‘Snobs’ snub world famous artist... in his home town
Renowned Thorpe ‘shunned for being popular’
ONE OF Britain’s most popular artists claims he is snubbed in his home town due to “cultural snobbery”.
The works of Middlesbrough-born Mackenzie Thorpe hang in galleries all over the world, including the Queen’s Royal Collection. Russianborn billionaire Roman Abramovich also owns an original.
His greeting cards, calendars and prints are also popular with those of more modest means.
But Mackenzie said that despite his global fanbase he has never been invited by the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art to exhibit there.
He said people can relate to his work but, because his prints are so popular, he is looked down upon by some in the art world.
The 63-year-old left school with few qualifications because of dyslexia and worked in the town’s shipyards and on the river before being encouraged to study art in 1977.
He has been a full-time artist for more than 30 years. In 2019 he toured the world, was the official artist for the Tour de Yorkshire cycling race and was awarded an honorary professorship in Japan.
Last April he unveiled a bronze sculpture at Middlesbrough’s transporter bridge, with 18,000 people coming to see it in the first week.
Of the absence of his work in the museum, he said: “They have never asked me. The thing that bugs me is I get people in Middlesbrough who come up and ask ‘When are you going to have a show at MIMA? When we look at your pictures we see ourselves. We are proud of this town.’ It niggles them.”
He said: “I honestly think there is cultural snobbery. People say to me, ‘You make calendars, greeting cards, prints – that makes you a prostitute. You will never be accepted’.
The artist, who stressed he is unperturbed by the “snub”, said he believed those at MIMA had an attitude of “this is what we want people to see, what we call culture.” A spokesman for Teesside University, which runs the MIMA gallery, said: “We have been a longstanding supporter of Mackenzie Thorpe and he is a double honorary graduate of Teesside.
“Our galleries are part of an energetic cultural scene. We continue to demonstrate a commitment to working with artists from the local area.”