'The Truth in Painting'. Barbican Library Philosophy Room, 1988
A Portrait of Robert Lenkiewicz

A large-format (320 x 320 mm) hardback book containing 180 pages with over 400 images, many reproduced full-page. With one exception, every image in the book may be ordered as a digital photographic print on Kodak paper. The book was published on August 5 2005.

A specially bound Collector's Edition of 225 copies with a distinctive binding and presentation slipcase was also published. The Collector's Edition includes an exclusive limited edition 11 x 8 ins hand made print on archival paper of the iconic cover image 'The Truth in Painting', Barbican Library Philosophy Room, 1988 (left), which is not reproduced within the book and will never be printed in any other format.


Opposite: 'The Truth in Painting'. Barbican Library Philosophy Room, 1988.


Dr Philip Stokes

Philip Stokes & Robert Lenkiewicz, 1984
Philip Stokes & Robert Lenkiewicz, 1984

Dr Philip Stokes, who passed away just a few months after his great friend Robert Lenkiewicz, was Senior Lecturer in Photography at Nottingham University until his retirement in 1997 and held a Doctorate from the University of Exeter.

A great educator and advocate for the visual arts, he was also an expert in the application of the law relating to issues of censorship in art and photography. His acclaimed photographic style explored "the dark mystery of persona and place, life and death" in the words of the British Journal of Photography. In the extravagant world of artist Robert Lenkiewicz he found his ideal subject.



Robert with Pat Parker, c.1971
Robert with Pat Parker, c.1971
Vagrancy Project opening night, 1973
Vagrancy Project opening night, 1973
Robert with Eliza, 1979
Robert with Eliza, 1979


Philip met Robert in the late 60s and began visiting the artist's home and studios on a regular basis, finding Lenkiewicz's extraordinary world of vagrants, vast warehouse-studios and the inexhaustible supply of models an environment "of unparalleled visual richness". His friendship with the artist gave him uniquely privileged access not only at key public events, like the artist's regular exhibitions, but also behind-the-scenes where his photographs often captured the painter in intimate, informal settings.

The artist painting his son Wolfe, 1983
The artist painting his son Wolfe, 1983
The Barbican Studio, 1992
The Barbican Studio, 1992
Robert with daughter Thais, 1988
Robert with daughter Thais, 1988


For his part, Lenkiewicz appears to have reciprocated Stokes' interest and professional respect and encouraged the photographer to build up a unique archive of photographs and other material documenting the painter's life which, it was hoped, would later form a complete visual biography.


The Painter With Women
The Painter With Women Project , 1989
The Painter With Women
The Painter With Women Project, 1989
The Painter With Women
The Painter With Women Project , 1990
The Painter With Women
The Painter With Women Project , 1991

Dr Stokes' remarkable photographs span the period 1968 to 2002. They cover major exhibitions such as Vagrancy (1973), Sexual Behaviour (1983), Observations on Local Education (1988), The Painter With Women (1994) at the Birmingham NEC, and the 1997 Retrospective at Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery. This unique archive of photographs also includes a detailed visual record of the development of the artist's magnificent private library.

Sir Terry Waite at Retrospective Exhibition, Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery, 1997
Sir Terry Waite at Retrospective Exhibition, Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery, 1997
Retrospective Exhibition, Plymouth
Retrospective Exhibition, Plymouth
City Museum & Art Gallery, 1997
The Barbican Library, 1990
The Barbican Library, 1990

 

In Philip Stokes, Robert Lenkiewicz could not have wished for a more sophisticated or dedicated 'court photographer'. Whether in stunning formal portraits, vibrant crowd scenes or evocative studio panoramas, Philip's mature photographic style ideally complements the rich diversity of his unique subject.

 

Barbican Studio, 1996
Barbican Studio, 1996
 
Barbican Studio, 1996
Barbican Studio, 1996

 

Book specifications

A Portrait of Robert Lenkiewicz ISBN 09531370 6 6. Price £30.00
Hardback edition: large format 320 x 320 mm, 180pp. 420 b/w & colour illustrations.

Collector's Edition & photgraphic print. Price £POA

Limited edition of 225, with exclusive digital print on archival paper of cover image (paper size 12 x 10 ins, image size approx. 11 x 8 ins). Book dimensions as above, with distinctive cover, endpapers and matching presentation slipcase.

Note: This image is available exclusively with the Collector's Edition — it is not reproduced in the book and will not be available in any other printed format.