Morris Kestelman (5 October 1905 – 15 June 1998) was a British artist and teacher. Kestelman was a full-time art teacher and only began exhibiting on a regular basis towards the end of his life and is now best known for the paintings of working people and landscapes he produced during the 1940s and 1950s as well as his later abstract work.

Biography

Kestelmans' parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia and he was born and raised in the midst of the Jewish community in Whitechapel in the East End of London, where his father worked as a cabinet maker. Kestelman obtained a scholarship to the Central School of Art and Design in 1922, where his teachers included both

A.S. Hartrick Archibald Standish Hartrick (7 August 1864 – 1 February 1950) was a Scottish painter known for the quality of his lithography, lithographic work. His works covered urban scenes, landscapes and figure painting and he was a founder member of th ...

and

Bernard Meninsky Bernard Meninsky (25 July 1891–12 February 1950) was a painter of figures and landscapes in oils, watercolour and gouache, a draughtsman and a teacher.. Biography Early life and education Meninsky was born in Konotop, Ukraine, where his fathe ...

. Meninsky introduced Kestelman, who became a lifelong friend, to the London Group and he, Kestelman, helped with the organization of the Group's 1926 exhibition. Hartricks' teaching led Kestelman to an appreciation of French art and he would visit France for extended periods most years from 1930 onwards. After graduating from the Central School in 1925, Kestelman enrolled at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

where he studied until 1929. During this time he developed a talent for theatre and stage design such that he created a number of costume designs for a 1929 production of ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'' at

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. Later he created sets for ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' at Sadler's Wells in 1940 and for several productions by the Old Vic Company including the 1944 staging of ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

'' starring

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

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and

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at the New Theatre. The publisher Noel Carrington commissioned Kestelman to produce a large series of pastel drawings for a book on the

Bertram Mills Circus Bertram may refer to: Places *Bertram, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Australia *Bertram, Iowa, United States, a city *Bertram, Texas, United States, a city *Bertram Building, a historic building in Austin, Texas *Bertram Glacier, Palmer Lan ...

. The book was never published due to the outbreak of the Second World War. During World War Two, Kestelman served as a full-time air-raid warden and also drew scenes of workers at an aircraft repair factory. One of these drawings was subsequently purchased by the War Artists' Advisory Committee and is now held by the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

. During the War, in 1943, when reports of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

first reached Britain, Kestelman responded with the painting ''Lama Sabachthani (Why have you forsaken me?)'', whose title is taken from a line in Psalm 22. The painting was first exhibited at the 1943 ''For Liberty'' exhibition organised by the

Artists' International Association The Artists' International Association (AIA) was an organisation founded in London in 1933 out of discussion among Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland, Edward Ardizzone, Peter Laszlo Peri'Artist ...

in the shelter constructed on the bomb site of the John Lewis department store on Oxford Street in central London. After teaching at

Wimbledon School of Art Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London specialising in theatre, screen and performance art. It is located in Wimbledon and Merton Park, South West London. ...

, in 1951 Kestelman secured the post of Head of the Painting and Sculpture School at the Central School of Art and Design. He held this post until 1971. Although during this period his time for painting was largely restricted to the college holidays, he still made time to experiment with his art and developed a highly abstract style. Murals by Kestelman were included in exhibitions at the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in both 1946 and 1960. Memorial exhibitions for Kestelman were held at the Boundary Gallery and at the Friends Room of the Royal Academy in 2001. Further exhibitions of his work were held at

Lauderdale House Lauderdale House is an historic house, now run as an arts and education centre, based in Waterlow Park, Highgate in north London, England. History Lauderdale House was one of the finest country houses in Highgate and was originally built for R ...

in 2002 and 2003 and at the

London Jewish Cultural Centre The London Jewish Cultural Centre (LJCC; formerly the Spiro Institute) was a charitable organisation based (from 2005) at Ivy House, the former home of prima ballerina Anna Pavlova, in North End Road, Golders Green, London. It provided an educa ...

in 2004. Kestelman also exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, with the London Group and with the New English Art Club. Kestelman married Dorothy Mary Creagh, a dress designer, in 1936 and the couple had one child, the actress Sara Kestelman.

Memberships & Awards

* 1951: Member, London Group * 1983: Abbey Major Painting Prize, * 1986: Elected Senior Member of the Royal Academy,

References

External links

*
Drawings and set designs in the Victoria & Albert Museum collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kestelman, Morris 1905 births 1998 deaths 20th-century English male artists 20th-century English painters Academics of the Central School of Art and Design Academics of Wimbledon College of Arts Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from London British Jews British war artists English male painters English scenic designers Jewish artists Royal Academicians World War II artists