London Group
Encyclopedia
The London Group is an artists' exhibiting society based in London
, England
, founded in 1913, when the Camden Town Group
came together with the English Vorticists and other independent artists to challenge the domination of the Royal Academy
, which had become unadventurous and conservative. Founding artists included Jacob Epstein
, Wyndham Lewis
and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
. The group has organised at least one major exhibition a year since 1913, even through two World Wars. When resources permit, the group holds open submission exhibitions to encourage and support other artists struggling to get their work shown in public.
.
Members of the group have included: Walter Sickert
, Wyndham Lewis
, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
, David Bomberg
, William Roberts
, Robert Polhill Bevan, Christopher Wood
, Stanisława de Karłowska, Henry Moore
, Vanessa Bell
, David Hockney
, Paula Rego
, Paul Nash
, John Copnall
, and Cliff Holden
.
The London Group continues to exist. In 2009 its members organised an open exhibition of over 100 artists at the Menier Gallery. The London Group Open is happening again in 2011, as the group builds toward its 100th anniversary in 2013.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, founded in 1913, when 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:...
came together with the English Vorticists and other independent artists to challenge the domination of the Royal Academy
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...
, which had become unadventurous and conservative. Founding artists included Jacob Epstein
Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein KBE was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter...
, Wyndham Lewis
Wyndham Lewis
Percy Wyndham Lewis was an English painter and author . He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art, and edited the literary magazine of the Vorticists, BLAST...
and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska was a French sculptor who developed a rough hewn, primitive style of direct carving....
. The group has organised at least one major exhibition a year since 1913, even through two World Wars. When resources permit, the group holds open submission exhibitions to encourage and support other artists struggling to get their work shown in public.
Overview
The London Group is composed of working artists, has a written constitution, annually elected officers, working committees and a selection committee. There are usually between 90 and 100 members and an annual fee to cover gallery hire and organisational costs is charged. The Group has no permanent exhibition venue and rents gallery space in London, most recently at the Menier Gallery and Bankside GalleryBankside Gallery
The Bankside Gallery is an art gallery in Bankside, South London, England. It is just to the west of the much larger Tate Modern gallery.The gallery is home to the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers. The members of these societies follow a 200 year old tradition...
.
Members of the group have included: Walter Sickert
Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....
, Wyndham Lewis
Wyndham Lewis
Percy Wyndham Lewis was an English painter and author . He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art, and edited the literary magazine of the Vorticists, BLAST...
, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska was a French sculptor who developed a rough hewn, primitive style of direct carving....
, David Bomberg
David Bomberg
David Garshen Bomberg was an English painter, and one of the Whitechapel Boys.Bomberg was one of the most audacious of the exceptional generation of artists who studied at the Slade School of Art under Henry Tonks, and which included Mark Gertler, Stanley Spencer, C.R.W. Nevinson and Dora Carrington...
, William Roberts
William Roberts (painter)
William Roberts was a British painter of groups of figures and portraits, and was a war artist.-Education and early career:Son of an Irish carpenter and his wife, Roberts was born in Hackney, London...
, Robert Polhill Bevan, Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood (English painter)
John Christopher Wood , often called Kit Wood, was an English painter born in Knowsley, near Liverpool.-Biography:-Early life:Christopher Wood was born in Knowsley to Doctor Lucius and Clare Wood...
, Stanisława de Karłowska, Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
, Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury group, and the sister of Virginia Woolf.- Biography and art :...
, David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
, Paula Rego
Paula Rego
Paula Rego is a painter born in Portugal although she is a naturalised British citizen.-Biography:Rego was born in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, the daughter of an electrical engineer who worked for the Marconi Company. Although this gave her a comfortable middle class home, the family was...
, Paul Nash
Paul Nash (artist)
Paul Nash was a British landscape painter, surrealist and war artist, as well as a book-illustrator, writer and designer of applied art. He was the older brother of the artist John Nash.-Early life:...
, John Copnall
John Copnall
John Bainbridge Copnall was an English artist best known for his abstract expressionist painting of richly coloured stylised realism, often on a grand scale. He was also a teacher of painting for twenty years at the Central School of Art and Design in London.- Early life :John Copnall was born in...
, and Cliff Holden
Cliff Holden
Cliff Holden FCSD is a British painter, designer, and silk-screen printer.Holden was educated at Wilmslow Modern School followed by Reaseheath School of Agriculture, where he studied agriculture and veterinary science....
.
The London Group continues to exist. In 2009 its members organised an open exhibition of over 100 artists at the Menier Gallery. The London Group Open is happening again in 2011, as the group builds toward its 100th anniversary in 2013.
Presidents 1914-present
Presidents, with date of election to the London Group in brackets referenced from the group's archives.| President | Served |
|---|---|
| Harold Gilman Harold Gilman The British artist Harold John Wilde Gilman was a painter of interiors, portraits and landscapes, and a founder-member of the Camden Town Group.-Early life and studies:... (Founder Member 1913) |
1914–1918 |
| Robert Bevan Robert Bevan Robert Polhill Bevan was an English painter, draughtsman and lithographer. He was a founding member of the Camden Town Group, the London Group, and the Cumberland Market Group.-Early life:... (Founder Member 1913, Treasurer until 1919) |
1918–1921 (Caretaker President) |
| Bernard Adeney (1913) | 1921–1923 (Founder Member 1913) |
| Frank Dobson (1922) | 1924–1926 |
| Rupert Lee Rupert Lee Rupert Lee was an English painter, sculptor and printmaker. He was one of the organisers of the London International Surrealist Exhibition in 1936.... (1922) |
1926–1936 |
| H. S. Williamson (Harold Sandys) (1933) | 1937–1943 (Chairman) |
| Elliott Seabrooke (1920) | Assumed Presidency during World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... , 1943–1948 |
| Ruskin Spear Ruskin Spear Ruskin Spear, CBE, RA was an English painter.Born in Hammersmith, Spear attended the local art school before going on to the Royal College of Art in 1930... (1940–43) |
1948–1951 |
| John Dodgson (1947) | 1951–1952 |
| Claude Rogers (1938) | 1952–1966 |
| Andrew Forge Andrew Forge Andrew Murray Forge was a British painter, academic, and art critic.... (1960) |
1966–1971 |
| Dorothy Mead Dorothy Mead Dorothy Mead was a British painter.Mead was born in London, England,She first met David Bomberg when he was teaching at the Dagenham School of Art in 1945... (1960) |
1971–1973 |
| Neville Boden (1964) | 1973–1977 |
| Peter Donnelly (1973) | 1977–1979 |
| Stan Smith (1975) | 1979–1993 (1979–81 period of reorganisation, evidence unclear) |
| Dennis Creffield Dennis Creffield Dennis Creffield is a British artist with work owned by major British art collections, including the Tate Gallery, Arts Council of England, the Government Art Collection, Leeds City Art Gallery, University of Leeds collection, University of Brighton collection and others.-Early life and... (1962) |
1983 (for 24 hours) |
| Adrian Bartlett (1981) | 1993–1995 |
| Philippa Beale (1977) | 1995–1998 |
| Matthew Kolakowski (1990) | 1998–2000 |
| Peter Clossick (1999) | 2000–2005 |
| Philip Crozier (2001) | 2005–2007 |
| Susan Haire (2004) | 2007 – present |