Roger Fry (1866 – 1934) was a British painter, writer, art critic, designer, and lecturer. He was born in London.
Education
Between 1885 – 1890, he studied natural sciences, Cambridge University where he was a friend of Charles Robert Ashbee. However, he turned to paint which he pursued in England and at the Académie Julian, Paris, 1892.
Biography
He wrote articles for the Athenaeum and Burlington Magazine. He published his first book on Giovanni Bellini (1899).
Between 1906-10, he was the curator, of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in conflict with its chair J.P. Morgan. He discovered Cézanne at this time as well as the French avant-garde painters, he introduced their work to British audiences in an exhibition of post-impressionism ( a term that he coined) in 1910.
In 1910, met Clive and Vanessa Bell. He became the artistic leader of the Bloomsbury group. He had affairs with Lady Ottoline Morrell and Vanessa Bell.
In c1911, he produced paintings that showed Byzantine. and Post-Impressionist influences.
Omega Workshops
In 1913, he opened the Omega Workshops in an attempt to apply Post-Impressionism to the decorative arts. Between 1913-19, was its co-director, designing textiles, pottery, and furnishings including painted furniture. The workshop was set up to provide income for Fry’s young avant-garde artist friends, including Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant.
The printed and woven fabrics, carpets, and embroideries designed and sold by Omega Workshops artisans revolutionized Britain’s textile design early in the 20th century.
In 1919, Fry closed the workshop. In his last ten years, he published eight more books on art. He lectured on art at Queen’s Hall, London. He began to paint commissioned portraits in 1933, Slade professor, Cambridge University, espousing unorthodox views on Greek and ethnographic art. His ashes were interred in an urn decorated by Vanessa Bell.
Sample of Works
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Hiesinger, K. B., & Marcus, G. H. (1995). Landmarks of twentieth-century design: an illustrated handbook. Abbeville Press. https://amzn.to/3a4ADve
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OMK Design and Rodney Kinsman RDI
OMK Design is a British design group. It was established in 1966 by Rodney Kinsman, Jerzy Olejnik, Bryan Morrison. They all trained at the London Central School of Arts and Crafts. The group produced its furniture, including its 1969 T5 chair.Read More →
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Milner Gray (1899 – 1997) British Industrial & Graphic Designer
Gray was a fellow student and friend of artist-designer Graham Sutherland at Goldsmiths College School of Art, London University, where he studied painting and design. He served in the Royal Engineers during WWI when he was involved in camouflage work like other famous artists and designers from both wars. Read More →
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Edwin Luytens (1869 – 1944) British Architect and Designer
In 1887, he joined the firm George and Peto, where he met Herbert Baker, later becoming a colleague in New Delhi. Richard Norman Shaw and Philip Webb influenced him.Read More →
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Charles Ashbee (1863 – 1942) British furniture & Jewellery Designer
His design philosophy also played a role in reconciling the principles of honesty of construction and appropriate use of materials with mechanised production. Read More →
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Edward Bawden British painter, illustrator and graphic designer – Encyclopedia of Design
Edward Bawden was a British painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. Bawden studied at the Cambridge School of Art from 1919 to 1922 and at the Royal College of Art from 1922 to 1925, where Paul Nash was one of his teachers and Eric Ravilious was a close friend.
Jasper Morrison British Designer quirky, understated furniture – Encyclopedia of Design
Jasper Morrison is a British designer, and he was born and active in London. Between 1979-82 he studied at the Kingston School of Art and Design. Between 1982-85, Royal College of Art, London. Morrison produced quirky, satiric, understated furniture. His 1986 South Kensington flat was widely published in design magazines.