Frederick Gore
Encyclopedia
Frederick John Pym Gore CBE
RA
(8 November 1913 - 31 August 2009), was a British painter.
, and his father, Spencer Frederick Gore
, a painter, President of the Camden Town Group
until his early death in March 1914.
As a young man Gore’s ambition was to be a philosopher, but as a student at Trinity College, Oxford
(following in the steps of his great uncle Bishop Charles Gore
), he soon found that his real passion was for drawing and painting at the Ruskin School of Art which he attended almost daily.
Leaving Oxford, and arriving in London, Gore trained at the Slade
under Henry Tonks
and at the Westminster School of Art
with Mark Gertler and Polunin from whom he learnt the flat-on-the-floor method of painting backdrops for the theatre: most useful later on when as an active member of the Balalaika Dance Group as dancer and organiser of events, he enhanced their productions with his professional expertise. He wrote a very successful folk ballet.
Pre-World War II, his career took off when a Greek patron saw his work and asked him to spend a year travelling and painting in Greece. Visits and extended sojourns to France followed, and an exhibition at Gallery Borghese in Paris in 1938 when Vauxelles called him the English fauve
. Soon after, however, he was forced to leave and return to the UK.
During World War II, Gore was camouflage
officer for the south-east and helped prepare the troops for the D-Day
invasion.
In 1946, he began teaching at St. Martin’s School of Art, where he was Head of Painting from 1951 until 1979. In 1961 he was appointed Vice-Principal of St Martin's until he retired from the post in 1979. His students and colleagues there included many of the most accomplished artists of the twentieth century who continue to acknowledge the encouragement they received from Gore.
Summer months for many years were spent painting outside: on the Greek islands of Paros
(1950s) and later on Aegina
. Then during the 1960s, the rich hinterland of Majorca, followed by the brilliantly-lit landscapes of Provence
.
He exhibited at the Redfern Gallery until they took to abstract art, the Juster Gallery (NY), Fosse, Lavenham, Richmond Hill Gallery - always keeping his independence to exhibit wherever he so wanted.
Gore was a Trustee of the Imperial War Museum
(1967-1984), and was Chairman of its Artistic Records Committee (1972-1986).
In 1972, Gore was elected as a Royal Academician, and from 1976-1987 he was Chairman of the Royal Academy of Arts Exhibitions Committee.
In 1980, Gore visited the US for the first time to deliver a dissertation at the Yale Center for British Art
, Newhaven, Connecticut. Staying en route in New York he was so exhilarated by its exciting light and ambience that since then he has visited almost yearly. He has made an important contribution as a figurative painter with an enormous experience of paint, composition and colour to show the vitality of the US, when American artists had mostly turned to abstraction and were exploring painterly possibilities in a different direction. Gore was made CBE
in 1987.
In 1991 he designed a series of posters for the ondon Transport Museum].
His last solo exhibition was at the Richmond Hill Gallery, London (January 2009).
His published books include "Abstract Art", "Painting: Some Basic Principles" and "The Baptism, Piero della Francesca"; he is also the author of an unpublished translation of poems by Baudelaire.
Gore died age 95 on 31 August 2009. He is buried in Brompton Cemetery
.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
RA
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
(8 November 1913 - 31 August 2009), was a British painter.
Biography
Gore was born into the world of art; his mother, Mary Joanna (Molly) Kerr, was a dancer from EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, and his father, Spencer Frederick Gore
Spencer Gore (artist)
Spencer Frederick Gore was a British painter of landscapes, music-hall scenes and interiors, usually with single figures...
, a painter, President of the Camden Town Group
Camden Town Group
The Camden Town Group was a group of English Post-Impressionist artists active 1911-1913. They gathered frequently at the studio of painter Walter Sickert in the Camden Town area of London.-History:...
until his early death in March 1914.
As a young man Gore’s ambition was to be a philosopher, but as a student at Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
(following in the steps of his great uncle Bishop Charles Gore
Charles Gore
Charles Gore was a British theologian and Anglican bishop.-Early life and education:Gore was the third son of the Honourable Charles Alexander Gore, and brother of the fourth Earl of Arran...
), he soon found that his real passion was for drawing and painting at the Ruskin School of Art which he attended almost daily.
Leaving Oxford, and arriving in London, Gore trained at the Slade
Slade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
under Henry Tonks
Henry Tonks
Henry Tonks, FRCS was a British draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist...
and at the Westminster School of Art
Westminster School of Art
The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. It was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Architectural Museum.H. M. Bateman described it in 1903 as...
with Mark Gertler and Polunin from whom he learnt the flat-on-the-floor method of painting backdrops for the theatre: most useful later on when as an active member of the Balalaika Dance Group as dancer and organiser of events, he enhanced their productions with his professional expertise. He wrote a very successful folk ballet.
Pre-World War II, his career took off when a Greek patron saw his work and asked him to spend a year travelling and painting in Greece. Visits and extended sojourns to France followed, and an exhibition at Gallery Borghese in Paris in 1938 when Vauxelles called him the English fauve
Fauve
Fauve may refer to:* Fauve , American comics artist* Fauve , a short legged hunting breed of dog* Fauvism, a short-lived and loose grouping of early 20th century modern art* Fauve Software, a defunct software company...
. Soon after, however, he was forced to leave and return to the UK.
During World War II, Gore was camouflage
Military camouflage
Military camouflage is one of many means of deceiving an enemy. In practice, it is the application of colour and materials to battledress and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. The French slang word camouflage came into common English usage during World War I when the...
officer for the south-east and helped prepare the troops for the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
invasion.
In 1946, he began teaching at St. Martin’s School of Art, where he was Head of Painting from 1951 until 1979. In 1961 he was appointed Vice-Principal of St Martin's until he retired from the post in 1979. His students and colleagues there included many of the most accomplished artists of the twentieth century who continue to acknowledge the encouragement they received from Gore.
Summer months for many years were spent painting outside: on the Greek islands of Paros
Paros
Paros is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets...
(1950s) and later on Aegina
Aegina
Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...
. Then during the 1960s, the rich hinterland of Majorca, followed by the brilliantly-lit landscapes of Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
.
He exhibited at the Redfern Gallery until they took to abstract art, the Juster Gallery (NY), Fosse, Lavenham, Richmond Hill Gallery - always keeping his independence to exhibit wherever he so wanted.
Gore was a Trustee of the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
(1967-1984), and was Chairman of its Artistic Records Committee (1972-1986).
In 1972, Gore was elected as a Royal Academician, and from 1976-1987 he was Chairman of the Royal Academy of Arts Exhibitions Committee.
In 1980, Gore visited the US for the first time to deliver a dissertation at the Yale Center for British Art
Yale Center for British Art
The Yale Center for British Art is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut at Yale University which houses the most comprehensive collection of British Art outside the United Kingdom...
, Newhaven, Connecticut. Staying en route in New York he was so exhilarated by its exciting light and ambience that since then he has visited almost yearly. He has made an important contribution as a figurative painter with an enormous experience of paint, composition and colour to show the vitality of the US, when American artists had mostly turned to abstraction and were exploring painterly possibilities in a different direction. Gore was made CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
in 1987.
In 1991 he designed a series of posters for the ondon Transport Museum].
His last solo exhibition was at the Richmond Hill Gallery, London (January 2009).
His published books include "Abstract Art", "Painting: Some Basic Principles" and "The Baptism, Piero della Francesca"; he is also the author of an unpublished translation of poems by Baudelaire.
Gore died age 95 on 31 August 2009. He is buried in Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
.
Works
- Arts Council of Great BritainArts Council of Great BritainThe Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
- British Council
- The Government Art Collection
- London Transport Museum
- The Scottish National Gallery of Modern ArtScottish National Gallery of Modern ArtThe Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, holds the national collection of modern art. When opened in 1960, the collection was held in Inverleith House, at the Royal Botanic Gardens...
- The Gallery, Canada;
External links
- http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/search/Artist.asp?maker_id=115816 The Government Art Collection
- http://www.southampton.gov.uk/leisure/arts/sotonartgallery/search/view-artwork.asp?acc_num=1363 Southampton City Art Gallery
- http://www.bridgemanart.com/search.aspx?key=frederick%20pym%20gore&filter=CBPOIHV The Bridgeman Art Library
- http://www.fossegallery.com/artistsdetails.php?name=Frederick%20Gore Fosse Gallery
- http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7t2FIJU1VX0C&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=Yale+Center+for+British+Art+frederick+gore&source=bl&ots=zFYtNesUMg&sig=r9CW2YO5rPwXXw9L2E3-1gZLgHM&hl=en&ei=f9yfSsS3KJbQjAf16-mqDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false War paint: art, war, state and identity in Britain, 1939-1945, Issue 8846 By Brian Foss (Page 16) on Google Books
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6817461.ece - The Times obituray
- Frederick Gore - Daily Telegraph obituary
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/sep/02/frederick-gore-obituary - Guardian obituary