Grayson Perry: The Vanity of Small Differences: The Vanity of Small Differences (reprinted)

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Loosely inspired by William Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress (1732–33), a group of eight paintings which tell the story of Tom Rakewell, a young man who gains and squanders two fortunes, eventually ending up in debtors prison and dying in a madhouse, The Vanity of Small Differences is a morality tale of the rise and demise of Tim Rakewell. Intriguingly the tapestries are inspired by the people, incidents and objects Perry encountered while researching the project on a journey through segments of social class via visits to Sunderland, Tunbridge Wells and The Cotswolds – a process documented in a three-part television series, All in the Best Possible Taste, for Channel 4.

The artist's primary inspiration was A Rake's Progress (1732 -33) by William Hogarth, which in eight paintings tells the story of Tom Rakewell, a young man who inherits a fortune from his miserly father, spends it all on fashionable pursuits and gambling, marries for money, gambles away a second fortune, goes to debtors' prison and dies in a madhouse. Lamentation”, 2012. Wool, cotton, acrylic, polyester and silk tapestry, 200 X 400 cm. British Council Collection. The tapestries, recently acquired by the Crafts Council, begin their two-year national tour at Banbury Museum (11 March - 13 May 2017).

Some of Claire’s best-known outfits are featured in this display (4 November 2017 – 4 February 2018), including the Bo Peep dress worn when Perry was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003. Perry is certainly aware of his own position in relation to his work and openly admits that some aspects of the scenes in the pieces are autobiographical – such as the abandoned little boy hiding behind the banister in the left-hand corner of the first tapestry. Beyond the personal, Perry also manages to tap into our contemporary social consciousness, as is evident in the second tapestry where writing in the waves spell out socio-political clichés about the working class.

The artworks grew out of the television series All in the Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry (Channel 4, 2012). Perry, through encounters with various English people belonging to different milieus, observes very well the subtle differences in taste associated with class.Grayson Perry. The Adoration of the Cage Fighters, 2012. Wool, cotton, acrylic, polyester and silk tapestry, 200 x 400 cm (78 3/4 x 157 1/2 in), edition of 6 plus 2 artist's proofs. Courtesy the Artist and Victoria Miro Gallery, London. In the fourth tapestry, the scene is the interior of a small kitchen with the foreground given over to a still-life of the objects coveted by the middle-class, from their iPad and Guardian newspaper, to a charity shop vase and organic vegetables, and even a pot by Grayson Perry. In both the television series and the two tapestries devoted to the middle class, it is obvious that Perry feels almost uncomfortable commenting on this section of society, as it is where he identifies his own social position. In the end, this is reconciled as one of the overriding characteristics of the middle-class, a sense of guilt and anxiety.

Celebrating the power of contemporary drawing, this display at the British Museum (12 September 2019–12 January 2020) explores how artists have used the medium to examine themes including identity, place and memory. Lincoln Museum is delighted to host Grayson Perry’s 'The Vanity of Small Differences', which tells the story of class mobility and the influence that our social class has on aesthetic taste. The Agony in the Car Park”, 2012. Wool, cotton, acrylic, polyester and silk tapestry, 200 X 400 cm. British Council Collection. In the sixth scene we find the one example of genuine female caring in the nurse who cradles Tim’s dead body in her arms; his last word to her was, ‘Mother.’Grayson Perry's 'The Vanity of Small Differences is on display at Lincoln Museum - a tapestry exhibition telling a fascinating story of class and taste. Grayson Perry writes in the Guardian and reveals two new works ahead of his Serpentine Galleries show Before they were hung the curator, Beth Hughes, said she did not know if the tapestries would feel right in the cathedral. “Until they are actually in place you don’t know if it will work, but I think they fit into the cathedral architecture and really belong. Perry’s ceramics, sculptures, prints and large-scale tapestries could have been made for this space.’