ArtReview Archives Revisit 1960 Reg Butler Exhibition Review Amid Contemporary Uncertainty

ArtReview has launched a new archival series examining historical moments of change in the art world, beginning with a 1960 review of sculptor Reg Butler's exhibition at Hanover Gallery in London. Critic G.M. Butcher's original assessment, published in Art News and Review on June 18, 1960, questioned Butler's artistic direction amid commercial success. Butcher noted the relaxed gallery atmosphere contrasted with typical London gallery hush, observing Butler applying blackish patination to bronzes with a shoe brush. The critic compared this treatment to Gandhara sculptures in Peshawar Museum that were damaged by similar polishing. Butler produced editions of eight casts for each work, raising questions about originality when craftsmen execute multiples. Butcher referenced Sir Kenneth Clark's Oxford lecture criticizing Rodin's workshop practices and compared Butler's drawings to Bernard Buffet's commercialism. The review noted three other sold-out exhibitions that week featuring Jean Dubuffet, Ivon Hitchens, and John Piper, questioning whether purchases were speculative investments. Butcher suggested Butler faced a crucial artistic struggle, quoting Picasso's warning against self-imitation.