David Gommon (12 December 1913 – 20 January 1987) was a British painter born in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

Early life and education

David Gommon was born on 12 December 1913 in

in South London. His father was a Londoner, a journeyman carpenter. At the age of 16 he was enrolled in

Battersea Polytechnic The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

and the Clapham School of Art. He was able to visit art galleries of the

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to study the paintings of the great masters. He met art collector, Lucy Carrington Wertheim and, when he was 18-19, she became his patron paying £2 a week for his work.

Career

It was through Lucy Wertheim that he held his first one-man show at her gallery in Burlington Gardens, and attracted positive critical attention. During this time he met many other patrons of the arts, and he painted the young dancer's

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells T ...

and

Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet (n ...

at Saddlers Wells. He was part of the 20s group supported by Lucy Wertheim that included Christopher Wood,

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

Roger Hilton Roger Hilton CBE (1911–1975) was a pioneer of abstract art in post-Second World War Britain. Often associated with the 'middle generation' of St Ives painters – Terry Frost, Patrick Heron, Peter Lanyon & Bryan Wynter – he spent much o ...

Robert Medley Charles Robert Owen Medley CBE, RA, (19 December 1905 – 20 October 1994), also known as Robert Medley, was an English artist who painted in both abstract and figurative styles, and who also worked as theatre designer. He held several teachin ...

Phelan Gibb Harry Phelan Gibb (a.k.a. William Phelan "Harry" Gibb) (1870–1948) was a British artist influenced by the work of Paul Cézanne, who exhibited in London, Paris and New York.Buckman, David 998 Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945, Art ...

, David Burton, Humphrey Slater and

Victor Pasmore Edwin John Victor Pasmore, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on 3 December 1908. He ...

. In his own work, he gradually focussed on the essence of the English and Welsh landscapes. In 1938, he stopped painting altogether.

Teaching

His first teaching job at

Northampton Grammar School Northampton School for Boys (NSB) is a secondary school in Northampton, England. It was founded as Northampton Town and County Grammar School in 1541 by Thomas Chipsey, Mayor of Northampton. Years 7 to 11 are boys-only, while Sixth Form classes ...

where he worked and taught pupils, including actor/artist Jonathan Adams, of whom he completed a portrait.Jonathan Adams by David Gommon
BBC Your Paintings. While here he painted until he retired. He would often paint reproductions of famous paintings to illustrate his lessons; the sets for the school's regular theatrical productions would be designed, painted and constructed in his art room. In the 1960s he delivered WEA Lectures on Art for a number of years, in Northampton and the county. His last commission, the two large murals at St. Crispin's hospital, Northampton, arose from this conviction.

Personal life

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

his spinal curvature rendered him unfit for military service, he served in the London Auxiliary fire service. During the war, he had met and married Jean Vipond. He died in 1987.

Reviews

Art critic Ian Mayes summed up this aspect of his work in his review of his 1975 exhibition at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

. :''“I know of few artists whose work communicates such a sense of joy in life as that which comes from these beautifully quiet, very modest and

English paintings English art is the body of visual arts made in England. England has Europe's earliest and northernmost ice-age cave art. Prehistoric art in England largely corresponds with art made elsewhere in contemporary Britain, but early medieval Anglo-Sa ...

, so accurate in their evocation of the changing moods and feeling of nature. The landscapes (which together with the related paintings of enclosed gardens and cricket matches I consider to be his finest work) show that in his use of colour and simplified shapes he has found a personal and eloquent language, perfectly suited to its purpose; and an important part of that purpose is the expression of wonderment and delight in nature.“''

Exhibitions

His work forms part of the permanent collections at; * Salford City Art Gallery; *

Whitworth Art Gallery The Whitworth is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The gallery is located in Whitworth Park and is part of the University of Manchester. In 2015, the Whitworth reopened after it was transfor ...

; Manchester, England; * Northampton Art Gallery; * The University of Leicester; *

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

, New Zealand; *

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galler ...

, Brisbane, Australia; * Barbados City Art Gallery; * The Chapel of Canberra Grammar School, Australia. Exhibitions have also been shown at:- * Northampton Art Gallery; * The House of Commons; * The Herbert Gallery, Coventry; * Kettering Art Gallery; * Luton Museum and Art Gallery; * Michael Jones Jewellers, Northampton; * Burton-on -Trent Art Gallery; * Gainsborough's House, Sudbury; * Stafford Art Gallery; * South London Art Gallery-Camberwell; * The Paris Salon, 1979; * The Liverpool School of Architecture; * The University Centre, Northampton; * Vaughan College, Leicester; * St Catherine's College, Cambridge; * The Fairfield Halls, Croydon; * Durham City Art Gallery; * The Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham; * St Crispin Hospital, Northampton-Creation Mural and Shopping Mural; * St Saviours Parish Church, Oxton - Arts festival; * The Williamson Art Gallery,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

Bibliography

* Wertheim, Lucy (1947)Adventure In Art, Nicholson and Watson, London, P48. * Hoskin, Sarah and Haggard, Liz (1999) Healing the Hospital Environment, Taylor Francis, P62-63.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gommon, David 1987 deaths 1913 births 20th-century British painters British male painters Painters from London 20th-century British male artists