The Great British Art Tour: a dazzling young man who commands attention
With public art collections closed we are bringing the art to you, exploring highlights from across the country in partnership with Art UK. Today’s pick: Nottingham’s Hibiscus Flower by William Ranken
Detail of Hibiscus Flower, c1922, by William Bruce Ellis Ranken (1881-1941). Photograph: Nottingham City Museums
Detail of Hibiscus Flower, c1922, by William Bruce Ellis Ranken (1881-1941). Photograph: Nottingham City Museums
LouiseDunning,curatorfineanddecorativearts,NottinghamCityMuseumsandGalleries
Fri 5 Mar 2021 01.00 EST
Last modified on Fri 5 Mar 2021 06.47 EST
William Bruce Ellis Ranken was a Scottish-born aesthete and painter known for his sumptuous interiors and elegant portraits of Edwardian society figures. Hibiscus Flower, painted around 1922, is a luminous celebration of male beauty and the male gaze. At nearly two metres tall in its frame, its scale and palette of dazzling colours command at