Matthew Smith (1879-1959) is one of the most important British painters of the twentieth century. This book provides for the first time a catalogue of the oil paintings by Matthew Smith from 1905 to 1957 and a substantial critical reappraisal of the artist's work. Gledhill situates the artist in the context of modernism and his Bloomsbury peers and the London Group. Provenance, exhibition catalogues and literature are brought together in extensively detailed entries. Where possible an illustration of each work is provided and the majority of the paintings are illustrated to assist the scholar who up until now has been confronted with a dearth of information on Matthew Smith.
Although he died more than forty years ago this is the first full-scale biography of Matthew Smith, one of the most original English figurative painters of the century. He was in his lifetime frequently, but mistakenly, seen as an English Fauve or as a disciple of Matisse, but in fact he evolved his own distinctive style independently from anything he had seen in English art schools or the French galleries. Smith was the son of a rich and cultured Yorkshire manufacturer, but soon felt impelled to rebel against the Victorian taste of his father and his class. He failed to impress tutors at the Slade, went to France to see what the modern movements there had to offer, and then returned to mingle in the circles round Sickert and Fry. His grim experiences in World War 1 forced him to sort out his priorities both as a man and an artist. Eventually, a passionate love affair in middle age enabled him to establish his own uniquely turbulent style and subject matter of still-lifes, landscapes and uninhibited nudes. Augustus John and Epstein were close friends as were many other literary and artistic figures in Paris, Provence and London. He was shaken by personal tragedies, but well into old age he seemed able to attract the love of cultivated and attractive younger women. There have been several retrospective exhibitions since his death in 1959, notably at the Royal Academy and twice at the Barbican. Dr Yorke's detailed biography traces the life and reputation of this unassuming man who 'spoke like an intelligent moth' , but who produced pictures of such rich colour and extrovert handling that they have no parallels in the history of English painting.
Summary: This book puts history back into the history of art. It approaches the British and Irish art worlds from the historical viewpoint, avoiding theories unsupported by facts. By studying the intricate mechanisms whereby artists turned oil on canvas into money - or not - the book explains how artists' reputations were made or broken. Individual artists discussed include Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Henry Moore, John Piper, Graham Sutherland, Jacob Epstein, Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and many more. Readers will be startled and intrigued to find how such artists fought to survive amid the network of powerful individuals, critics and gallery owners that controlled their destinies.
