St Ives School
Encyclopedia
The St Ives School refers to a group of artists living and working in the Cornish
town of St Ives
.
in 1877. In 1920, Bernard Leach
and Shoji Hamada
set up a pottery in St Ives, creating the town's first international 20th-century art connection.
In 1928, Ben Nicholson
and Christopher Wood
visited St Ives where they were impressed by the work of local artist Alfred Wallis
. This started the development of the Cornish
fishing port as an artists' colony.
With the outbreak of World War II
in 1939, Ben Nicholson and his then wife the sculptress Barbara Hepworth
settled in St Ives, establishing an outpost for the abstract avant-garde movement in West Cornwall. They were soon joined by the prominent Russian Constructivist sculptor Naum Gabo
.
After the war ended, a new and younger generation of artists emerged, led by Hepworth and Nicholson (Gabo departed in 1946). From about 1950 a group of younger artists gathered in St Ives who included Peter Lanyon
, John Wells
, Roger Hilton
, Bryan Wynter
, Patrick Heron
, Terry Frost
, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
, Paul Feiler
, and Karl Weschke together with the pioneer modern potter, Bernard Leach
(Nicholson departed in 1958). It is with this group, together with Hepworth and Nicholson, that the term 'St Ives School' is particularly associated.
A 2010, ninety-minute BBC4 film, "The Art of Cornwall," presented by James Fox
explored in some detail the lives and works of many of the key figures and the contributions they made in establishing St. Ives as a major centre of British art from the 1920s onwards. Helen Hoyle's review of this programme is also very informative.
, a purpose-built new gallery overlooking Porthmeor Beach was opened which exhibits the Tate
collection of St Ives School art.
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
town of St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
.
History
The town became a magnet for artists following the extension to West Cornwall of the Great Western RailwayGreat Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in 1877. In 1920, Bernard Leach
Bernard Leach
Bernard Howell Leach, CBE, CH , was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery"-Biography:...
and Shoji Hamada
Shoji Hamada
was a Japanese potter. He was a significant influence on studio pottery of the twentieth century, and a major figure of the mingei folk-art movement, establishing the town of Mashiko as a world-renowned pottery centre.- Biography :...
set up a pottery in St Ives, creating the town's first international 20th-century art connection.
In 1928, Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson
Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...
and 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...
visited St Ives where they were impressed by the work of local artist Alfred Wallis
Alfred Wallis
Alfred Wallis was a Cornish fisherman and artist.Wallis's parents, Charles and Jane Wallis were from Penzance in Cornwall and moved to Devonport, Devon to find work in 1850 where Alfred and his brother Charles were born. Shortly after this the children's mother died and this prompted the family to...
. This started the development of the Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
fishing port as an artists' colony.
With the outbreak of 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...
in 1939, Ben Nicholson and his then wife the sculptress Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
settled in St Ives, establishing an outpost for the abstract avant-garde movement in West Cornwall. They were soon joined by the prominent Russian Constructivist sculptor Naum Gabo
Naum Gabo
Naum Gabo KBE, born Naum Neemia Pevsner was a prominent Russian sculptor in the Constructivism movement and a pioneer of Kinetic Art.-Early life:...
.
After the war ended, a new and younger generation of artists emerged, led by Hepworth and Nicholson (Gabo departed in 1946). From about 1950 a group of younger artists gathered in St Ives who included Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon was a Cornish painter of landscapes leaning heavily towards abstraction. He also made constructions, pottery and collage....
, John Wells
John Wells (artist)
John Wells was an artist and maker of relief constructions, associated with the St Ives group.He was born in London, and trained as a doctor at University College Hospital. He learned to paint at evening classes at St Martin’s School of Art. From 1936 to 1945, he worked as a General Practitioner...
, Roger Hilton
Roger Hilton
Roger Hilton CBE was a pioneer of abstract art in post-war Britain. He was born in 1911 in Northwood, London and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, London under Henry Tonks and also in Paris, where he developed links with painters on the Continent.In World War II he served in the Army, part...
, Bryan Wynter
Bryan Wynter
Bryan Wynter was one of the St. Ives group of British painters. His work was mainly abstract, drawing upon nature for inspiration....
, Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron , was an English painter, writer and designer, based in St. Ives, Cornwall.- Early life :...
, Terry Frost
Terry Frost
Sir Terry Frost RA was an English artist noted for his abstracts....
, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham CBE was one of the foremost British abstract artists, a member of the influential Penwith Society of Arts.-Life:...
, Paul Feiler
Paul Feiler
The artist Paul Feiler, a prominent member of the St Ives School of art, has pictures hanging in major art galleries of the world.Paul Feiler was born in 1918 in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. He studied at the Slade School of Art in London 1936-1939. He taught art in Eastbourne, Radley and Bristol...
, and Karl Weschke together with the pioneer modern potter, Bernard Leach
Bernard Leach
Bernard Howell Leach, CBE, CH , was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery"-Biography:...
(Nicholson departed in 1958). It is with this group, together with Hepworth and Nicholson, that the term 'St Ives School' is particularly associated.
A 2010, ninety-minute BBC4 film, "The Art of Cornwall," presented by James Fox
James Fox (art historian)
Dr James Fox is a British art historian and broadcaster. Fox is a Research Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and specializes in 20th century art at the University of Cambridge's History of Art Department....
explored in some detail the lives and works of many of the key figures and the contributions they made in establishing St. Ives as a major centre of British art from the 1920s onwards. Helen Hoyle's review of this programme is also very informative.
St Ives School today
The heyday of the St Ives School was in the 1950s and 1960s but in 1993, Tate St IvesTate St Ives
Tate St Ives is an art gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, England, exhibiting work by modern British artists, including work of the St Ives School. The three storey building, designed by architects Evans and Shalev, lies on the site of an old gas works, overlooking Porthmeor Beach. It was opened in...
, a purpose-built new gallery overlooking Porthmeor Beach was opened which exhibits the Tate
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
collection of St Ives School art.
See also
- List of St Ives artists
- Barbara Hepworth MuseumBarbara Hepworth MuseumThe Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in St Ives, Cornwall preserves the 20th century sculptor Barbara Hepworth's studio and garden much as they were when she lived and worked there.-History:...
- Tate St IvesTate St IvesTate St Ives is an art gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, England, exhibiting work by modern British artists, including work of the St Ives School. The three storey building, designed by architects Evans and Shalev, lies on the site of an old gas works, overlooking Porthmeor Beach. It was opened in...
- Penwith Society of Arts