St Ives School

1.

Beginnings

The term ‘St Ives School’ refers to Modernist artists associated with the town of St Ives in Cornwall. Once a remote fishing village, St Ives was transformed into a beacon for avant-garde British art in the mid-20^th century. While the artists of the St Ives School did not define themselves as being part of a group, they were connected by their shared endeavour in exploring the possibilities of abstract art.

Although the school boasts many famous names, it owes its existence to an unassuming local artist and fisherman, Alfred Wallis. In 1928, the artists Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood happened across Wallis’s paintings on a day trip to St Ives. Inspired by the naivety and freedom of Wallis’s works, Nicholson and Wood began experimenting with perspective and movement. In 1939, Nicholson returned to St Ives as an established abstract artist and husband of the sculptor Barbara Hepworth. The couple settled in the town and, alongside the Russian constructivist sculptor Naum Gabo, began a new chapter in Modernism.

2.

Development

After the war, Gabo left St Ives while Nicholson and Hepworth stayed, and built a community that drew in a multitude of creatives, all with a shared interest in abstraction. They welcomed a variety of disciplines, from painting and printmaking to pottery. Many of the young artists associated with St Ives in the 1950s would go on to become influential figures, including Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Peter Lanyon and Patrick Heron.

In its heyday, St Ives was a mecca for revolutionary thinkers and trailblazing creatives from around the UK and beyond. The American abstract expressionist Mark Rothko visited in 1959, the same year that Francis Bacon spent three months working in Nicholson’s studio. Throughout the 1960s and beyond, a younger generation of artists were drawn to the area including Paul Feiler, Bryan Wynter, John Wells, Denis Mitchell, and Bryan Ingham.

3.

Style & Influence

There is no single style that defines the St Ives School. Over the decades, the artists in St Ives took elements of prevailing art movements, from De Stijl and Cubism to Abstract Expressionism, and blended them with inspiration taken from their surroundings. Nicholson and Hepworth both had an interest in naturalism, which found expression in the particular characteristics of the Cornish coastline.

While the key figures associated with the school are primarily known as abstract artists, much of the work they produced in St Ives is rooted in the landscape. The shapes of the coastline – from craggy cliffs to curling waves – can be found across the painting, collage and sculpture of the St Ives School. The unique light that reflects off the sea is captured in glowing turquoise tones, offset by natural muted shades. Most of all, the work of the St Ives School is distinguished by a sense of movement, echoing the restless energy of the sea.

4.

On the Market

The art of the St Ives School continues to be exhibited to this day, and many of the works are on permanent display at Tate St Ives. For decades it’s proved a hugely popular collecting area within the Modern British category, and yet, for certain types of St Ives artworks, the demand has never been stronger. This is especially the case for the ‘first generation’ of St Ives modernists, most notably Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, and for the ‘second generation’ abstractionists such as Patrick Heron and Peter Lanyon. For each of these we have seen several memorable results in recent years, including Nicholson’s important 1928 (Pill Creek), sold for £722,500 inc. premium at Bonhams in 2016, Hepworth’s Stringed Figure which fetched £516,900 inc. premium in our Modern British & Irish Art auction earlier this year (setting a record for a painting by the artist), and Wood’s Drying Sails, Mousehole, Cornwall which sold for £479,100 inc. premium in the same sale, also establishing a new auction record for the artist.

5.

Legacy of Sculpture & Beyond

The importance of St Ives within the national – and international – history of modern art is certainly one factor which appeals to collectors, but what many enjoy about St Ives as a collecting area is the depth it offers. Due to multiple generations of artists associated with the town and the variety of their output, there is a bountiful scope at all collecting levels, and often there are particularly rich connections between artists to discover. For example, Denis Mitchell and John Milne, who became renowned sculptors in their own regard, both worked as assistants to Barbara Hepworth. Their works sit beautifully alongside hers and while a fine Hepworth may represent a more serious acquisition, both Mitchell and Milne are often available at a more accessible price level.