Over the last twenty years there have been flurries of interest in the artist’s model, and recent exhibitions have stimulated new activity in this area. Model and Supermodel extends the discussion about the social and cultural significance of the model in British art and culture. A fascinating collection of essays and interviews, it examines the persistent mythology of the artist’s model and some of the ambiguities involved in depicting the body.

The volume begins with Martin Postle’s survey of the profession of the model during the period c.1840-1940. Elizabeth Prettejohn considers the Pre-Raphaelite model and Alison Smith examines the lives of some nineteenth-century models who achieved fame and notoriety in their own right. Jane Desmarais looks at the model from a literary perspective and Reena Suleman presents the work of Edward Linley Sambourne. Michael Hatt’s essay examines the aesthetic and ethical aspects of Tuke’s use of boy models for his paintings of nude bathers, and William Vaughan reflects on the British figurative tradition from Sickert to Freud. Catherine Wood brings the volume up to date with her essay on the found model in contemporary art, and the volume concludes with two interviews with the artist, Peter Blake, and a life model, Susannah Gregory.

The book offers a series of lively takes on the phenomenon of the artist’s model. It will make fascinating reading for those interested in modern art and the wider aspects of British culture and society.