Rex Vicat Cole
Encyclopedia
Reginald Rex Vicat Cole was an English landscape painter, son of the artist George Vicat Cole
and Mary Ann Chignell. He was educated at Eton
and began to exhibit in London
in 1890. In 1900 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists
. His work to 1906 is extensively reproduced in his two-volume publication 'British Trees', 1907. His preferred subject matter was the landscape of the area surrounding Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales. In 1900, he married Hannah Gill, the daughter of a Yorkshire farmer. In 1901, an exhibition at Dowdeswell's Gallery collected his work under the title 'A Year in Wharfedale'. He taught at King's College, London with Byam Shaw
, and together they opened their own establishment, The Byam Shaw and Vicat Cole School of Art, in Camden Street, Kensington
in 1910. After Shaw's death in 1919 Vicat Cole was Principal until his retirement in 1926. Throughout the first three decades of the twentieth century he exhibited landscapes at the Royal Academy's annual exhibitions. He collapsed and died in 1940 in Sussex whilst helping to rescue a family whose car had become stranded in flood water. The school of art he founded became part of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
in 2003.
Rex Vicat Cole was especially known for his paintings of trees, and he wrote and illustrated a book on British Trees (1907), and another on how to depict trees in art, The Artistic Anatomy of Trees, published in 1915. He also wrote a book on Perspective
, and planned another on The Streets of London, which was never published; the manuscript survives, as do over two hundred works intended as illustrations.His one-man show 'London Old and New' at Robert Dunthorne's Gallery, Vigo Street, London, in 1935, included panel paintings of nearly all the City churches, as well as large canvases of 'London from Waterlow Park' (now in Southampton Art Gallery),'St Paul's from Bankside' and 'St Martin-in-the-Fields'.
In about 1905 Vicat Cole and his family began to rent the cottage of Brinkwells near Fittleworth
in Sussex
, where he found the inspiration for many of his paintings and drawings. Between 1917 and 1921 he sub-let the property to Edward Elgar
, who composed his last major works there.
Rex Vicat Cole's son, John Cole (1903-1975), trained at the Vicat Cole and Byam Shaw School of became a landscape painter who specialized in representations of old shop-fronts. Like his father, grandfather, and great grandfather (George Cole, 1810-1883), he exhibited at the Royal Academy, and became a member of the Royal Society of British Artists.
George Vicat Cole
George Vicat Cole , was an English painter.Cole was born at Portsmouth, the son of the landscape painter, George Cole , and in his practice followed his father's lead with marked success. He exhibited at the British Institution at the age of nineteen, and was first represented at the Royal Academy...
and Mary Ann Chignell. He was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and began to exhibit in London
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...
in 1890. In 1900 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists
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:...
. His work to 1906 is extensively reproduced in his two-volume publication 'British Trees', 1907. His preferred subject matter was the landscape of the area surrounding Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales. In 1900, he married Hannah Gill, the daughter of a Yorkshire farmer. In 1901, an exhibition at Dowdeswell's Gallery collected his work under the title 'A Year in Wharfedale'. He taught at King's College, London with Byam Shaw
Byam Shaw
John Byam Liston Shaw , commonly known as Byam Shaw, was an Indian-born British painter, illustrator, designer and teacher.-Family:...
, and together they opened their own establishment, The Byam Shaw and Vicat Cole School of Art, in Camden Street, Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
in 1910. After Shaw's death in 1919 Vicat Cole was Principal until his retirement in 1926. Throughout the first three decades of the twentieth century he exhibited landscapes at the Royal Academy's annual exhibitions. He collapsed and died in 1940 in Sussex whilst helping to rescue a family whose car had become stranded in flood water. The school of art he founded became part of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
in 2003.
Rex Vicat Cole was especially known for his paintings of trees, and he wrote and illustrated a book on British Trees (1907), and another on how to depict trees in art, The Artistic Anatomy of Trees, published in 1915. He also wrote a book on Perspective
Perspective (visual)
Perspective, in context of vision and visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the eye based on their spatial attributes; or their dimensions and the position of the eye relative to the objects...
, and planned another on The Streets of London, which was never published; the manuscript survives, as do over two hundred works intended as illustrations.His one-man show 'London Old and New' at Robert Dunthorne's Gallery, Vigo Street, London, in 1935, included panel paintings of nearly all the City churches, as well as large canvases of 'London from Waterlow Park' (now in Southampton Art Gallery),'St Paul's from Bankside' and 'St Martin-in-the-Fields'.
In about 1905 Vicat Cole and his family began to rent the cottage of Brinkwells near Fittleworth
Fittleworth
Fittleworth is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located seven kilometres west from Pulborough on the A283 road and three miles south east from Petworth. The village has an Anglican church, a primary school and one pub, the Swan...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, where he found the inspiration for many of his paintings and drawings. Between 1917 and 1921 he sub-let the property to Edward 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...
, who composed his last major works there.
Rex Vicat Cole's son, John Cole (1903-1975), trained at the Vicat Cole and Byam Shaw School of became a landscape painter who specialized in representations of old shop-fronts. Like his father, grandfather, and great grandfather (George Cole, 1810-1883), he exhibited at the Royal Academy, and became a member of the Royal Society of British Artists.
Source
- Elgar, Vicat Cole and the Ghosts of Brinkwells by Carol Fitzgerald and Brian W. Harvey. (Chichester: Phillimore & Co., 2007) ISBN 978-1-86077-442-3
- Tim Barringer, "The Cole Family: Painters of the English Landscape, 1870-1940" (Portsmouth City Art Gallery, 1988)
- Tim Barringer, "Before and After Modernism: Byam Shaw, Rex Vicat Cole, Yinka Shonibare" (London, Central St Martins, 2010)