Rethinking the Image

Image source: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/portrait-38250 (Accessed: 26 October 2025). © The Estate of John Tunnard/DACS, London

John Tunnard, Portrait (c. 1958), Leeds Art Gallery, 50.5 cm x 14.3 cm, oil on board.

Located on the first-floor landing of Leeds Art Gallery is a permanent display titled The Lives of Others. Presenting an eclectic array of portraits and figurative works from well-known artists and lesser-known figures alike, the display brings together a diverse range of styles from a variety of artistic movements^[1].

Among these works, it’s surprising to see a small portrait by John Tunnard. Although Tunnard’s work is exceptionally well-represented in the gallery’s permanent collection, the artist is typically known for producing mysterious, enchanting dreamscapes which blur the line between Surrealism and pure abstraction, and in which the human form is typically absent^[2].

In Fulcrum (1939)^[3], unusual devices hang mysteriously against a bright yellow sky, while in Davy Jones’s Locker (1940)^[4], echoing forms appear to sink to the seabed like anchors. The interlocking shapes of Tol Pedn (1942)^[5] suggest a pair of towering monoliths in an icy landscape, while Fugue No. 2 (1940)^[6] marries biomorphic abstraction to architectural geometry.

The figure in Portrait wears his striped shirt with the collar unbuttoned, while his flat cap is a typical element of working-class attire. His face is weary and drawn, his eyelids heavy, and his stubble thick – features which are accentuated by the exaggerated proportions of his face. Despite its artificiality, however, it is clear that Portrait alludes to real things – real people, real work, real life.

It is easy to imagine this figure as a farmhand or labourer, particularly when considering his naturalistic setting. Behind him, loose formations of lines suggesting tree branches are embedded into a large area of semi-opaque yellow, underpinned by a band of rich green. Tunnard’s chosen support (board, rather than canvas) lends a charming roughness to the work.

Although Tunnard’s abstract vistas show little trace of human habitation^[2], one can imagine them being populated by humble, rugged, hard-working figures like that of Portrait. Following his leftward gaze will lead you away from the landing and into an adjacent gallery, where Tunnard’s abstract works take centre stage.

[1] Leeds Art Gallery (no date) Exhibitions at Leeds Art Gallery. Available at: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/exhibitions-at-leeds-art-gallery-4663 (Accessed: 26 October 2025).

[2] Art UK (no date) John Tunnard. Available at: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/actor:tunnard-john-19001971/page/3 (Accessed: 26 October 2025).

[3] Tate (no date) Fulcrum. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/tunnard-fulcrum-t02327 (Accessed: 26 October 2025).

[4] Art UK (no date) Davy Jones’s Locker. Available at: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/davy-joness-locker-37976 (Accessed: 26 October 2025).

[5] Tate (no date) Tol Pedn. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/tunnard-tol-pedn-t03227 (Accessed: 26 October 2025).

[6] Art UK (no date) Fugue No. 2. Available at: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/fugue-no-2-38245 (Accessed: 26 October 2025).