Ruth Guilding reflects on the significance of the painter’s oeuvre as an exhibition and the launch of a first catalogue raisonne mark his centenary
OriginaLity was the issue confronting the post-Second World War generation of artists in St ives. an ambitious younger set was pondering how best to handle the problem of abstraction and distinguish themselves from the others. Patrick Heron was changing from art critic to painter, Terry Frost was teaching and working as Barbara Hepworth’s studio assistant and Roger Hilton, the last to arrive, was struggling with the validity of the whole painting project.
The landscape painter Peter Lanyon (1918–64) was perhaps the most conflicted of them all. in 1950, he resigned from the Penwith—St ives’s premier exhibiting society—when its founders, Hepworth and her husband, Ben Nicholson, insisted that its members must now classify themselves as traditionalists, Modernists or Craftsmen.
Lanyon was prone to describe the process of painting as ‘a big mental fight’. Unlike most of his peers, he was from a very wealthy local family. a traditional art education had been followed in 1939 by private lessons from Ben Nicholson, who had fled wartime London with his family and remained ensconced above Carbis Bay.
This story is from the February 07, 2018 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 07, 2018 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
