Fine Rooms
A special display which celebrates the work of eight Royal Academicians who sadly passed away this year: Donald Hamilton Fraser, Craigie Aitchison, Michael Kidner, Flavia Irwin, Jim Cadbury-Brown, Frederick Gore, John Craxton and Barry Flanagan.
Craigie Aitchison RA
Craigie Aitchison RA, 'Crucifixion 1988/89', Oil Photo: John Bodkin/DawkinsColourBorn: 13 January 1926, Edinburgh
Died: 21 December 2009
Elected ARA: 11 May 1978
Elected RA: 8 December 1988
Category of Membership: Painter
While training to become a lawyer, Aitchison became a regular visitor to the Tate Gallery, where he would attempt to copy works of art. In 1952 he enrolled at the Slade School of Art, where he studied under William Coldstream and Robert Medley; among his fellow students were Michael Andrews, Paula Rego, Myles Murphy and Euan Uglow, all of whom became lifelong friends. Aitchison lived in London and Italy, and his appreciation of the clarity of Italian light is evident throughout his work, across the range of subject-matter that he explored over the decades: the Crucifixion, portraiture, birds, landscape and his beloved Bedlington terriers.
H.T. Cadbury-Brown RA
H.T. Cadbury-Brown RA, 'Origins of Land Pavilion for the 1951 Festival of Britain, South Bank, London, 1945', Pen and ink, and gouache Photo: John Bodkin/DawkinsColourBorn: 20 May 1913, Sarratt, Hertfordshire
Died: 9 July 2009
Elected ARA: 22 April 1971
Elected RA: 24 April 1975
Category of Membership: Architect
Once a pupil of Erno Goldfinger and influenced by the work of Le Corbusier, the architect H. T. (‘Jim’) Cadbury-Brown was a modernist. His long career included designs for the 1951 Festival of Britain, made with Sir Hugh Casson PRA. Cadbury-Brown played a significant role in the Academy, serving as Professor of Architecture for thirteen years. His beautiful and sensitive designs for the Academy’s Library and Print Room and for the Friends’ Room continue to be enjoyed by visitors.
John Craxton RA
John Craxton Ra, 'Landscape, Kaloudiana, c. 1984-85', Acrylic Tempera Photo: John Bodkin/DawkinsColour Born: 3 October 1922, London
Died: 17 November 2009
Elected RA: 25 May 1993
Category of Membership: Painter
While studying at Goldsmiths College in the 1940s, Craxton shared a studio with Lucian Freud that was provided by their patron and friend Peter Watson. Watson introduced him to other artists associated with Neo-Romanticism; like many of his generation, Craxton was influenced by the work of Samuel Palmer and Graham Sutherland. After the Second World War he travelled around the Mediterranean, finally settling on Crete in 1960, where he continued to develop his pastoral themes. A love of Greece and an interest in Byzantine art is evident in his work. His set designs were also celebrated, particularly his design for Sir Frederick Ashton’s choreography of Ravel’s ballet Daphnis and Chloe.
Barry Flanagan RA
Barry Flanagan RA, 'Unicorn and Oak Tree', Bronze Photo: John Bodkin/DawkinsColour Born: 11 January 1941, Prestatyn
Died: 31 August 2009
Elected ARA: 27 May 1987
Elected RA: 26 June 1991
Category of Membership: Sculptor
One of the most popular and distinctive artists of his generation, the sculptor and printmaker Barry Flanagan became well known for his bronze hares, arguably to the detriment of the reputation he had earned for his earlier, radical sculpture. While still a student at St Martin’s School of Art, he started using found materials such as hessian, rope and sand to make sculptural forms. In 1979 he became interested in the rich lore and mythology of the hare. ‘The idea of the hare as an alter ego evolved,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t inevitable when I started. But once you abstract from the human like that, it opens a window in the mind, it allows your imagination to roam.’ Flanagan represented Britain at the 1982 Venice Biennale.
Donald Hamilton Fraser RA
Donald Hamilton Fraser RA, 'Korazim II, 1963', Oil Photo: John Bodkin/Dawkins Colour Born: 30 July 1929, London
Died: 2 September 2009
Elected ARA: 24 April 1975
Elected RA: 20 May 1985
Category of Membership: Painter
Despite a long-held interest, Donald Hamilton Fraser did not pursue painting seriously until he had completed National Service in 1949, when he enrolled at St Martin’s School of Art. The postwar years were a particularly exciting period in the college’s history: Fraser studied alongside such artists as Frank Auerbach, Joe Tilson, Sheila Fell and Jack Smith. During a year’s study in Paris he became familiar with the art of Matisse, Braque and Nicholas de StaÎl, all of whom had a significant influence on his own work. Fraser was a fluent and articulate writer, drawing on his considerable knowledge of European art, music, literature and, above all, ballet. He was closely involved in the administration of the Royal Academy and served as a Trustee for many years.
Frederick Gore RA
Frederick Gore RA, 'Olive Trees, Les Baux de Provence', Oil Photo: John Bodkin/DawkinsColour Born: 8 November 1913, Richmond, Surrey
Died: 31 August 2009
Elected ARA: 23 April 1963
Elected RA: 15 June 1972
Category of Membership: Painter
Known for his richly coloured and exuberant paintings, Freddie Gore was also a successful teacher and writer on the arts, and a gifted administrator. Son of the celebrated painter Spencer Gore, who died a few months after Freddie’s birth, he was influenced by his father’s Post-Impressionist style. Gore studied Classics at Trinity College, Oxford, during which time he also began to paint at the Ruskin School of Art. He taught at St Martin’s School of Art from 1946, becoming Head of Painting in 1951, a post he held until his retirement in 1979. Gore played an important role in the modernisation of the Royal Academy, presiding over the expansion and revitalisation of the institution’s exhibition programme as Chairman of its Exhibitions Committee from 1976 to 1987.
Flavia Irwin RA
Flavia Irwin RA, 'Diffraction 5', Acrylic Photo: John Bodkin/DawkinsColourBorn: 15 December 1916, London
Died: 1 August 2009
Elected RA: 29 May 1996
Category of Membership: Painter
A deep interest in drawing underpinned Flavia Irwin’s work. She was a staunch defender of formal academic art training. As a student at Chelsea Polytechnic (later Chelsea College of Art) she was taught by Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland and Robert Medley, and it was here that she met her future husband Roger de Grey, who was later to become President of the Royal Academy and with whom Irwin shared a love of drawing. Irwin taught at the City and Guilds of London Art School for many years, eventually becoming Head of the Department of Decorative Arts. Her interest in the decorative arts remained an important influence on her painting.
Michael Kidner RA
Michael Kidner RA, 'No Thing Nothing 2009', Coloured Pencil Photo: John Bodkin/DawkinsColourBorn: 11 September 1917, Kettering
Died: 29 November 2009
Elected RA: 26 May 2004
Category of Membership: Painter
A pioneer in the Op Art movement, Michael Kidner read History and Anthropology at Cambridge University, before studying Landscape Architecture at Ohio State University. After five years in the Canadian Army he trained himself as an artist and moved to Paris, where he studied for six months at the Atelier Andre Lhote. Although he was influenced by Cezanne, Cubism, Nicolas de StaÎl, and later by American abstraction, it was Kidner’s interest in mathematics, science and chaos theory that eventually determined his distinctive geometric style.
