The East London Group were a group of artists based in London. They worked and showed together from 1928 to 1936. They were mostly working class, realist painters whose formal education had often stopped at elementary school.
32-675: The group developed from an art club at the Bethnal Green Men's Institute to a group of artists showing and selling in London's West End and beyond. They exhibited alongside prominent artists of the day, and attracted enormous press coverage and support, taught by John Albert Cooper, Phyllis Bray , Walter Sickert and others. A few members had trained at the Slade School of Fine Art . The East London Group's drawings and paintings show buildings, streets, and ways of life that no longer exist. In 1923,
64-743: A disagreement. From the 1924-25 session he began teaching at the Bow and Bromley Evening Institute in Coborn Road, E3. To this he eventually attracted key members of the Bethnal Green Art Club, such as Walter Steggles, Harold Steggles and Elwin Hawthorne , whom he asked to join him at Bow in 1927. The charismatic Cooper had served in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and then attended
96-529: A few invited professional artists, all showing as the East London Art Club, held a large exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery. This attracted support from a number of prominent individuals, such as Sir Joseph Duveen the art dealer, Samuel Courtauld , Lord Melchett, Lord Burnham and the writer Arnold Bennett . The show prompted wide press coverage. ‘Little short of sensational,’ said
128-649: A film documenting their activities. Phyllis Bray painted three large murals at the New People's Palace (now part of Queen Mary, University of London). John Cooper , Elwin Hawthorne , Brynhild Parker , Harold Steggles and Walter Steggles contributed to the popular range of Shell advertising posters. John Cooper played a major part in developing mosaic work through his courses at the Central School of Arts and Crafts . The last Lefevre show took place in 1936. For personal and professional reasons, John Cooper withdrew from
160-614: A first exhibition, now as the East London Group, in November 1929. Sickert's inclusion, his only showing with the group, was an important draw. Because of wide, complimentary press coverage, the show had to be extended into December. "One of the most interesting and significant things in the London art season," said the Manchester Guardian about the first Lefevre exhibition. It covered just this one exhibition three times. The show
192-561: A gracious Italianate style which had already from the 1840s become a characteristic of commercial architecture, especially in Manchester". The building is in the heart of the University of Salford , surrounded by civic and educational buildings. It plays a significant role for its relationship with the Peel building to the west and Peel Park to the north. The building is the earliest civic building in
224-460: A new purpose-built gallery which opened in Salford Quays in 2000. Lark Hill Place, an exhibit on the ground floor, is a re-creation of a typical Victorian street, built using shop fronts that were saved and restored in 1957 when many shops and houses in central Salford were being demolished to make way for new developments. The interiors are furnished with period objects and furniture, recreating
256-616: A touring exhibition of Canada and the US, organised through the Courtauld Institute whose founder, Samuel Courtauld, had remained an enthusiastic patron of the Group. In 1936, works by Elwin Hawthorne and Walter Steggles were included in Britain's contribution to the 1936 Venice Biennale , alongside well known and established artists. Members of the East London Group also painted stage sets and made
288-840: A warehouseman, a house decorator, three deck hands waiting for a ship, and a haddock smoker started an art club. It met twice a week at the Bethnal Green Men's Institute in Wolverley Street in East London. They found time and money for materials, despite having families and working long hours on piecework or for poor wages. The Art Club grew strongly and held its first exhibition in 1924 at the Bethnal Green Museum . The tight-knit community of Bethnal Green turned out in force. There were around 30 active members, 15 of whom showed 88 works in this first show. John Cooper, who taught at Bethnal Green, eventually severed his connection with it after
320-571: Is keen bidding at sales, notably Sotheby's and Christie's South Kensington, and a very active and participatory Twitter account. New exhibitions are planned in Southend (2016), Bow (2017) and Southampton (2017). Michael Young and Peter Willmott, Family and Kinship in East London (Penguin Modern Classics.) London: Penguin Books, 1957, 2007) Phyllis Bray Phyllis Bray (30 August 1911 – 1991)
352-521: Is no need to go to Bognor,’ he said. ‘You can go into the Tube.’ Some artists connected with the Slade occasionally provided teaching assistance and showed with the Group. These included Phyllis Bray (to become Cooper's wife for a period), William Coldstream and Charles George Hamilton Dicker. East London Group artists were able to see beauty in the most unlikely subjects, bringing ‘a warm feeling to their art which
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#1732891019027384-753: Is the first Victorian revival building in the country." The building development was a gradual evolution which was commenced by different architects evolving their ideas at different times. Throughout its development the building has achieved "a degree of architectural consistency as a result of nearly a century of evolution." More than 160,000 visitors were attracted to the museum in its first year to explore casts of antique statues, collection of paintings, Egyptian and Oriental antiques and other significant objects and exhibitions. The number of visitors steadily increased year by year, and in five years had reached 1.6 million. The Grade II listed Salford Museum and Art Gallery has masonry pillars and detailed masonry elements on
416-677: Is transmitted to the viewer’. The drabness of the East End, painted with a muted palette, is reflected in the early works. In the work of Elwin Hawthorne, the absence of people contributes to an almost surreal atmosphere. As the artists began to travel out of the city, the tone of the paintings lightens. In April 1927, the Daily Chronicle reported on the Bethnal Green Institute exhibition with headlines such as "Workmen as artists" and "Window cleaner’s work in East End show". Albert Turpin
448-599: The Oxford University Press and Faber & Faber , commissioned Bray to illustrate books, including several works for children. Bray also designed a 1938 poster for London Transport promoting the Wimbledon tennis championship . Bray designed advertising material for Shell-Mex & BP and for the John Lewis Partnership . Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Bray built up a collection of jewellery, mostly from
480-635: The UK Government Art Collection hold examples of her work. A memorial exhibition was held in 1998 at the Collyer Bristow gallery; the exhibition space within the offices of law firm Collyer Bristow. 4 artworks by or after Phyllis Bray at the Art UK site Salford Museum and Art Gallery Salford Museum and Art Gallery , in Peel Park, Salford , Greater Manchester , opened to
512-649: The Crescent area and has influenced the location of the other civic buildings. Among the paintings in the Salford collection are works by artists such as Christian Ludwig Bokelmann , Charles Landseer , Arthur Perigal , Philip Hermogenes Calderon , William Bruce Ellis Ranken and Thomas Henry Illidge . The Salford art gallery formerly held over 400 artworks by the Salford-born painter L. S. Lowry which had been collected since 1930, but these were transferred to The Lowry ,
544-403: The East London Group's work is held privately, often by members of the artists’ families. Around 80 pieces are in public collections in Britain and abroad. Awareness of the Group's achievements has been rekindled in recent years. There have been a number of exhibitions (in central London and at Bow Arts' Nunnery Gallery) and the publication of a book, From Bow to Biennale by David Buckman. There
576-496: The Group which then wound down. Lefevre believed its role in establishing the artists had been fulfilled. Cooper's death in 1943 at 49, from sclerosis of the spine, was a major factor preventing the Group reassembling after the Second World War. Several Group members continued to paint but they never exhibited as the East London Group again. Comparisons are sometimes drawn with the work of other artists. These include: Most of
608-608: The National Gallery, Millbank, known colloquially even then as the Tate Gallery . Part of the exhibition was shown at Millbank in early 1929, indicating ‘what British artisans can do in their spare time’, as the press release put it, and a modified Tate exhibition went on tour to the art gallery in Peel Park, Salford . A major breakthrough took place when the West End Lefevre Gallery agreed to give Cooper's students
640-560: The Slade School of Fine Art. Newly graduated, he was a professional painter of portraits and landscapes, supplementing his income by teaching evening classes. His advice was to paint what was around, straight from life, rather than painting images for greetings cards or copying posters of film stars or seed packets. Walter Sickert also lectured to and mentored the students. His message was the same as Cooper's: students did not need to go on expensive excursions to find landscapes to paint. ‘There
672-405: The exterior and within the interior. The aesthetic design of the building has evolved over a 200-year life cycle to produce a unified structure. Important architectural examples are the top-lit galleries in the north and south wings, which are one of the earliest examples of their type. The galleries were built in a Renaissance style; the architects, Travis & Mangnall, "were key local exponents of
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#1732891019027704-478: The fabric of the original building, Lark Hill Mansion, was found to be unsound and was demolished due to structural instability. The new wing, which was designed in the same style as the Langworthy Wing, took two years to be completed and opened in 1938. The decision to "echo the Langworthy Wing in the 1930s is remarkable in the architectural climate of the time and it is tempting to argue that Walker's addition
736-584: The influential Studio magazine about the East London Art Club's December 1928 exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery . The Evening News reported that work was shown from the Club's approximately ‘30 members drawn from Hackney, Whitechapel, East Ham, Poplar, Mile End and so on.’ A number of paintings were bought by Sir Joseph Duveen and by Charles Aitken , Director of the Tate Gallery, for exhibition at
768-740: The medieval and Renaissance periods, which was sold at Christie's in 1989. Bray exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1950, 1952, 1955 and in 1960. Her work was included in group shows at the Leicester Galleries in London and she had solo shows Drian Gallery in London and the Mignion Gallery in Bath . The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, the Blackpool Art Gallery, New College, Oxford , and
800-732: The mother of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia . Bray obtained a scholarship to study at the Slade School of Art from 1927 to 1931, where her tutor was Henry Tonks . At the Slade Bray won several prizes. In 1933 she was elected to the London Group and also married her first husband, the artist, and fellow evening-class teacher, John Cooper and together they were to become core members of the East London Group . Bray became known for her landscapes, which she painted in both oils and watercolours, and for her murals. For over forty years Bray worked with
832-583: The muralist Hans Feibusch painting in churches across Britain. Bray also worked on a number of solo projects, such as the three murals, on Music , Drama and Ballet , she produced for the People's Palace on the Mile End Road in east London and which is now part of Queen Mary University of London . A mural Bray painted for St Crispin's Church in Bermondsey remains intact. Several leading publishers, including
864-413: The museum, left a £10,000 bequest to the museum which was used to build the west wing, named the Langworthy Wing, connecting the north and south wings. This wing was constructed over three storeys and "was built of brick with stone dressing with a glass and Welch-slate roof, with a pediment gable"; today it serves as the public entrance. Throughout the years the popularity of the museum increased but in 1936
896-575: The public in November 1850 as the Royal Museum and Public Library . The gallery and museum are devoted to the history of Salford and Victorian art and architecture . Along with Queens Park and Phillips Park in Manchester, the Lark Hill estate and mansion were purchased by public subscription and opened to the public as Peel Park and Royal Museum and Public Library, in November 1850. In 1874 Edward Langworthy, former mayor of Salford and early supporter of
928-461: Was a British artist and illustrator known for involvement in the East London Group of artists, for the murals she produced and for illustrating children's books. During her career she also exhibited at the Royal Academy and at several leading London galleries. Bray was born in Norwood in west London. Her father, William de Bray, was a British diplomat, who was at one point an attaché to the court of
960-513: Was an enormous commercial success, too, with interest shown by Mayfair art dealers and high society (including Ramsay MacDonald , Lady Cunard , Viscount D’Abernon , and Edward Marsh , a perceptive collector). The noted critic, T W Earp, particularly praised the work of some artists and so the careers were launched of, for example, William Coldstream, Murroe FitzGerald, Archibald Hattemore, Elwin Hawthorne, Cecil Osborne, Henry Silk, Harold Steggles, Walter Steggles and Albert Turpin. By this time Cooper
992-479: Was an established painter, especially of music and musicians, which feature in some of the group shows. Eventually he negotiated a five-year group contract, resulting in eight annual Reid & Lefevre exhibitions through to 1936. Throughout the 1930s, a number of solo exhibitions were additionally held at Lefevre and elsewhere. Group exhibitions were also held outside London and members participated in numerous mixed shows, often alongside prominent artists. 1935 saw
East London Group - Misplaced Pages Continue
1024-406: Was the window cleaner who went on to become mayor of Bethnal Green, and made it his mission to record in paintings all the houses and streets around his home before the developers destroyed them. Other exhibitors included Henry Silk (basket maker), Elwin Hawthorne (errand boy) and C Warren (park-keeper) and B R Swinnerton (piano factory worker). In December 1928 members of Cooper's Bow classes plus
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