to Tate and Southampton City Art Gallery on his suicide in 1961. That suicide, a result of his expulsion from Venice, has been the subject of speculation in many memoirs.

Gill Hedley’s biography of Jeffress has benefited from access to many hundreds of unpublished letters written between Jeffress and Robert Melville, who ran Jeffress’ own gallery from 1955-1961. The letters were written largely while Jeffress was in Venice and reveal a vivid picture of the London gallery world as well as frank details of artists, collectors and the definitive story of his suicide.

Previously unpublished research reveals new information about the lives of Jeffress’ lover John Deakin, his business partner Erica Brausen, the French photographer André Ostier and Henry Clifford, and the way in which all of them influenced Jeffress’ first steps as a collector from the 1930s onwards.

Prizes

Long-listed for William MB Berger Prize for British Art History 2021 (United States)

Picaresque and tragic by turns, packed full of incident, Gill Hedley has breathed new life into a near-forgotten figure. Soon not to have heard of Arthur Jeffress will be seen as betraying a shameful ignorance of our art historical past. * Robin Muir author of Under the Influence John Deakin, Photography and the Lure of Soho (2014) *
In this impressive and immersive biography, Gill Hedley seeks to go beyond Arthur Jeffress' reputation as 'flamboyant American millionaire, eccentric and exotic art collector, [and] tragic homosexual', revealing the complexities of the man behind the caricature whilst also offering a compelling portrait of the cultural jet set through much of the 20th century. * Art Quarterly *

Gill Hedley worked as a museum curator in three regional museums before organising major exhibitions world-wide for the British Council. Now freelance, she works as a writer, exhibition curator, museum consultant and advisor to a number of individual artists. She will curate an exhibition 'A Complete Portrait of Arthur Jeffress' for Southampton City Art Gallery in early 2020. Gill is the author of Free Seats for All (2018) and Let Her Paint (1988).