Plymouth’s most famous and contentious painter, Robert Lenkiewicz, still creates headlines today. The Lenkiewicz Foundation is a Charitable Trust, set up by Robert Lenkiewicz himself in 1997, and since his death in 2002, the Foundation has been tasked with managing Robert’s estate. It currently runs a dedicated exhibition and education programme mostly regionally, but also increasingly overseas with a touring exhibition that travelled to Germany in 2013 to great acclaim, even featuring on Michael Portillo’s Great Continental Railway Journeys. We caught up with John-Paul Somerville, the Lenkiewicz Foundation’s Exhibition Officer.
Lenkiewicz’s colossal eight feet by sixteen feet painting Plymouth Building It’s Future was recently hung in Devonport Guildhall. Featuring planners, engineers and architects that shaped the history of the city, instrumental figures – including Brunel, Paton Watson and Abercrombie – oversee landmarks and icons representing the development of Plymouth. As ever, Lenkiewicz’s passion for the everyday people of Plymouth takes a prominent role, with local citizens dominating much of the foreground. John Foulston, who designed the Devonport Guildhall where the painting now hangs, is also featured, making the Guildhall the perfect location to display the artwork. John-Paul makes the case that the artwork has even more significance now as Plymouth celebrates the amalgamation of the three towns – “John Foulston designed the famous Union Street, uniting the three towns of Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport”.
The Lenkiewicz Foundation is currently “digitising and cataloging the whole archive”, a tremendous undertaking. John-Paul tells me that, “We’re very lucky to have every notebook and diary from Lenkiewicz’s life in our possession. That’s many years of diaries, meticulously kept, and note books and logbooks accompanying every major project, and all the relationship notebooks.” It’s a fascinating mountain of literature and sketches, but also a huge task for the Foundation to collate and categorise it. The whole archive has now been taken in by the Plymouth and West-Devon Records Office, giving some much-needed security and prominence to the unique collection.
St.Saviours, a former chapel situated next to the Citadel on the Hoe, is currently managed by the Foundation. “It was gifted to Robert Lenkiewicz during his lifetime – there was a ceremony held at the museum with the lord mayor and Cllr Pengelly present. They even baked a cake in the shape of St Saviours, and we have an Evening Herald press clipping (of the event). But in inimitable Lenkiewicz style the lease was never signed, so it’s not legally binding.” The Lenkiewicz Foundation is currently applying for a Community Asset Transfer of the building, which would see them partner with Fotonow – a Plymouth-based, photographic community interest company – to jointly use the building for their operations. “We would have a dedicated reading room, study-space and art and art history library” says John-Paul. St Saviours currently houses Robert Lenkiewicz’s colossal collection of art books.
Excitingly, there could be a great chance for the public to see more of Lenkiewicz’s life and work. Sarah Fitzpatrick has bought the former Lenkiewicz studios (most recently the site of the Barbican Pannier Market, but that building has also previously housed the bottling plant for Plymouth Gin). Fitzpatrick intends to develop the premises into apartments, but possibly with a space for the Lenkiewicz Foundation to house a museum and shop on the ground floor. “There’s a huge significance with this building to Lenkiewicz’s legacy on the Barbican” states John-Paul. On the rear of the building there is a huge mural by Robert Lenkiewicz, but it has been fatigued after “40 plus years of exposure to the sea air… we’re in conversation with a conservation agency about carrying out a feasibility assessment to see if anything can be done (to save it)”.
The Lenkiewicz Foundation is currently looking for the support and funds to open a museum in the site of his former studios. For more information, please visit www.robertlenkiewicz.org
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