Francis Vane Phipson Rutter (17 February 1876 – 18 April 1937)
["Rutter, Frank V. P.", ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007. Retrieved fro]
ukwhoswho
8 August 2008. was a British art
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...
,
curator
A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
and activist.
In 1903, he became art critic for ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'', a position which he held for the rest of his life.
['']The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 19 April 1937, p. 16, issue 47662, col B, "Obituary: Mr. Frank Rutter". Retrieved fro
infotrac.galegroup.com
8 August 2008.[ He was an early champion in England of ]modern art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...
, founding the French Impressionist Fund in 1905 to buy work for the national collection,[ and in 1908 starting the ]Allied Artists Association
The Allied Artists Association (AAA) was an art exhibiting society based in London in the early 20th century.
History
The Allied Artists Association was founded by Frank Rutter, an art critic of ''The Sunday Times'' newspaper, in 1908.
Its pur ...
to show "progressive" art,[ as well as publishing its journal, ''Art News'', the "First Art Newspaper in the United Kingdom".][ In 1910, he began to actively support women's ]suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
, chairing meetings, and giving sanctuary to suffragettes released from prison under the Cat and Mouse Act
The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act 1913, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under H. H. Asquith's Liberal government in 1913.
The Cat and Mouse Act wa ...
—helping some to leave the country.[
From 1912 to 1917, he was the curator of Leeds City Art Gallery.][ In 1917, he edited the cultural journal, ''Art & Letters'', with ]Herbert Read
Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...
.[ In his writing after ]World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Rutter observed that advertising imagery was seen by far more people than work in art galleries; he noted a new realism after the period of "abstract experiment";[ and he praised the work of Dod Procter as a "complete presentation of twentieth century vision".][
]
Early life
Frank Rutter was born at 4 The Cedars, Putney
Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ...
, London, the youngest son of Henry Rutter (died 1896) and Emmeline Claridge Phipson, daughter of Samuel Ryland Phipson, a landowner and stock- and share-broker from a family of pin and needle manufacturers.[Owen, Felicity (article credit)]
"Rutter, Francis Vane Phipson"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'' (subscription required). Retrieved 11 August 2008. His grandfather, John, and his father were both prosperous solicitors with chambers in Clifford's Inn
Clifford's Inn is the name of both a former Inn of Chancery in London and a present mansion block on the same site. It is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage (which runs between Fleet Street and Chancery Lane) in the City of ...
, Holborn, and both had acted for John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...
, John assisting on Ruskin's marriage nullification with Euphemia (Effie) Gray; Henry severed the connection with Ruskin, after the latter rejected his counsel on a property transaction.[Yeates, John. ''N.W.1.: The Camden Town Artists—A Social History'', pp. 85–96. Heale Gallery, Somerset, 2007. ISBN
9780955817601. Available online a]
camdenschool.co.uk
From 1889, Frank Rutter was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, at that time in Aldersgate
Aldersgate is a Wards of the City of London, Ward of the City of London, England, named after one of the northern City gate, gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City.
The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersga ...
, where he specialised in Hebrew (under the influence of his father whose hobby was Biblical archaeology)[ and where pupils were expected to gain Oxbridge scholarships or exhibitions in classics: Rutter, aged seventeen tried but failed to gain a scholarship in history at Exeter College, Oxford, but was successful in the ]Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...
, examination for a scholarship in Hebrew,[ going to university in 1896 and gaining the Semitic Language ]Tripos
TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...
(degree) in 1899.[
Whilst still at school, Rutter, along with a fellow sixth form student, Edgar D., explored London nightlife, visiting ]music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
s, eating out in Gatti's Restaurant and joining nightclubs, which were then an adjunct to the more formal London's gentleman's club, providing a dining room, ballroom, writing room, and female membership, which was not taken up by respectable women in society, although the male membership was mostly respectable; Rutter's father happily financed these activities.[
When at Cambridge, Rutter gained popularity through his ]banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin.
...
-playing,[ and, thanks to the good train service available, extended his social pursuits to Paris, first visiting in 1898, speaking French fluently and often staying for a month at a time in the city,][ where he made friends in the ]Latin Quarter
The Latin Quarter of Paris (, ) is an urban university campus in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne.
Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros, t ...
.[
After university, spent a few months as an itinerant tutor, then began as a freelance writer in London with a newly acquired typewriter.][ One of his successful interviews was with ]Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
on the subject of housing problems—the text of which was entirely provided by Shaw himself; ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' printed an interview with the American scout, Major Burnham, on his return from South Africa.[
He obtained posts as assistant editor of ''To-day'' and the ''Sunday Special'', both part of the same publishing group. In February 1901, he became sub-editor of the '']Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'', and began to write art criticism, mostly for ''The Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' and ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
''.[ In 1902, he went back to ''To-day'' as editor for two years, and for a short time brought it back into profit, until it succumbed to cheaper competition and was merged with ''London Opinion''.][ In 1903, Leonard Rees appointed him art critic of ''The Sunday Times'', a post he held for the rest of his life, 34 years in all.][ Rutter honed his skills whilst doing the job, and also made the acquaintance of leading artists in Paris through frequenting the cafés.][
]
The French Impressionist Fund
In 1903 the creation of the National Art Collections Fund
Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charitable organization, charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for man ...
initiated many years of frustration for Rutter, who believed it would siphon off available money from his own aims.[Lago, Mary. ''Christiana Herringham and the Edwardian Art Scene'', University of Missouri Press, 1996. , ] He was a strong supporter of Impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
and Expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
Modernism
Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
.[Taylor, Brandon. ''Art for the Nation: Exhibitions and the London Public, 1747–2001'', p. 134, Manchester University Press, 1999.
, ][Flint, Kate. ''Impressionists in England: The Critical Reception'', p. 33, Routledge., .] He considered "perfectly dreadful"[Rutter, Frank. ''Art in My Time'', p.114–119, Rich & Cowan, London, 1933.] the lack of such work in the national collections, pointing out in 1905 that the only example of the modern French school was Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...
' ''The Ballet from Robert the Devil'' (1876) in the Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
.[
Raging with indignation, he wrote articles on this omission, gave lectures,][ and, galvanised by the opening of the Impressionist exhibition staged by ]Durand-Ruel
Paul Durand-Ruel (; 31 October 1831 – 5 February 1922) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionism, Impressionists and the Barbizon school, Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, ...
at the Grafton Galleries
The Grafton Galleries, often referred to as the Grafton Gallery, was an art gallery in Mayfair, London. The French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel showed the first major exhibition in Britain of Impressionist paintings there in 1905. Roger Fry's t ...
in London in 1905,[ he persuaded the editor and proprietors of ''The Sunday Times'' to allow space for a public subscription, the French Impressionist Fund.][ Sargent and Wertheimer each sent ten guineas; Blanche Marchesi staged a fund-raising concert; Rutter, although "extremely nervous" gave his first lecture at the Grafton Galleries.][ Sir Claude Phillips and D.S. MacColl joined him on the executive committee of the fund, and contributions slowly mounted up to £160, sufficient at that time to buy a top class Impressionist painting.][
Rutter's choice was ]Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...
's ''Vétheuil: Sunshine and Snow'' (since retitled ''Lavacourt under Snow''), which MacColl was in favour of and Durand-Ruel had promised to sell for the amount collected, but Phillips pointed out that National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
did not accept work by living artists; discreet enquiries revealed that the gallery trustees also found too "advanced" Manet, Sisley and Pissarro
Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( ; ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...
: "They were certainly dead—but they had not been dead long enough for England", wrote Rutter, adding "I nearly wept with disappointment."[
]
MacColl ascertained that the trustees would accept Eugène Boudin
Eugène Louis Boudin (; 12 July 1824 – 8 August 1898) was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors. Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores. His pastels, ...
, who Rutter protested was not an Impressionist but whom he accepted out of necessity, mollified by MacColl's argument that "he's the beginning of Impressionism and we can make a start with him."[ To avoid any accusations of ]logrolling
Logrolling is the trading of favors, or '' quid pro quo'', such as vote trading by legislative members to obtain passage of actions of interest to each legislative member. In organizational analysis, it refers to a practice in which differen ...
Durand-Ruel's exhibition, they agreed that Rutter would travel to Van der Veldt, a private collector in Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
, to choose a Boudin painting. He brought back as personal luggage Boudin's 1888 painting, ''Entre les jetées, Trouville'' (''The Entrance to Trouville Harbour''),[ and wrote to MacColl on 11 October 1905 to inform him of the work he had selected, which Van der Veldt had accepted £120 for provided it would go to a national collection and which was waiting at the Goupil Gallery for MacColl to see.
It was shown privately at the Goupil Gallery for the subscribers, and presented in January 1906 to the National Gallery through the ]National Art Collections Fund
Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charitable organization, charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for man ...
, which Rutter said was keen to act as a channel for the prestigious presentation, but had not given "the slightest help or encouragement when I needed it most."[ It made Rutter "boil with rage" to contrast this with the Fund's spending of thousands of pounds on older paintings; he said, "the Fund's inertia and snobbish ineptitude are entirely characteristic of the art-officialdom in England."][
]
Allied Artists' Association
While in Paris in 1907,[ Rutter had the idea for gaining greater
exposure for progressive artists with the ]Allied Artists Association
The Allied Artists Association (AAA) was an art exhibiting society based in London in the early 20th century.
History
The Allied Artists Association was founded by Frank Rutter, an art critic of ''The Sunday Times'' newspaper, in 1908.
Its pur ...
(AAA), founded the following year and based on the model of the French Salon des Indépendants
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...
with the principle of non-juried shows of international artists, who could subscribe and choose which works they wished to enter (initially five pieces, later three).["Allied Artists' Association (A.A.A.)", ]Grove Art Online
''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
, retrieved fro
Oxford Art Online
(subscription site), 8 August 2008.[Sickert, Richard Walter; Robins, Anna Gruetzner. ''Walter Sickert: The Complete Writings on Art'', p. xxxi, Oxford University Press, 2003. , . Retrieved fro]
Google Books
Rutter was a supporter of the Fitzroy Street Group, which had been founded in 1907, and succeeded in gaining the support of key members, Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...
, Spencer Gore
Spencer may refer to:
People
*Spencer (surname)
**Spencer family, British aristocratic family
** List of people with surname Spencer
* Spencer (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
Australia
* Spencer, New ...
and Harold Gilman
Harold John Wilde Gilman (11 February 187612 February 1919) was a British painter of Interior portrait, interiors, portraits and landscapes, and a founder-member of the Camden Town Group.
Early life and studies
Harold John Wilde Gilman was th ...
, for the AAA. Rutter was a natural organiser and, with the help of Lucien Pissarro
Lucien Pissarro (20 February 1863 – 10 July 1944) was a French landscape painter, printmaker, wood engraver, designer, and printer of fine books. His landscape paintings employ techniques of Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism, but he also ...
attracted 80 members.[ Rutter was keen to mount a foreign section in the first show, and liaised over this with Jan de Holewinski (1871–1927), who was in London to arrange a Russian art and craft show.][ The first AAA show in July 1908 was in the ]Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
and had over 3,000 works on display.[
]
In 1909, at the second show in the Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, over 1,000 works were shown, mainly by British artists, but also the first works (two paintings and twelve woodcuts) exhibited in London by Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...
.[Glew, Adrian]
"Every work of art is the child of its time"
, '' Tate Etc.'', issue 7, Summer 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2008. Rutter's friends in Leeds, Michael Sadler and his son, Michael Sadleir
Michael Sadleir (25 December 1888 – 13 December 1957), born Michael Thomas Harvey Sadler, was a British publisher, novelist, book collector, and Bibliography, bibliographer.
Biography
Michael Sadleir was born in Oxford, Oxford, England, the ...
(who had modified the spelling of his surname) developed a relationship with Kandinsky, who assigned English translation rights for '' Concerning the Spiritual in Art'' to Sadleir.[
Rutter was secretary of the AAA and organised it for four years. It was artistically accomplished, but not so financially.][ Through the AAA, Rutter helped many artists, such as ]Charles Ginner
Charles Isaac Ginner (4 March 1878 – 6 January 1952) was a British painter of landscape and urban subjects. Born in the south of France at Cannes, of British parents, in 1910 he settled in London, where he was an associate of Spencer Gore ...
, who, although not achieving outstanding success, was able to gain an audience and develop a loyal following for his work. The AAA exhibited also for the first time in London Constantin Brâncuși
Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernism ...
, Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American and 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 1910.
Early in his ...
, Robert Bevan and Walter Bayes
Walter John Bayes (31 May 1869 – 21 January 1956) was an English painter and illustrator who was a founder member of both the Camden Town Group and the London Group and also a renowned art teacher and critic.
Biography Early life
Bayes was bo ...
.[
From October 1909 to 1912,][ Rutter also published and edited the weekly, cheaply printed ''Art News'' (sold for 2d a week), the journal of the AAA, like which it had an open-door policy on contributors, featuring the lectures given to the ]Royal Academy Schools
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
by Sir William Blake Richmond, as well as Sickert's attack on the Royal Academy, "Straws from Cumberland Market",[ his column on topical issues being the main attraction. It was promoted as the "First Art Newspaper in the United Kingdom".][
]
Suffragettes, Post-Impressionism, and Leeds
On 30 August 1909 Rutter married Thirz Sarah (Trixie, born 1887/8), whose father, James Henry Tiernan, was a member of the New Zealand Police.[ With the encouragement of ]George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
, Rutter became a member of the Fabian Society
The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...
.[
On 12 January 1910, at the Eustace Miles Restaurant, Rutter chaired the meeting of a group which developed into the Men’s Political Union for Women’s Enfranchisement,][Crawford, Elizabeth. ''The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide, 1866–1928'', p. 612, Routledge, 2001. , ] of which he was the honorary treasurer.[Bryson, Norman; Holly, Ann Michael; Moxey, Keith P. F. ''Visual Culture: Images and Interpretations'', p. 42. Wesleyan University Press, 1994. , . Retrieved fro]
Google books
Four months later he was the speaker representing the Press at the John Stuart Mill Celebrations, which were staged by the Women's Freedom League.[
In 1910, ]Roger Fry
Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and art critic, critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent ...
occupied the limelight of avant-garde
In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
campaigning for art, when he outraged the public with an exhibition ''Manet and the post-impressionists'' at the Grafton Galleries, showcasing work by Van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...
, Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...
and Cézanne.[ Rutter had put the term ''Post-Impressionist'' in print in ''Art News'' of 15 October 1910, three weeks before Fry's show, during a review of the Salon d'Automne, where he described ]Othon Friesz
Achille-Émile Othon Friesz (6 February 1879 – 10 January 1949), who later called himself Othon Friesz, a native of Le Havre, was a French artist of the Fauvist movement.
Biography
Othon Friesz was born in Le Havre, the son of a long line of ...
as a "post-impressionist leader"; there was also an advert in the journal for the show ''The Post-Impressionists of France''.[Bullen, J. B. ''Post-impressionists in England'', p.37. Routledge, 1988. , ]
Rutter quickly supported Fry's venture with a small book ''Revolution in Art'' (enlarged in 1926 as ''Evolution in Modern Art''), its title derived from Gauguin's statement that "in art there are only revolutionists or plagiarists."[ Rutter wrote in the dedication: "To Rebels of either sex all the world over who in any way are fighting for freedom of any kind I dedicate this study of their painter-comrades."][
On 25 March 1911, Rutter chaired a meeting of the Men's Political Union at ]Caxton Hall
Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily noted for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and a ...
, Westminster
Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
, and reported that a recent court case at Leeds, in which Alfred Hawkings had been awarded £100 damages for being ejected from a meeting, was "a distinct victory for the suffragist cause." Rutter roused cheers from his listeners upon exhorting them that they needed to prove to their opponents that "the reign of bullying, tyranny, and savagery must come to an end."
Rutter's ''Art News'' reported on the AAA show of July 1911 and also printed the Futurist Painters Manifesto (first printed as the Technical Manifesto of Futurist Painting in February 1909 in ''Le Figaro
() is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
''). In April 1912, because of financial difficulties,[ Rutter resigned as secretary of the AAA, which had been strongly supported by ]Lucien Pissarro
Lucien Pissarro (20 February 1863 – 10 July 1944) was a French landscape painter, printmaker, wood engraver, designer, and printer of fine books. His landscape paintings employ techniques of Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism, but he also ...
, Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...
and others, but which he felt was nevertheless dwindling away due to what he condemned as "the incurable snobbishness of the English artist".[ That year he relocated from London to ]Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
for the next five years, having been appointed curator of the Leeds City Art Gallery at a salary of £300 per annum.[ He continued to advocate new ventures in art through his column "Round the galleries" in ''The Sunday Times''.][
]
He used his house at 7 Westfield Terrace, Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre.
It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respe ...
, Leeds, to provide accommodation for suffragette
A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
s released from prison under the Cat and Mouse Act
The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act 1913, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under H. H. Asquith's Liberal government in 1913.
The Cat and Mouse Act wa ...
and recovering from hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
.[ In 1913, he provided a character reference so that a job could be obtained in Europe by a "mouse", Elsie Duval; another, ]Lilian Lenton
Lilian Ida Lenton (5 January 1891 – 28 October 1972) was an English dancer and militant suffragette, and later a winner of a French Red Cross medal for her service as an orderly in World War I. She committed crimes, including arson, for the s ...
, a suffragette arsonist also escaped via his home to France in June that year with the aid of his wife.[ Elizabeth Crawford, author of ''The Women's Suffrage Movement'', suggests that other similar events must have taken place, but were kept quiet at the time out of necessity and, later, due to Rutter's taciturnity.][ He wrote in an epilogue to his autobiography:
:the only furiously active part of my life was the few years during which I was connected with the militant suffrage movement and of this I have said nothing, because if I once began I should want to fill a volume with my experiences during this exciting time. It is all over now, the battle has been won, and this is not the place in which to recount the skirmishes in which I had the honour to take part."][
He did not agree with the later, more extreme tactics of the WSPU leaders, who nevertheless still commanded his respect and admiration.][ He encouraged the artist, Emily Susan Ford (1850–1930), Vice-chairman of the Artists' Suffrage League and exhibited her work in the Leeds gallery.
Rutter initially had plans to create a modern art collection at the Leeds gallery, but had been frustrated in this aim by "boorish" local councillors; his association with the escape of Lilian Lenton had further damaged his standing.][ Before he left the city, he co-founded the Leeds Art Collections Fund with Michael Sadler, who was the vice-chancellor of ]Leeds University
The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...
and a collector of work by Kandinsky and Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...
.[ The Fund helped with acquisitions and shows, among them the first major ]John Constable
John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...
show and another in June 1913 of Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...
held at the Leeds Arts Club, which had been started by Holbrook Jackson and A. R. Orage, editor of ''The New Age
''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938),credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It published work by many of the chief politi ...
'', and was galvanised by the new activity.[ The discussions there about contemporary art had a significant influence on the thinking of ]Herbert Read
Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...
(1893–1968),[ who was introduced to modern art by Rutter.][ Rutter's plan for a literary version of the AAA had a strong appeal for Read.][
]
Futurism
In October 1913, Rutter was commissioned by the Doré Gallery at 35 Bond Street
Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...
in the West End to curate the ''Post-Impressionist and Futurist Exhibition'', which displayed the story of those movements from Camille Pissarro
Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( ; ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). ...
to Vorticist
Vorticism was a London-based Modernism, modernist art movement formed in 1914 by the writer and artist Wyndham Lewis. The movement was partially inspired by Cubism and was introduced to the public by means of the publication of the Vorticist mani ...
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 (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists.
His ...
(who was no longer on good terms with Fry).[ Rutter's choice of Pissarro as a starting point was in contradistinction to the stance of Fry and the ]Bloomsbury Group
The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the early 20th century. Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, a ...
, who saw Cézanne as the beginning of modern art.[Yeates, p.125]
Rutter made a link between the British artists he supported and the French intimiste painters, as well as featuring artworks by Severini and Boccioni
Umberto Boccioni (; ; 19 October 1882 – 17 August 1916) was an influential Italian painter and sculptor. He helped shape the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement as one of its principal figures. Despite his short life, his approach ...
of the Italian Futurism
Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
movement—which had been shown in London first by the Sackville Gallery—and by Brâncuși, Epstein, Delaunay and Signac.[ Rutter's consummate curation and catalogue foreword were a testament to his deep knowledge of the subject.][ He praised Nevinson's ''The Departure of the Train De Luxe'' as "the first English ]Futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
picture".
Fry told Rutter that Fredrick Etchells from his Omega Workshops had nothing ready to show, and failed to forward a letter from Rutter to 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 (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists.
His ...
, who nevertheless showed the large ''Kermesse'', which, together with Delaunay's similarly sized ''Cardiff Football Team'', made a centerpiece for the show.
''The Cabyard, Night'', the only painting by Robert Bevan acquired for a public collection during the artist's lifetime, was bought by the Contemporary Art Society on Rutter's recommendation that they should obtain it for the nation before a more discerning collector bought it.
''Art & Letters''
Rutter, along with Harold Gilman
Harold John Wilde Gilman (11 February 187612 February 1919) was a British painter of Interior portrait, interiors, portraits and landscapes, and a founder-member of the Camden Town Group.
Early life and studies
Harold John Wilde Gilman was th ...
and Charles Ginner
Charles Isaac Ginner (4 March 1878 – 6 January 1952) was a British painter of landscape and urban subjects. Born in the south of France at Cannes, of British parents, in 1910 he settled in London, where he was an associate of Spencer Gore ...
had planned the launch of a journal, ''Art & Letters'', for Spring 1914, but this was delayed by the outbreak of the war.[ It began publication in July 1917 as an illustrated quarterly,][''Art and Letters'', Vol. 1, No. 1, July 1917, "Contents".] co-edited by Rutter and Herbert Read
Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...
, whose aesthetic and critical ideas dominated.[Aldington, Richard; H.D. (Doolittle, Hilda); Zilboorg, Caroline. ''Richard Aldington & H.D.: Their Lives in Letters'', p. 157, Manchester University Press, 2003. , .] It was a modernist magazine of visual and literary art, which fused the artistic and the political.[Saler, Michael T. ''The Avant-Garde in Interwar England: Medieval Modernism and the London Underground'', p. 52, Oxford University Press US, 1999. , .]
The contents page of the first issue carried a policy of remuneration for contributors, based on "co-operative lines" that after the cost of production and 5% on capital, half of the profits would go to editorial and publishing staff and the other half would be split equally between contributors.[ Underneath an 1894 woodcut by ]Lucien Pissarro
Lucien Pissarro (20 February 1863 – 10 July 1944) was a French landscape painter, printmaker, wood engraver, designer, and printer of fine books. His landscape paintings employ techniques of Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism, but he also ...
, page one carried an editorial explaining the delayed publication due to the outbreak of war and justifying the use of scarce materials, compared to other periodicals "which give vulgar and illiterate expression to the most vile and debasing sentiments."[''Arts and Letters'', Vol. 1, No. 1, July 1917, p. 1.] It was also stated that some of the contributors were serving at the front and that educated men in the army were keen to see such a publication: "Engaged, as their duty bids, on harrowing work of destruction, they exhort their elders at home never to lose sight of the supreme importance of creative art."[
Sickert's "Thérèse Lassore" was printed in 1918, after which the journal ceased publication for a year. It resumed again with ]Osbert Sitwell
Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet CH CBE (6 December 1892 – 4 May 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell. Like them, he devoted his life to art and l ...
as Rutter's co-editor—and T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...
's theories predominating editorially—but folded in 1920.[
From 1915 to 1919, Rutter returned to the Allied Artists' Association in the guiding role of chairman.][ In 1917, he resigned his job at the Leeds City Art Gallery,][ and he worked for the Admiralty as an administrative officer (AAO) until 1919.][
]
1920s and 1930s
After leaving the Admiralty, Rutter opened the Adelphi Gallery to exhibit small pieces by Ginner, Edward Wadsworth
Edward Alexander Wadsworth (19 October 1889 – 21 June 1949) was an English artist initially associated with the Vorticism movement. In the First World War he was part of a team involved in the transfer of dazzle camouflage designs to ships fo ...
and David Bomberg
David Garshen Bomberg (5 December 1890 – 19 August 1957) was a British painter, and one of the Whitechapel Boys.
Bomberg was one of the most audacious of the exceptional generation of artists who studied at the Slade School of Art under Hen ...
.[ Finding this a restriction on his "liberty and leisure" he returned to writing and completed in the region of 20 books, as well as a considerable number of contributions to '']The Burlington Magazine
''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation s ...
'', ''Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
'', '' Studio Magazine'', ''The Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' and ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
''.[
In his writings he emphasised both the spiritual and social role of art.][ He also commented on the visual power to be found in the ]London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The Undergro ...
: "The whole nation is much less affected by what pictures are shown in the Royal Academy than by what posters are put up on the hoardings. A few thousand see the first, but the second are seen by millions. The art galleries of the People are not in Bond Street but are to be found in every railway station."
On 28 March 1920 in ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'', Rutter reviewed the short-lived Group X
Group X was a short-lived British artistic movement in the years after the First World War, which held an exhibition in 1920 and planned others that never happened.
In 1920, some former members of the pre-War Vorticist movement abruptly left ...
(a reforming of the Vorticists), "the real tendency of the exhibition is towards a new sort of realism, evolved by artists who have passed through a phase of abstract experiment.".["Group X", ]Grove Art Online
''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
, retrieved fro
Oxford Art Online
(subscription site), 8 August 2008.
He divorced his wife around this time, and on 29 March 1920 married Ethel Dorothy (born 1894/5), the second daughter of William Robert Bunce, a coal merchant
A coal merchant is the term used in the UK and other countries for a trader who sells coal and often delivers it to households. Coal merchants were once a major class of local business, but have declined in importance in many parts of the developed ...
.[
In 1927, he said of ]Newlyn
Newlyn () is a seaside town and fishing port in south-west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' It is the largest fishing port in England.
Newlyn lies on the shore of Mount's Bay and for ...
artist Dod Procter's painting, ''Morning'', exhibited in the Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
that it was "a new vision of the human figure which amounts to the invention of a twentieth century style in portraiture" and "She has achieved apparently with consummate ease that complete presentation of twentieth century vision in terms of plastic design after which Derain and other much praised French painters have been groping for years past."[Lang, Elsie M. ''British Women in the Twentieth Century'', Kessinger Publishing, 2003. , ]
1928–1931, Rutter was European Editor of ''International Studio'', New York.[ He was also the London Correspondent for the Association Française d'Expansion et d'Echanges Artistiques.][ In 1932, he praised advances in the ]Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
's attitude towards art since its foundation (although others, notably Douglas Cooper, considered it "hopelessly insular").
He suffered from a bronchial
A bronchus ( ; : bronchi, ) is a passage or airway in the lower respiratory tract that conducts Atmosphere of Earth, air into the lungs. The first or primary bronchi to branch from the trachea at the Carina of trachea, carina are the right main b ...
complaint for a number of years, as a result of which he periodically sojourned on the South Coast, visiting London exhibitions when he felt in good enough health to do so.[ In April 1937, he had an attack of ]bronchitis
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
and died, aged 61, a fortnight later on 18 April in his home at 5 Litchfield Way, Golders Green
Golders Green is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, northwest of Charing Cross. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. It ...
, London;[ the funeral service was at 12.30 p.m. on 21 April at Golders Green Crematorium.]['']The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 20 April 1937, p. 1, Issue 47663, col B, "Deaths". Retrieved fro
infotrac.galegroup.com
10 October 2008. He wrote his ''Sunday Times'' article up to a week before his death.[ He left his estate, which included around 80 paintings by the likes of Gilman, Ginner, Gore and Lucien Pissarro, to his wife.][ He had no children.][
]
Appearance and character
Rutter was tall with an incisive profile, an enthusiastic character and a strong manner of delivery. He was a supportive friend and good company who injected conversations with humour, for which he adopted an "uncular" manner.[ He was modest and generous, not motivated by personal ambition, but advancing the interests of art and artists over any profit for himself.][ His approach was not that of an intellectual applying logic impersonally, but through aesthetic intuition and an empathy for the creative process.][ His knowledge of art history sufficed for his needs, and he could be critical, but his main feature was the display of personal judgement and a preference to address the work he could enjoy.][
]
Books
[
* ''’Varsity Types'', 1902
* ''The Path to Paris'', 1908
* '']Rossetti Rossetti may refer to:
* Biagio Rossetti (c. 1447–1516), architect and urbanist from Ferrara, the first to use modern methods
* Carlo Rossetti (1614–1681), Italian cardinal, nobleman
* Cezaro Rossetti (1901–1950), Scottish Esperanto writer
...
, Painter and Man of Letters'', 1909
* '' Whistler, a Biography and an Estimate'', 1910
* ''Revolution in Art'', 1910
* '' The Wallace Collection'', 1913
* ''Some Contemporary Artists'', 1922
* ''The Poetry of Architecture'', 1923
* '' Richard Wilson and Farington
Farington is a village and civil parish in the South Ribble local government district of Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 6,674.
History
The parish was part of Preston Rural District throughout ...
'', 1923
* ''The Old Masters'', 1925
* ''Evolution in Modern Art'', 1926
* '' Theodore Roussel'', 1927
* ''Since I was Twenty-Five'', 1928
* ''El Greco
Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...
'', 1930
* ''Art in My Time'', 1933
* ''Modern Masterpieces'', 1936
See also
* Leeds Arts Club
Notes and references
External links
Letters at the University of Glasgow relating to Frank Rutter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutter, Frank
English art critics
British curators
People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
The Sunday Times people
1876 births
1937 deaths
People from Putney