Vita V. Gollancz (28 January 1926 – 8 October 2009) was a British

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

and

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

Life and work

Born in 1926, Vita Gollancz was the fourth daughter of noted publisher

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Christ ...

, and his wife Ruth (née Lowy), an artist who had studied at the

Slade School of 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 ...

under

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 ...

. Painting and drawing featured prominently in Vita's early life, not only from the influence of her mother, but from the many established art luminaries that visited their home. Vita read Modern History at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

, becoming the Sparke History Scholar and also the Chairman of the

Cambridge University Labour Club The Cambridge University Labour Club (CULC), formerly known as Cambridge Universities Labour Club, is a student political society, first founded as the Cambridge University Fabian Society in 1905 by Nick Davis, to provide a voice for British La ...

. After graduating she worked from 1952 to 1962 as manager of Sir

Hugh Casson Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect. He was also active as an interior designer, as an artist, and as a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for t ...

's architectural practice, and subsequently as Assistant and draughtswoman for

Sir Basil Spence Sir Basil Urwin Spence, (13 August 1907 – 19 November 1976) was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Moderni ...

from 1964 to 1971. She then returned to painting in her thirties, first studying at

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 ...

and at

Byam Shaw John Byam Liston Shaw (13 November 1872 – 26 January 1919), commonly known as Byam Shaw, was a British painter, illustrator, designer and teacher. He is not to be confused with his sons, Glen Byam Shaw, actor and theatre director, and James B ...

and the City and Guilds Schools of Art. She studied etching with

Henry Williamson Henry William Williamson (1 December 1895 – 13 August 1977) was an English writer who wrote novels concerned with wildlife, English social history and ruralism. He was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 for his book ''Tarka ...

. Among the many exhibitions which have included her work have been the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

, the

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

and 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 ...

Summer Exhibitions. A solo exhibition at the Annexe Gallery was followed by regular studio shows.Vita Gollancz 80th Birthday Exhibition Catalogue (Piers Feetham Gallery, 2006) In the late 1960s Vita regularly went with a group of artists led by Peter Garrard to paint in the Midi, near Uzes. In the 1980s she travelled around the Mediterranean, painting Crete and the Greek Islands - her works from this period are almost abstract. John Kenworthy-Browne commented that ''"her landscape paintings bring to mind an elusive concept of

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

's, the Chiaroscuro of nature... that power which creates space."'' In 1980, Vita Gollancz was elected to Associate Member status of the

. Vita's sister, Livia Ruth Gollancz, is a noted musician who later became controlling director of Victor Gollancz Ltd, on the death of their father. Both sisters contributed to their father's 1968 autobiography, ''Reminiscences of Affection''; Vita provided illustrations, while Livia penned the foreword.Gollancz, V. ''Reminiscences Of Affection'' (Gollancz, 1968)

Exhibitions

Works exhibited at the Royal Academy, London. *1968 – Back Gardens *1969 – Landscape in August: Gard. *1978 – Surviving Elms, Gloucestershire *1980 – Black Hill from Clunbury *1987 – Fields near Wyck, Hampshire Various group shows: *1967 – New English Art Club *1968 – New English Art Club *1969 – New English Art Club *1970 – New English Art Club *1970 – The Kensington and Chelsea Artists *1975 – The Kensington and Chelsea Artists *1976 – New English Art Club *1976 – The Kensington and Chelsea Artists *1976 – ''Artistes de Grande Bretagne'', Bilan de l'Art Contemporain, Paris *1977 – New English Art Club *1978 – New English Art Club *1979 – New English Art Club *1980 – New English Art Club *1979 – ''Artistes de Grande Bretagne'', Paris *1980 – ''20th Century Oils'', Clarges Gallery, London *1980 – Southover Gallery, Lewes Solo shows: *1981 – The Annexe Gallery, Wimbledon, London *1983 – Haldane Road Studio, London *1985 – Haldane Road Studio, London *2006 – ''Vita Gollancz: 80th Birthday Exhibition'', Piers Feetham Gallery, London.

References

Sources

*''Royal Academy Exhibitors 1905-1970'', Vol III (EP Publishing LTD, 1979) *''Royal Academy Exhibitors 1971-1989'', (Hilmarton Manor Press, 1989) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gollancz, Vita 1926 births 2009 deaths 20th-century British painters 21st-century British painters Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge British Jews British women painters British portrait painters Landscape artists 20th-century British women artists 21st-century British women artists