A brand-new collaboration between the Estate of Albert Irvin and fashion designer Henry Holland – supported with a DACS licence – sees the late painter’s colourful abstract works used in House of Holland’s 2018 ‘Resort’ collection.
A chance encounter
The collaboration between the Estate of Albert Irvin and Henry Holland was inspired by a chance encounter between
Albert Irvin RA and the designer at the
Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in 2014.
After finding out that Holland had purchased one of his paintings, Irvin - who was then 91 - began a series of written exchanges in which the pair discovered a mutual interest in each other’s work.
They agreed to work together, however, Irvin sadly passed away the following year.
Acid brights and abstract shapes
Irvin’s daughters Celia and Priscilla, who are now guardians of his Estate, were keen to honour their father’s arrangement and have since worked with Holland on a selection of designs for
House of Holland's 2018 ‘Resort’ collection.
The resulting pieces deftly incorporate some of the painter’s original works
Crosstown (2013),
Minerva (2014) and
Nova (2014). Featuring silk pyjama suits, mini-dresses, knits and more, with acidic block colours and shapes reminiscent of artist overalls, the designs symbiotically embrace Irvin’s unique sense of colour and abstract use of shape.
DACS was delighted to help support the collaboration. As the Estate’s representative for
Copyright Licensing, we were able to provide advice where needed and put in place a licence agreement to formalise how House of Holland could use Irvin’s paintings.
You can preview the designs in
this series of photographs shot in the artist’s Stepney Green studio, where he painted from the 1970s through to 2014.
Related links
Interested in reproducing an artist’s work? Find out if they are represented by DACS and apply for a licence.
Browse and request images by a selection of DACS artists via our Artimage website.
Inherited an artist’s copyright and need help licensing their work? Join our Copyright Licensing service.
Image: House of Holland's Resort 2018 collection, featuring artworks by Albert Irvin. Photograph by Ben Parks. Image courtesy of House of Holland.