Theodore Garman (1 July 1924 – 22 January 1954), known as Theo, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

painter of the mid-20th century.

Early life

Garman was born on 1 July 1924,Birth certificate, in the Epstein Archives at The New Art Gallery Walsall the son of

Kathleen Garman Kathleen Esther Garman, Lady Epstein (15 May 1901 – August 1979) was the third of the seven Garman sisters, who were high-profile members of artistic circles in mid-20th century London, renowned for their beauty and scandalous behaviour. She ...

(then a "student of music") and

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produc ...

.The Rare and the Beautiful: The Lives of the Garmans by Cressida Connolly, Fourth Estate Kathleen was Epstein's mistress and later, after his first wife had died, his second wife. Epstein lived apart from Kathleen, Theodore and his two younger sisters, but provided for them, although he was not named on Theo's birth certificate and never publicly acknowledged Theo as his son. At the age of six, Theo's portrait was painted by Epstein. Deep linking not possible; see accession number 1973.053.GR It is now part of the

Garman Ryan Collection The Garman Ryan Collection is a permanent collection of art works housed at The New Art Gallery Walsall and comprises 365 works of art, including prints, sketches, sculptures, drawings and paintings collected by Kathleen Garman (later wife of the ...

The New Art Gallery Walsall The New Art Gallery Walsall is a modern and contemporary art gallery sited in the centre of the West Midlands town of Walsall, England. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 million from the UK National Lottery an ...

, along with three portraits of him in adulthood. Deep linking not possible; see accession numbers 2009.039.GRE, 2009.040.GRE, & 2009.041.GRE Another portrait, also in the Garman Ryan Collection, was painted by Fritz Mühsan. Garman was a gifted child and won school prizes for literature and history. A

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

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 ...

, he worked on a farm at

South Harting South Harting is a village within Harting civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing D ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

near his grandmother's house. A friend from childhood, Kathleen Walne, said, "He was an eccentric, but a lovely one. He was a favourite in our household".

Career

He developed as a talented painter. He was diagnosed with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

. (It was said on his death that he had "destroyed most of his canvasses in fits of depression".) In January 1950 he had an exhibition at the Redfern Gallery in London and in a foreword to the catalogue the artist and critic, Matthew Smith, wrote, "About the painting of Theodore Garman I can only say I look at them with wonder, admiration and even astonishment".

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''BLAST,'' the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His novels include ''Tarr'' ( ...

, in a review of the exhibition for '' The Listener'', called him "an important newcomer". In March 1952 Theodore had a second exhibition at the Redfern Gallery. On 22 January 1954, after an incident at the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

in which he was accused of stealing a figurine to use in a still life, his mother tried to protect him by having him admitted to hospital. A struggle occurred in the ambulance and he had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

and died before his thirtieth birthday. He was buried at St Mary and St Gabriel church,

, Sussex, which he had depicted in several paintings.

Works

One of the most popular paintings at

, is his ''Summer Garden, South Harting'' (1944, oil on canvas, 66×76 cm). This shows the back garden of his grandmother's house. Visitors voted it their favourite painting in the collection. It is one of a collection of paintings by Theodore in the Garman Ryan Collection which his mother, who grew up in nearby

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

, donated to Walsall. Other paintings by him in the collection include an early work, ''Stubbers Green Pool, Shelfield '' (c.1939, pastel; see Stubbers Green Bog) which shows a scene from Walsall which he visited with his mother to see her former nanny. ''Picture window in June'' (1951, oil on canvas 183x122 cm.) and ''The Wooden Monk'' (c. 1950s, oil on canvas, 127×102 cm.) are big pictures which bring together striking juxtapositions of mediaeval works of art and natural growth of flowers and leaves. Portraits of people from his life appear in the collection such as '' Roland Joffe'' (c.1950, pastel, 62×47 cm; see

Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (born 17 November 1945) is a British director and producer of film and television, known for the Academy Award-winning films ''The Killing Fields'' and '' The Mission''. He began his career in television, his early credits inclu ...

).A Shared Vision, Sheila McGregor, Merrell Holberton London 1999 His oil painting ''Autumn Chrysanthemums'' is at New College, University of Oxford.

Legacy

A retrospective exhibition, ''Father and Son: Jacob Epstein (1880-1959) & Theodore Garman (1924-1954)'' was held at the Fine Art Society, London in October 1989.Catalogue, in The New Art Gallery Walsall archives, ref BL/6/2/11 His photographic portrait, by Ida Kar, is in the National Portrait Gallery.

References

External links

Biography and images on the Garman Ryan Collection website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garman, Theodore 1924 births 1954 deaths 20th-century English painters English male painters English conscientious objectors English people of American-Jewish descent English people of Polish-Jewish descent People with schizophrenia Jacob Epstein Outsider artists Theodore Garman People from South Harting