John Mansbridge (1901–1981) was a British artist. He was an official war artist during

World War II 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 ...

and Head of

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

in London.

Biography

Mansbridge was the son of Albert Mansbridge, the founder of the

Workers Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

and was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

. He attended the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London, where he was taught by

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...

. From 1927 to 1935, he designed posters for the

Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an und ...

and then the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

. In 1929, Mansbridge began teaching at Goldsmiths' College School of Art and became the senior lecturer in painting there after World War II. As well as holding that post, and being Head of Fine Art, until his retirement in 1966 he also lectured on the

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic vis ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

for the extramural department of

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. At the beginning of World War II, Mansbridge applied to the

War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artist ...

, WAAC, for a full-time commission but was refused. He was however employed directly by the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

as a war artist. In this role he visited various

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

bases in Britain to paint portraits of pilots and air crew. In due course WAAC purchased several of these portraits and some were included in the ''Britain at War'' exhibition held at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York during the conflict. Later in the war, Mansbridge was involved in developing

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

patterns and worked in India and Burma. Mansbridge was a founder member of the

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

Art Society in 1947, with

Graham Sutherland Graham Vivian Sutherland (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmaking ...

as the first President, along with college principals

Leonard Daniels Leonard Daniels (28 November 1909 – 24 February 1998) was a British artist, teacher and administrator. Biography Daniels was born in London and was educated at Holloway School and studied art at the Regent Street Polytechnic and attended t ...

, Clive Gardiner and Heber Matthews. In 1969 Mansbridge issued his ''Graphic History of Architecture'' (New York:

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

, 1967) which was well received. He also produced posters for London Transport and mural panels for the Blue Funnel Line shipping company. Mansbridge's paintings are held by the British Council, the

National Portrait Gallery (London) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and Goldsmiths, University of London. The

London Transport Museum The London Transport Museum (often abbreviated as the LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the h ...

holds some of his posters. He painted portraits of: Edgar Algernon Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (1864–1958), 1st Viscount Cecil of

Chelwood Chelwood is a small village within the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Compton Dando in Somerset, England, and is in the affluent Chew Valley in the Bath and North East Somerset council area, about from Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

;

Charles Edward Curzon Charles Edward Curzon (15 April 1878, in Kensington – 1954) was an Anglican bishop, the 6th Bishop of Stepney from 1928 until 1936 when he was appointed Bishop of Exeter. He educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Christ's College, Cam ...

(1878–1954),

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

(1936–1948); The Right Reverend Charles Gore (1853–1932); Ian Gulland, Albert Mansbridge (1876–1952); and Sir John Collings Squire (1932–1933).

References

External links

*
Works in the Imperial War Museum Collection

Posters in the London Transport Museum Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansbridge, John 1901 births 1981 deaths People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art British poster artists Academics of Goldsmiths, University of London British war artists English male painters 20th-century English painters World War II artists 20th-century English male artists