Victor Pasmore
Victor Pasmore CBE | |
---|---|
Born | Chelsham, Surrey, England | 3 December 1908
Died | 23 January 1998 Gudja, Malta | (aged 89)
Education | Harrow School |
Alma mater | Central School of Art |
Style | Abstraction, Constructivism |
Spouse | Wendy Blood |
Children | 2 |
Awards | 1961 Venice Biennale |
Edwin John Victor Pasmore,
Early life
Pasmore was born in
In the
Artistic career
The figurative years: 1927–1947
One of the first exhibitions in which his works feature was held at the Zwemmer gallery, London 1934. His works were influenced by Monet and Cézanne.
The break into abstraction (1948–1954)
His break into abstract art was inspired by the artists Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee. Their writings feature nature and the creation of a dynamic harmony in art which stood for the future harmony of society.[6]
Beginning in 1947, he developed a purely abstract style under the influence of
In 1950, he was commissioned to design an abstract mural for a bus depot in Kingston upon Thames[9] and the following year Pasmore contributed a mural to the Festival of Britain[3] that promoted a number of the British Constructivists.
Pasmore was a supporter of fellow artist Richard Hamilton, giving him a teaching job in Newcastle[10] and contributing a constructivist structure to the exhibition "This Is Tomorrow" in collaboration with Ernő Goldfinger and Helen Phillips. Pasmore was commissioned to make a mural for the new Newcastle Civic Centre.[11] His interest in the synthesis of art and architecture was given free hand when he was appointed Consulting Director of Architectural Design for Peterlee development corporation in 1955. Pasmore's choices in this area proved controversial; the centerpiece of the town design became an abstract public art structure of his design, the Apollo Pavilion. The structure became the focus for local criticism over the failures of the Development Corporation but Pasmore remained a defender of his work, returning to the town to face critics of the Pavilion at a public meeting in 1982. After many years of neglect the work was restored in 2009 with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.[12]
Pasmore represented Britain at the 1961
Teaching: 1937–1961
Pasmore was a leading figure in the promotion of abstract art and reform of the fine art education system. From 1943–1949, he taught at
Between 1950 and 1954 Pasmore taught at the
From 1954 to 1961 he was Master of Painting in the Fine Art Department Durham University, Kings College Newcastle upon Tyne, (now Newcastle University).[14] There he developed a radical art and design course inspired by the 'basic course' of the Bauhaus that became the model for higher arts education across the UK. He was succeeded by Richard Hamilton.
Personal life
In 1940, he married the artist Wendy Blood.[15] They had two children, a son and a daughter.[16] He moved to Malta in 1966.[17] He died in Gudja, Malta, on 23 January 1998, aged 89.[1]
Legacy
On 3 November 2014, the Central Bank of Malta, in collaboration with the Victor Pasmore Foundation, inaugurated the Victor Pasmore Gallery in the Central Bank's premises at the Polverista Gallery. This gallery houses a permanent exhibition of works discovered in Pasmore's home in Gudja, Malta and also in his residence in Blackheath, London. The exhibition consists primarily of paintings and constructions created while the artist lived in Malta.[18]
See also
- Abstract painting - 1998 painting by Pasmore
References
- ^ a b Alley, Ronald (26 January 1998). "Obituary: Victor Pasmore". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- ^ Summer Fields Register 1864–1960, Oxonian Press, 1960.
- ^ a b c "Obituary: Victor Pasmore". The Independent. 26 January 1998.
- ^ "THE CNAA art collection: Victor Pasmore, Britain's art schools and higher education | CNAA Art Collection | Senate House Library". cnaa.senatehouselibrary.ac.uk.
- ^ Central Board for Conscientious Objectors, Bulletin, October 1942, November 1942.
- ISBN 978-1854377913.
- ^ "Interiors: Time capsule". The Independent. 22 October 2011. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022.
- ^ Ford, B (1988) The Cambridge Guide to the Arts in Britain: Since the Second World War Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. p104
- ^ Spiral Motif in Green, Violet, Blue and Gold: The Coast of the Inland Sea 1950 | Tate, accessdate: 24 September 2015
- ^ "Victor Pasmore : Museum : University of Dundee". app.dundee.ac.uk.
- ^ "1968: Newcastle Civic Centre – The Twentieth Century Society". c20society.org.uk.
- ^ "Construction in Black, White and Ochre by Victor Pasmore". My Boro Art Blog. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ "Victor Pasmore". Hastings Contemporary.
- ^ Radical innovation in art, architecture and art education in the North East.
- ^ Tate: Wendy Pasmore | Tate, accessdate: 22 August 2014
- ^ bookroomartpress.co.uk: Pasmore, Victor Biography, accessdate: 22 August 2014
- ^ "British Abstract Painter Dies". AP NEWS.
- ^ "- Central Bank of Malta". www.centralbankmalta.org.
Sources
- The Times, 1 September 1942.
Further reading
- Grieve, Alastair, Constructed Abstract Art in England: A Neglected Avant-Garde, ISBN 978-0300107036
- Grieve, Alastair (editor), Victor Pasmore: Towards a New Reality, ISBN 978-1848222083
- Bowness, Alan and Lambertini, Luigi, Victor Pasmore: With a Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings, Constructions and Graphics, 1926-79, ISBN 978-0500091449