Meat Porters by Ralph Brown RA will go on public display in the courtyard at the Royal Academy as part of this year’s Summer Exhibition.’
Each year, the Academy pays tribute to RAs who have passed away in the course of the previous year by including a seminal work. Meat Porters by Ralph Brown (b. 24 April 1928, d. 3 April 2013), conceived as a public commission for Harlow New Town’s market square in 1959, is recognised as the artist’s most significant sculptural work. Recently acquired by The Ingram Collection – the biggest privately owned publicly accessible Collection of Modern British and Contemporary art – from the artist’s estate (represented by Pangolin London) the bronze shows porters hauling meat carcasses at Smithfield Market.
Commenting, Johanna Baring, Curator of The Ingram Collection, said: “Meat Porters is the most significant and best known work by British sculptor Ralph Brown, RA. This monumental bronze, conveying visceral brutality and a dark sensuality, combined with the artist’s keen social engagement, is an exciting addition to The Ingram Collection.”
“The Ingram Collection contains nearly 100 examples of 20th Century British Sculpture, ranging from preparatory maquettes to monumental bronzes. Acquiring Meat Porters – a Grade II listed public monument – has significantly added to the range of sculpture in this publicly accessible collection.”