DOI Heft:
No. 324 (March 1920)
DOI Artikel:Hodson, Laurence W.: The Birmingham group: Arthur J. Gaskin and Joseph Southall
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21360#0013
THE BIRMINGHAM GROUP
'THE FOOD QUEUE.” WATER-
COLOUR BY JOSEPH SOUTHALL
on some grounds, to be regretted, it has
had its compensations. Discipline had
been submitted to, and considerable mas-
tery secured, and if the later work is some-
what of a relaxation from school routine,
it has all the holiday mood of a boy let
out of school. It has been done with such
Zest and freshness that it radiates an atmo-
sphere of youth which is stimulating and
fascinating. The portraits reproduced are
typical of a large number done in recent
years, varied in treatment and mood, and
distinguished by a mastery of pure rhyth-
mic line and scholarly draughtsmanship,
which is never absent from even his
slightest work. They reveal a serenity of
mind and an integrity of craftsmanship
which have been an entirely wholesome
and stimulating influence throughout the
school. 00000
If the division of Gaskin's energies be-
tween school and studio has limited the
quantity of his creative work, his income
as a teacher has saved him from the tempta-
tion to paint and draw with his finger on
the pulse of the market, as so many have
to whose bread and butter entirely depend
on popularity and sales. 000
Southall's career has been a single-
minded pursuit of a clearly defined aim :
an ideal kept steadily in view, in spite of
difficulties, too little sympathy, and mani-
fold temptations to do easier things which
he had no heart for. 000
Through some Arundel prints he came
under the spell of the Italian primitives
before he was twenty, and this influence
was strengthened by a visit to Italy a few
years later, when he became interested in
tempera painting. Ruskin's influence was
already strong, and he went to Italy to
see the works of the early painters, with
the writings of Ruskin as his guide, and on
his return painted a very satisfactory panel
in tempera, dated 1884. Soon after this
he came under Ruskin's personal influence,
which encouraged him, and established
him in his principles. 000
Because of the technical difficulties of
tempera it was set aside for awhile, but
thanks to help from Sir William Richmond,
and the encouragement of a few friends, it
was again taken up in 1892, and has never
since been abandoned. 000
The Italian primitives, Ruskin, and tem-
pera were the chief formative influences in
Southall's art, but his own very strong
personality absorbed these influences, and
produced an artistic point of view which
is unique and very interesting. Southall
belongs to no school and is nobody's
imitator. Seeing his work in Paris, it is
difficult to u place " it, or to be sure of its
country, century, or school, unless some
7
'THE FOOD QUEUE.” WATER-
COLOUR BY JOSEPH SOUTHALL
on some grounds, to be regretted, it has
had its compensations. Discipline had
been submitted to, and considerable mas-
tery secured, and if the later work is some-
what of a relaxation from school routine,
it has all the holiday mood of a boy let
out of school. It has been done with such
Zest and freshness that it radiates an atmo-
sphere of youth which is stimulating and
fascinating. The portraits reproduced are
typical of a large number done in recent
years, varied in treatment and mood, and
distinguished by a mastery of pure rhyth-
mic line and scholarly draughtsmanship,
which is never absent from even his
slightest work. They reveal a serenity of
mind and an integrity of craftsmanship
which have been an entirely wholesome
and stimulating influence throughout the
school. 00000
If the division of Gaskin's energies be-
tween school and studio has limited the
quantity of his creative work, his income
as a teacher has saved him from the tempta-
tion to paint and draw with his finger on
the pulse of the market, as so many have
to whose bread and butter entirely depend
on popularity and sales. 000
Southall's career has been a single-
minded pursuit of a clearly defined aim :
an ideal kept steadily in view, in spite of
difficulties, too little sympathy, and mani-
fold temptations to do easier things which
he had no heart for. 000
Through some Arundel prints he came
under the spell of the Italian primitives
before he was twenty, and this influence
was strengthened by a visit to Italy a few
years later, when he became interested in
tempera painting. Ruskin's influence was
already strong, and he went to Italy to
see the works of the early painters, with
the writings of Ruskin as his guide, and on
his return painted a very satisfactory panel
in tempera, dated 1884. Soon after this
he came under Ruskin's personal influence,
which encouraged him, and established
him in his principles. 000
Because of the technical difficulties of
tempera it was set aside for awhile, but
thanks to help from Sir William Richmond,
and the encouragement of a few friends, it
was again taken up in 1892, and has never
since been abandoned. 000
The Italian primitives, Ruskin, and tem-
pera were the chief formative influences in
Southall's art, but his own very strong
personality absorbed these influences, and
produced an artistic point of view which
is unique and very interesting. Southall
belongs to no school and is nobody's
imitator. Seeing his work in Paris, it is
difficult to u place " it, or to be sure of its
country, century, or school, unless some
7