St Ives School

The St Ives School (Cornish: Skol Porth Ia) is a term coined to refer to an art movement encompassing various artists who settled in St Ives, Cornwall in the 20th century.^[1] It originated during the aftermath of World War II, following the footsteps of the previous Newlyn School movement. However, it was not an unified group and the artists did not see themselves as part of an art colony. The fishing town of St Ives would then become a centre for the development of British abstract art and modernism from the 1940s to the 1960s.^[2]

History[]

Historical Context[]

Earlier artistic activity in St Ives dates back to the late 19th century. Painters like James McNeill Whistler, along with his students Walter Sickert and Mortimer Mempes, came to St Ives in 1884.^[2] The Sloop Inn was a popular place for Victorian artists, including Louis Grier, who displayed many of his paintings there. West Cornwall has attracted artists since the early 1800s due to its quality of light. The Great Western Railway's arrival in 1877 made the area easier to access for other English citizens. Newlyn had previously attracted an art school known as the Newlyn School, which was influenced by realism and focused on depicting daily life in Cornwall.

Albert Julius Olsson and Louis Grier started the town's first art school in 1888.^[2] Algernon Talmage later joined them. Talmage lived and worked in his studio on Westcotts Quay. John Noble Barlow moved to St Ives in 1892. Thomas Millie Dow moved there with his family in 1894 and joined the St Ives Art Club with Louis Grier and Lowell Dyer.

Development[]

Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood's 1928 visit to St Ives led them to meet Alfred Wallis.^[2] Wallis's artwork influenced Nicholson's work, which shifted towards modernism. When World War II began in 1939, Nicholson and his wife, sculptor Barbara Hepworth, moved to St Ives. Both were already established abstract artists. They were joined by Naum Gabo, a Russian constructivist sculptor.

After the war, St Ives became a centre for modern and abstract art in Britain, with Hepworth and Nicholson as leading artists.^[2] Gabo left St Ives in 1946. A younger generation of artists began working in St Ives around 1950. This group, along with Hepworth and Nicholson (who left in 1958), is primarily associated with the term "St Ives School." These artists shared an interest in abstract art and used the Cornish landscape as their inspiration.^[2]

The St Ives School was most active in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1993, Tate St Ives opened on Porthmeor Beach. The gallery displays Tate's collection of St Ives School art.^[2]

Visuals[]

The art of the St Ives School has influences from many styles, including Impressionism, as seen in the work of American painters Edward Emerson Simmons and Howard Russell Butler who had a studio in Porthmeor in the late 19th century. Early works depicted the landscape and maritime activities of West Cornwall, as seen in paintings by artists like Edward Emerson Simmons, Howard Russell Butler, Anders Zorn, Sydney Laurence, Alexandrina Dupre, Emily Carr, Hayley Lever, E. Phillips Fox, Walter Elmer Schofield, and Paul Dougherty. This influenced the development of modernist and abstract art in St Ives.