Brotherhood of Ruralists
Encyclopedia
The Brotherhood of Ruralists is a British art group founded in 1975 in Wellow
, Somerset
, to paint nature. Their work is figurative with a strong adherence to 'traditional' skills. Painting in oil and watercolour predominate, with mixed media assemblage, printmaking, ink and pencil drawing also being common.
According to one of the founder members, Peter Blake
, it was formed "in opposition to the scholarly nature of contemporary art which believed that paintings were only really valid if they addressed social questions. Our aims are the continuation of a certain kind of English painting. We admire Samuel Palmer
, Stanley Spencer
, Thomas Hardy
, Elgar
, cricket
, the English landscape and the Pre-Raphaelites
".
Their name "Brotherhood of Ruralists" was suggested by the author Laurie Lee
, a supporter of the group since their inception. The group was founded when Peter Blake and his then wife Jann Haworth
moved to Wellow, having obtained permission to convert Wellow's disused Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
station into a house. Other founding members were David Inshaw
and two other couples: Ann Arnold
and Graham Arnold
, and Annie Ovenden
and Graham Ovenden
.
Unlike the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, the group did not promote (nor adhere to) a manifesto. Each artist's own techniques and work remains diverse with a common evocation of a mystical response to the observance of nature and rural life. Some of their output is intensely personal and sometimes surrealist in arrangement.
After six years the group lost some of its members. By 1984 David Inshaw, Jann Haworth and Peter Blake had left. The remaining four members continued the group, sometimes joined by Blake. They maintain an exhibitions programme both in the West country
and London, and are members of the Arts Club. They were guest artists at the Stuckists Real Turner Prize Show 2000.
Recent exhibitions have included work by both present and past members.
Wellow, Somerset
Wellow is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about south of Bath. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Twinhoe has a population of 511...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, to paint nature. Their work is figurative with a strong adherence to 'traditional' skills. Painting in oil and watercolour predominate, with mixed media assemblage, printmaking, ink and pencil drawing also being common.
According to one of the founder members, Peter Blake
Peter Blake (artist)
Sir Peter Thomas Blake, KBE, CBE, RDI, RA is an English pop artist, best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He lives in Chiswick, London, UK.-Career:...
, it was formed "in opposition to the scholarly nature of contemporary art which believed that paintings were only really valid if they addressed social questions. Our aims are the continuation of a certain kind of English painting. We admire Samuel Palmer
Samuel Palmer
Samuel Palmer was a British landscape painter, etcher and printmaker. He was also a prolific writer. Palmer was a key figure in Romanticism in Britain and produced visionary pastoral paintings.-Early life:...
, Stanley Spencer
Stanley Spencer
Sir Stanley Spencer was an English painter. Much of his work depicts Biblical scenes, from miracles to Crucifixion, happening not in the Holy Land but in the small Thames-side village where he was born and spent most of his life...
, Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, the English landscape and the Pre-Raphaelites
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
".
Their name "Brotherhood of Ruralists" was suggested by the author Laurie Lee
Laurie Lee
Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE was an English poet, novelist, and screenwriter, raised in the village of Slad, and went to Marling School, Gloucestershire. His most famous work was an autobiographical trilogy which consisted of Cider with Rosie , As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and...
, a supporter of the group since their inception. The group was founded when Peter Blake and his then wife Jann Haworth
Jann Haworth
Jann Haworth is an American Pop artist. A pioneer of soft sculpture, she is best known as the co-creator of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.-Early years:...
moved to Wellow, having obtained permission to convert Wellow's disused Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire...
station into a house. Other founding members were David Inshaw
David Inshaw
David Inshaw is a British artist who sprang to public attention in 1973 when his painting The Badminton Game was exhibited at the ICA Summer Studio exhibition in London...
and two other couples: Ann Arnold
Ann Arnold
Ann Arnold is a British fine artist and a member of the Brotherhood of Ruralists. She is a figurative artist.Ann Arnold was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and studied at Epsom School of Art . She worked as an art therapist, and founded the Association of Art Therapists.She married fellow artist...
and Graham Arnold
Graham Arnold (artist)
Graham Arnold is a British contemporary fine artist, working primarily in oil and mixed media.Arnold, along with his wife and fellow artist Ann Arnold, is a founder member of the Brotherhood of Ruralists, with Sir Peter Blake, David Inshaw, Jann Haworth, Graham Ovenden and Annie Ovenden.Arnold's...
, and Annie Ovenden
Annie Ovenden
Annie Ovenden is a British fine artist and a member of the Brotherhood of Ruralists. She is a figurative artist.Annie Ovenden is separated from fellow artist Graham Ovenden. In 1975, she was a founder member of the Brotherhood of Ruralists with him, Sir Peter Blake, David Inshaw, Ann Arnold and her...
and Graham Ovenden
Graham Ovenden
Graham Ovenden is an English painter, fine art photographer, writer and architect. His estranged wife is the artist Annie Ovenden. Their daughter, Emily, is a writer and is a singer with the Mediaeval Baebes...
.
Unlike the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, the group did not promote (nor adhere to) a manifesto. Each artist's own techniques and work remains diverse with a common evocation of a mystical response to the observance of nature and rural life. Some of their output is intensely personal and sometimes surrealist in arrangement.
After six years the group lost some of its members. By 1984 David Inshaw, Jann Haworth and Peter Blake had left. The remaining four members continued the group, sometimes joined by Blake. They maintain an exhibitions programme both in the West country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
and London, and are members of the Arts Club. They were guest artists at the Stuckists Real Turner Prize Show 2000.
Recent exhibitions have included work by both present and past members.
External links
- Brotherhood of Ruralists website
- The David Inshaw website and on-line gallery From art school to the present day, with an on-line gallery of over 200 paintings, collages, drawings and etchings.
- Tabretts Fine art prints of paintings by David Inshaw and Annie Ovenden.