Ben Uri has announce the acquisition of "Self-portrait in
steel helmet" by Isaac Rosenberg c.1916 purchased with the assistance of grants from The Art Fund, the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the generosity of many private supporters.
Jonathan Horwich, Chairman of the Museum's Acquisitions Committee said:
"This is a hugely important acquisition of national significance for BenUri. Rosenberg was a distinguished poet and artist whose life was cruelly cut short dying in the trenches in Arras, France, serving King and country
in 1918. His work is rare and this remarkable example executed on a brown paper bag whilst in the trenches has been the centrepiece of each of the four major retrospectives of his work. It featured most recently on the front cover of Ben Uri's "Whitechapel at War, Isaac Rosenberg and his
Circle" exhibition catalogue. This exceptional work is of significant art-historical as well as biographical importance and fills a long standing gap in our preeminent collection of this milieu."
