The emergence of the English artist

Gwen HERAT

The nineteenth century English art was of small rivalries among little known painters who were never recognised nor exhibited. The outstanding men of the century were Turner and pre-Raphaelites and perhaps few portrait painters whose work lingered faintly. Came, the great period of English art over two hundred years since. It was the time of portrait painters like Reynolds and Gainsborough and of landscape artists such as Crome and Constable.

One of the best paintings of George Bernard Shaw by August John. Oil on canvas

There started the beginning of a real English School of art. The pioneers had arrived and with them the awakening of the English identity. This is evident in the National Gallery and though Gainsborough and Reynolds produced powerful art, they still lacked the presence of the day. Most of the costumes painted by them belonged to an early era. However, Crome and Constable were different. They reflected a finer treatment of colour and the method of laying paint on canvas, revealed something fundamental. From complacency of the last century, England recovered and this tardy progress attributes to the stubborn insularity of the English people.

This was the result of artists being compared with each other than comparing the English painter with the rest of the world. Basically, the English art world looks to France for leadership and inspiration because the French have replaced the Italians who were great some centuries ago but slipped up since.

The English painter had to guard against this kind of situation and seize every opportunity of viewing specialised foreign art and try to comprehend the genius in them to obtain wider comparison. But the English painter is arrogant and he has to be. He will not wish to have foreign identity in his paintings. So, the mass of English painters work either on traditional lines like members of the Academy or in groups at the Royal Institutes.

Most of them are gathered in various fellowships such as the London Group, The Futurists, Cubists, Verticists, X Group etc. They all result at the founding of the New English, as it is commonly called. Most of the founders had studied in France after their basics in England and were influenced by Professor Legross of the Slade School. However, the best painters of the twentieth century England, still kept up the English spirit to excel in portraiture and landscape. Their national genius is apparent when one gazes upon them. These were the qualities that were to be observed in great painters like Sargent, Lavery, Orpen, Strang, Steer and MacEvoy.

Paintings by Sargent and Lavery are on view at public galleries of Europe and America. Around sixteen of Sargent’s paintings are in the Metropolitan Museum, New York and are among his best. His paintings are also found in private collection, especially the brilliant painting of the Duchess of Portland. Sargent and Whistler are the two outstanding painters born in America but lived and worked in England to enrich English art with their genius touch. Lavery was an Irishman and together these three painters have their work permanently displayed in galleries of Paris, Munich, Venice, Beunos Ayres, Chile, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Sydney, Ottawa, etc.

Orpen’s work developed and changed with the passing of years. Like all artists of the New English group, his painting was broad and strong with vigourous brush strokes. William Strang created a gap among modern artists and they were extraordinary and clear. Towards the end of his work, there was a hint of processional movement. The viewer felt that the people he painted stood rigid for one moment and then moved on. Often the people whom he painted appeared unreal like carved figures. One of his most remarkable paintings is called ‘The Listener’ and shows a coloured girl with her hand on her hip, listening.

Next to arrive was a very individual figure and he was Augustus John. A marvel of an artist, John’s paintings are found mostly in the Chenil Gallery. He possessed almost an equal power so large and splendid that his counterparts wondered how he managed to cover the canvas at all. John was a past-master of portraiture and is at home with any kind of sitter. He could paint a little robin on a borough or the sensational Madam Suggia. He painted dignitaries as well as ladies.

The striking portrait of Madam Suggia by August John. Oil on canvas

Like many modern painters, John played tricks with his painting and the ordinary viewer was left groping unable to grasp the subject. John also painted landscapes with fine strength in colour. Phillip Steer was yet another painter who was able to get light into the skies and hundreds of art students stood by while he painted to witness his skill and genius.

His style was of an impressionist and was one of the founders of the New English. His paintings were of English skies and open country. William Nicholson is yet another who occasionally stroked landscapes while another who was entirely different, Davis Richter. A rich colour sense dominated his art that were full of still-life and landscape.

These great painters were followed by many who in the process rose to be identified with the English brush. They were very patriotic and allowed very little outside influence to creep in to their art.

Year after year, the English galleries are filled by these artists in a bewildering variety and they get stunning over periods with vast improvement. The bolder ones fill up large canvases and the beauty of all England stand out bright and clear.

Lavery’s art was more distinct than many of his colleagues and often compared to Velasquez. His palette remained simple with less colour which was a lesson for all up and coming painters. There was a decorative feeling in Lavery’s work and the critics were not happy about it.

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