Dr. Martens launches Turner boots, Tate Britain under fire
Dr. Martens has released a new line of boots featuring J.M.W. Turner's paintings Fishermen at Sea (1796) and The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire (1817), priced at £140. The collection has sparked controversy, with Turner's descendants and art critic Julian Spalding criticizing the commercialization. Spalding, former director of contemporary art museums in Manchester, Sheffield, and Glasgow, accused Tate Britain of betraying its duty to protect artists' legacies by granting permission for the image use. The debate echoes earlier disputes over Jeff Koons' Louis Vuitton collections reproducing Renaissance and Impressionist masterpieces. Unlike those collaborations, Dr. Martens' project involved no living artist as intermediary. The article notes successful art-fashion crossovers by Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama for Louis Vuitton.
Key facts
- Dr. Martens launched boots featuring Turner's Fishermen at Sea (1796) and The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire (1817)
- Boots priced at £140
- Turner's descendants criticized the commercialization
- Art critic Julian Spalding condemned Tate Britain's involvement
- Spalding previously called Damien Hirst 'a pure marketing operation'
- Tate Britain granted permission for image use
- Jeff Koons previously reproduced Renaissance and Impressionist works for Louis Vuitton
- Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama had successful Louis Vuitton collaborations
Entities
Artists
- J.M.W. Turner
- Jeff Koons
- Takashi Murakami
- Yayoi Kusama
- Damien Hirst
- Julian Spalding
- Mariacristina Ferraioli
Institutions
- Dr. Martens
- Tate Britain
- Louis Vuitton
- Artribune
Locations
- London
- Chelsea
- Manchester
- Sheffield
- Glasgow
- England
- United Kingdom