Eric Newton (art Critic)
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Eric Newton (28 April 1893 – 10 March 1965) was an English artist, writer, broadcaster and art critic. He produced several books in addition to his newspaper and radio work and created mosaics for Ludwig Oppenheimer Ltd, mostly on a religious theme. His radio broadcasts made him well known to the British public in the 1930s.


Career

After gaining a BA from
Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
in 1913, he worked as a designer at Ludwig Oppenheimer Ltd, the
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
firm founded by his grandfather and based in Old Trafford, Manchester. His work, and that of the Oppenheimer firm is still to be seen in several churches in Britain and Ireland. He took part in the Paris exhibition in 1925. He is best known as an art critic and writer. He was appointed art critic of the
Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
in 1930, although he had provided copy for that paper for some years prior to this. He was art critic for
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 ...
for three years from 1947, and wrote frequently for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' , ''Time and Tide'' magazine and
ArtReview ''ArtReview'' is an international contemporary art magazine based in London, founded in 1948. Its sister publication, ''ArtReview Asia'', was established in 2013. History Launched as a fortnightly broadsheet in February 1949 by a retired country ...
Newton delivered radio lectures on art, notably the 1935
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
12 part series "The Artist and his Public" subsequently turned into the first of several books. and took part in the radio arts series ''The Critics''. In this programme, his Times Obituary states "his lucidity and critical sense were trenchantly displayed". The Oxford Dictionary of Art describes him as "a clear and polished writer and also an articulate lecturer and radio broadcaster". These broadcasts made his name well known and local newspaper archives reveal that Newton was clearly in demand, delivering public lectures across the country in the late 1930s and 1940s. Newton undertook lecture tours to North America in 1937, 1953 and 1956, the 1937 tour of Canada was sponsored by the
National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...
. His diary of this tour was subsequently published (see below). The 1956 tour included the
Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...
where he lectured on modern art. A photograph exists in the university archives. Newton was lecturer in art history at the Central School of Art and crafts from 1963. His MA, completed in 1951 at Manchester was on the subject of the renaissance artist
Tintoretto Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized th ...
, and was subsequently published in 1952 as a book. Newton was
Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collect ...
at
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
in 1959 and art adviser to the
Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust was a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pr ...
from 1960 to 1963. He was president of the British Section of the
International Association of Art Critics The International Association of Art Critics (French: ''Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art'', AICA) was founded in 1950 to revitalize critical discourse, which suffered under Fascism during World War II. Affiliated with UNESCO AICA wa ...
between 1949 and 1961. While he left the family firm, he continued to create mosaics for much of his life, those in the side chapels of Sacred Heart Church Sheffield being installed in 1961. The
Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...
holds many designs of Newton Mosaics and theatre set designs in its Stella Newton Archive.


Personal life

Newton was born in 1893 to Lehmann James Oppenheimer and Edith née Newton. His mother was from
Heaton Mersey Heaton Mersey is a suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the north-western border of Stockport, adjacent to Didsbury and Burnage which are in the City of Manchester. The suburb is an affluent residential area and c ...
. In 1908 he was awarded a Foundation Scholarship to
Hulme Grammar School Hulme Grammar School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private grammar school in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. History Oldham Hulme Grammar School was founded in 1611 by several charitable individuals including Laurence Chad ...
from Hulme's Charity. After graduation from Manchester University, he served in the army during the
First World War 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 ...
, joining the
Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th R ...
as a 2nd Lieutenant from the Manchester University Contingent of the Officer Training Corps on 14 November 1914. He was promoted to temporary captain in September 1915. His medal card suggests he served in France and was awarded the Victory Medal and
British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were st ...
. His father (also a mosaic manufacturer in the family firm) served as a lieutenant in the London Regiment (
Artists' Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles, is a regiment of the British Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, ...
) and died in 1916 having been gassed. Lehmann is buried in the
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
Eastern Cemetery (Grave ref VII. B. 11.). Though the
London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
records the recruitment of "Eric Newton Oppenheimer", and promotion of "Eric N. Oppenheimer", it was after the war that he formally changed his name from Oppenheimer to his mother's maiden name of Newton, the latter sounding less German. He married his first wife, Isabel Aileen Vinicombe on 29 November 1915 at the Church of St James, Birch in
Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...
,. the couple divorced in 1934 after which Newton married the fashion designer Stella Mary Pearce. The couple moved to London, living at 3 Cumberland Gardens. Newton died in his London office in 1965.


Publications

* * * * * * * * * * (with William Neil) * (with John Batts, Editor)


Mosaic works


St John the Baptist, Rochdale.
Sanctuary and Apse. * Sacred Heart Church, Hillsborough. Apse and side-chapels * Our Lady and St Edward, RC Church, Chiswick * Our Lady and St Joseph Church, Heywood * Honan Chapel, Cork *
Royal Hospital School The Royal Hospital School (also known as "RHS" and historically nicknamed "The Cradle of the Navy") is a British co-educational fee-charging international boarding and day school with naval traditions. The school admits pupils aged 11 to 18 ...
Chapel, Holbrook
Saint Colmcille's
Church, East Belfast


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Eric 1893 births 1965 deaths English art critics English mosaic artists Manchester Regiment officers People educated at Oldham Hulme Grammar School The Guardian journalists Slade Professors of Fine Art (University of Oxford) British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Manchester 20th-century English male artists