Percy Horton
Encyclopedia
Percy Frederick Horton MA, RBA
, ARCA
(born 8 March 1897, Brighton
, England – died 1970) was an English painter and art teacher, and Ruskin Master of Drawing
, University of Oxford
from 1949 to 1964. During World War 1 he was imprisoned as a conscientious objector
.
and as a nurse. His younger brother was artist Ronald Horton (1902–1981). Horton's parents provided for music lessons where he chose to learn the violin. During his time at school he developed an interest in acting in school plays, and giving impromptu street performances. His mother was instrumental in encouraging her sons’ education, and all three received scholarships to Brighton Municipal Secondary School. Horton attended the Brighton School of Art between 1912 and 1916, again with a scholarship, where he gained a distinction in the Department of Education Drawing Examination.
through the influence of the periodical Labour Leader and the anti-war weekly publication of the Independent Labour Party
. Following World War 1 conscription in 1916 he joined Brighton’s No-Conscription Fellowship
, and refused to be called-up under a belief in absolutist
conscientious objection. Although being a conscientious objector he was still considered a soldier subject to military discipline, and was court-martialled at a military tribunal in April 1916 – as an absolutist he argued against even non-combatant service, but his request for complete exemption was refused. Upon not reporting for duty, he was arrested and imprisoned at Calton Prison, Edinburgh
, where he served two years hard labour. He was court-martialled twice more for his continued refusal to carry out non-combatant war work before his release at the end of the war.
. Hartrick taught Horton a drawing method that emphasised rhythmic outline – previously introduced to English art school education by the late Slade
professor Alphonse Legros
– and this stress on quality of line when drawing the life model
became a major influence on Horton’s future work.
After leaving the Central School, Horton became an art teacher at Rugby School
. He resigned from Rugby in 1922 to continue his art studies at the Royal College of Art
(RCA), then under the auspices of the new principal William Rothenstein
, where he was awarded a solo Royal Exhibition and passed the Department of Education Examination in Painting with distinction. He was also awarded the ARCA Diploma with Distinction in Painting, and the RCA Drawing Prize for 1924. His contemporaries at the College included Henry Moore
, Edward Bawden
and Eric Ravilious
.
Upon leaving the RCA he became the Drawing Master at Bishop's Stortford College
, a position he held until 1930. This became the beginning of a lifetime of teaching. In 1930 he was invited by William Rothenstein to join the staff at the RCA, where he remained for 19 years, to instruct in its Painting School. He also joined The Working Men's College
as a teacher of art under its new Director of Art Classes, James Laver
, having been recommended by Rothenstein. Horton had begun to teach at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford in 1933, but when the RCA relocated to Ambleside
during World War II he found travel between Ambleside and Oxford difficult; consequently he resigned from Ruskin. After the War the RCA returned to London but the transition for the College was problematic and confused, with a lack of equipment and changes in teaching staff. Horton retained his post although tenure was uncertain. However, in 1949 he was appointed the Master of Drawing at Ruskin where his students included Ralf Kitaj
and John Updike
.
In 1947 he, with Paul Hogarth
, Laurence Scarfe and Ronald Searle
, was invited to Yugoslavia to observe and record a 150 mile railway being built through voluntary labour; Horton drew the leading figures of the project. His interest had begun to lie in portraiture and landscape. This led to portrait commissions from Oxford Colleges, and to the renting of a gamekeeper’s tower near Firle
and Alfriston
where he painted during weekends and vacations until the end of his life. He left his post as Ruskin’s Master of Drawing in 1964 and moved to Lewes
, from where he taught part time at the Sir John Cass School
and Hastings School of Art
, while concentrating on his own work and frequently visiting Provence
.
During his lifetime, Horton exhibited at the Royal Academy
, the New English Art Club
, the Artists’ International Association, Arts Council
travelling exhibitions, Brighton Art Gallery
, and the Ashmolean Museum
. His work is held in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery, Tate
,Fitzwilliam Museum
Cambridge, and the Arts Council.
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.-History:...
, ARCA
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
(born 8 March 1897, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England – died 1970) was an English painter and art teacher, and Ruskin Master of Drawing
The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art
The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, known as The Ruskin, is an art school and research institute at the University of Oxford.Working collaboratively across two sites, the school provides undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in the study and production of visual art...
, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
from 1949 to 1964. During World War 1 he was imprisoned as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
.
Early life
Horton was one of three brothers born into a working class family in Brighton; his father, Percy Horton, was a bus conductor and his mother, Ellen (nee Marman), had worked in serviceDomestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
and as a nurse. His younger brother was artist Ronald Horton (1902–1981). Horton's parents provided for music lessons where he chose to learn the violin. During his time at school he developed an interest in acting in school plays, and giving impromptu street performances. His mother was instrumental in encouraging her sons’ education, and all three received scholarships to Brighton Municipal Secondary School. Horton attended the Brighton School of Art between 1912 and 1916, again with a scholarship, where he gained a distinction in the Department of Education Drawing Examination.
Conscientious objection
Horton had become a socialist and a member of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
through the influence of the periodical Labour Leader and the anti-war weekly publication of the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
. Following World War 1 conscription in 1916 he joined Brighton’s No-Conscription Fellowship
No conscription league
-Formation:The No Conscription League was founded by anarchist Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman in 1917 in response to the draft in WWI. It was enforced by the Selective Service Act of 1917, which granted the federal government the right to raise a national army...
, and refused to be called-up under a belief in absolutist
Moral absolutism
Moral absolutism is an ethical view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong, regardless of other contexts such as their consequences or the intentions behind them. Thus stealing, for instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done to promote some other good , and even if...
conscientious objection. Although being a conscientious objector he was still considered a soldier subject to military discipline, and was court-martialled at a military tribunal in April 1916 – as an absolutist he argued against even non-combatant service, but his request for complete exemption was refused. Upon not reporting for duty, he was arrested and imprisoned at Calton Prison, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
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...
, where he served two years hard labour. He was court-martialled twice more for his continued refusal to carry out non-combatant war work before his release at the end of the war.
Post World War 1
At the end of the war he returned to Brighton. From 1919 to 1920 he studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, London, under Archibald Standish Hartrick and Francis Ernest JacksonFrancis Ernest Jackson
F. Ernest Jackson ARA was a British painter, draughtsman, poster designer and lithographer.-Background:Francis Ernest Jackson was born on 15 August 1872 in Huddersfield, the son of a printer. He was apprenticed as a lithographer, and later attended life-drawing classes at the Yorkshire College...
. Hartrick taught Horton a drawing method that emphasised rhythmic outline – previously introduced to English art school education by the late 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...
professor Alphonse Legros
Alphonse Legros
Alphonse Legros , painter, etcher and sculptor was born in Dijon. His father was an accountant, and came from the neighbouring village of Véronnes....
– and this stress on quality of line when drawing the life model
Model (art)
Art models are models who pose for photographers, painters, sculptors, and other artists as part of their work of art. Art models who pose in the nude for life drawing are usually called life models...
became a major influence on Horton’s future work.
After leaving the Central School, Horton became an art teacher at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
. He resigned from Rugby in 1922 to continue his art studies at the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
(RCA), then under the auspices of the new principal William Rothenstein
William Rothenstein
Sir William Rothenstein was an English painter, draughtsman and writer on art.-Life and work:William Rothenstein was born into a German-Jewish family in Bradford, West Yorkshire. His father, Moritz, emigrated from Germany in 1859 to work in Bradford's burgeoning textile industry...
, where he was awarded a solo Royal Exhibition and passed the Department of Education Examination in Painting with distinction. He was also awarded the ARCA Diploma with Distinction in Painting, and the RCA Drawing Prize for 1924. His contemporaries at the College included 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....
, Edward Bawden
Edward Bawden
Edward Bawden, CBE, RA was a British painter, illustrator and graphic artist. He was also famous for his prints, book covers, posters, and garden metalwork furniture...
and Eric Ravilious
Eric Ravilious
Eric William Ravilious was an English painter, designer, book illustrator and wood engraver.-Career:Ravilious studied at Eastbourne School of Art, and at the Royal College of Art, where he studied under Paul Nash and became close friends with Edward Bawden.He began his working life as a muralist,...
.
Upon leaving the RCA he became the Drawing Master at Bishop's Stortford College
Bishop's Stortford College
Bishop's Stortford College is a co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils from the ages of four to eighteen, with a campus located on the edge of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England...
, a position he held until 1930. This became the beginning of a lifetime of teaching. In 1930 he was invited by William Rothenstein to join the staff at the RCA, where he remained for 19 years, to instruct in its Painting School. He also joined The Working Men's College
Working Men's College
The Working Men's College- WMC, being among the earliest adult education institutions established in the United Kingdom, is Europe's oldest extant centre for adult education and perhaps one of its smallest...
as a teacher of art under its new Director of Art Classes, James Laver
James Laver
James Laver CBE FRSA was an author, art historian, and museum curator who acted as Keeper of Prints, Drawings and Paintings for the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1938 and 1959...
, having been recommended by Rothenstein. Horton had begun to teach at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford in 1933, but when the RCA relocated to Ambleside
Ambleside
Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in North West England.Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake...
during World War II he found travel between Ambleside and Oxford difficult; consequently he resigned from Ruskin. After the War the RCA returned to London but the transition for the College was problematic and confused, with a lack of equipment and changes in teaching staff. Horton retained his post although tenure was uncertain. However, in 1949 he was appointed the Master of Drawing at Ruskin where his students included Ralf Kitaj
R. B. Kitaj
Ronald Brooks Kitaj was an American artist who spent much of his life in England.-Life:Born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, near Cleveland, United States, his Hungarian father, Sigmund Benway, left his mother, Jeanne Brooks, shortly after he was born and they were divorced in 1934. His mother was the...
and John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
.
In 1947 he, with Paul Hogarth
Paul Hogarth
Paul Hogarth, OBE, RA was an English artist and illustrator. He is best known for the cover drawings that he prepared in the 1980s for the Penguin edition of Graham Greene's books....
, Laurence Scarfe and Ronald Searle
Ronald Searle
Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI, is a British artist and cartoonist, best known as the creator of St Trinian's School. He is also the co-author of the Molesworth series....
, was invited to Yugoslavia to observe and record a 150 mile railway being built through voluntary labour; Horton drew the leading figures of the project. His interest had begun to lie in portraiture and landscape. This led to portrait commissions from Oxford Colleges, and to the renting of a gamekeeper’s tower near Firle
Firle
For the suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, see Firle, South Australia.Firle is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an old-English/Anglo-Saxon word fierol meaning overgrown with oak...
and Alfriston
Alfriston
Alfriston is a village and civil parish in the East Sussex district of Wealden, England. The village lies in the valley of the River Cuckmere, about four miles north-east of Seaford and south of the main A27 trunk road and part of the large area of Polegate...
where he painted during weekends and vacations until the end of his life. He left his post as Ruskin’s Master of Drawing in 1964 and moved to Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, from where he taught part time at the Sir John Cass School
London Guildhall University
London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form London Metropolitan University...
and Hastings School of Art
Hastings School of Art
The Hastings School of Art is an art school in Hastings, England, located at the Brassey Institute on the top two floors of the Library building at Claremont...
, while concentrating on his own work and frequently visiting 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...
.
During his lifetime, Horton exhibited at 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...
, the New English Art Club
New English Art Club
The New English Art Club was founded in London in 1885 as an alternate venue to the Royal Academy.-History:Young English artists returning from studying art in Paris mounted the first exhibition of the New English Art Club in April 1886...
, the Artists’ International Association, Arts Council
Arts Council of Great Britain
The 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...
travelling exhibitions, Brighton Art Gallery
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is a free-to-view municipally-owned public museum and art gallery in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England...
, and the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
. His work is held in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery, Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
,Fitzwilliam Museum
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
Cambridge, and the Arts Council.
External links
- Liss Fine Arts – Percy Horton; retrieved 21 May 2011
- Exhibition – Portraits and Landscape Paintings 01 December 1982 - 24 December 1982 northumbria.ac.uk; retrieved 21 May 2011
- The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art; retrieved 22 May 2011