David Gryn

Acquired directly from the Artist by The Ivy Restaurant, 1990

Not examined out of the frame. There is some surface dirt scattered across the painting. On extremely close examination it is possible to see a very small scuff at the upper right corner and a thin scratching at the lower left vertical edge. Subject to the above the work appears to be in very good condition. Ultraviolet light reveals no obvious signs of florescence. The painting float mounted in a glazed wooden frame. Please contact the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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David Gryn on The Spirit of The Ivy:  ‘I was commissioned by Jeremy King and Chris Corbyn. It was a great honour. Honour in part, as being commissioned as an artist, meant some payment, some interest, some outcome for your work and then honour - as the other artists I knew were being commissioned included the likes of Eduardo Paolozzi, Patrick Caulfield, Howard Hodgkin, Peter Blake and indeed I was the only artist I had never heard of. I also was familiar with the sophisticated opulence of Le Caprice, so I had a sense of what alluring greatness I was dealing with.

I was offered two locations, above the male urinals or the foyer, my decision was fairly simple. However, I decided what I was going to make was essentially about place and memory. So this painting, unlike anything else I was making was about the idea of leaving a venue and having a fleeting glance at a painting and evoking a lingering glowing memory thereafter. I guess I thought, maybe mistakenly, at the time, that people don't really go to restaurants to look at art, but with romantic notion that wouldn't it be wonderful if art can remind you of a great evening, a celebration, a moment in your life. 

I spent a while in the building site of the future Ivy. The wood panelled walls and stained/coloured glass, evoked a rembrantianesque flavour. Then thinking about memory and glow, I used as my model one of the pair of candle sticks - that I grew up with in our home - used every Friday night and lit by my mother Jackie. These candle sticks were some of the only items considered worthwhile hiding by my grandparents, in their garden in the Carpathian town of Bereghovo, where my father Hugo was born and raised, before the Nazi’s occupied the region and sent his family off to Auschwitz.

The painting was made, framed and hung. I used to enjoy going to the Ivy, not just for deliciousness of food, but I always felt part of me was there. In part of my arrangement with the Ivy, I had a period I could eat at no cost and I made sure to draw this period out as long as possible. As an artist being able to eat out like this was a remarkable treat, and one that I liked getting used to. It was at the very end of this period that I mustered enough courage to ask my fellow artist and friend Jane Bustin out on a date and we ended up at the Ivy for the remains of my deal - which amounted to enough credit to have some olives and wine. However, it proved to be a great part to the start of our date and over 23 years later, we are still married and our teenage boys have joined us for many celebratory meals at the Ivy ever since.’ (David Gryn, February 2015)