Morris Kestelman (5 October 1905 – 15 June 1998) was a British artist and teacher. Kestelman was a full-time art teacher and only began exhibiting on a regular basis towards the end of his life and is now best known for the paintings of working people and landscapes he produced during the 1940s and 1950s as well as his later abstract work.

Biography

Kestelmans' parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia and he was born and raised in the midst of the Jewish community in

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

in the East End of London, where his father worked as a cabinet maker. Kestelman obtained a scholarship to the

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. ...

in 1922, where his teachers included both A.S. Hartrick and

Bernard Meninsky Bernard Meninsky (25 July 1891 – 12 February 1950) was a British painter of figures and landscapes in oils, watercolour and gouache, a draughtsman and a teacher.. Biography Early life and education Meninsky was born in Konotop, modern-day Ukr ...

. Meninsky introduced Kestelman, who became a lifelong friend, to the

London Group The London Group is a society based in London, England, created to offer additional exhibiting opportunities to artists besides the Royal Academy of Arts. Formed in 1913, it is one of the oldest artist-led organisations in the world. It was form ...

and he, Kestelman, helped with the organization of the Group's 1926 exhibition. Hartricks' teaching led Kestelman to an appreciation of French art and he would visit France for extended periods most years from 1930 onwards. After graduating from the Central School in 1925, Kestelman enrolled at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

where he studied until 1929. During this time he developed a talent for theatre and stage design such that he created a number of costume designs for a 1929 production of ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'' at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

. Later he created sets for ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' at

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

in 1940 and for several productions by the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

Company including the 1944 staging of ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' starring

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her h ...

and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

at the New Theatre. The publisher

Noel Carrington Noel Lewis Carrington (1895 – 11 April 1989) was an English book designer, editor, publisher, and the founder of Puffin Books. He was the author of books on design and on recreation and also worked for Oxford University Press and Penguin Bo ...

commissioned Kestelman to produce a large series of pastel drawings for a book on the Bertram Mills Circus. The book was never published due to the outbreak of the Second World War. During World War Two, Kestelman served as a full-time air-raid warden and also drew scenes of workers at an aircraft repair factory. One of these drawings was subsequently purchased by the

War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists' Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artis ...

and is now held by the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

. During the War, in 1943, when reports of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

first reached Britain, Kestelman responded with the painting ''Lama Sabachthani (Why have you forsaken me?)'', whose title is taken from a line in

Psalm 22 Psalm 22 of the Book of Psalms (the hind of the dawn) or My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? is a psalm in the Bible. The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament of the Bible. In the s ...

. The painting was first exhibited at the 1943 ''For Liberty'' exhibition organised by the

Artists' International Association The Artists' International Association (AIA) was an organisation founded in London in 1933 out of discussion among Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland, Edward Ardizzone, Peter Laszlo Peri'Art ...

in the shelter constructed on the bomb site of the John Lewis department store on

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...

in central London. After teaching at

Wimbledon School of Art Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college specialises in theatre, screen and performance arts and design ...

, in 1951 Kestelman secured the post of Head of the Painting and Sculpture School at the Central School of Art and Design. He held this post until 1971. Although during this period his time for painting was largely restricted to the college holidays, he still made time to experiment with his art and developed a highly abstract style. Murals by Kestelman were included in exhibitions at the

Victoria & 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 ...

in both 1946 and 1960. Memorial exhibitions for Kestelman were held at the Boundary Gallery and at the Friends Room of the Royal Academy in 2001. Further exhibitions of his work were held at

Lauderdale House Lauderdale House is an historic house, now run as an arts and education centre, based in Waterlow Park, Highgate in north London, England. History Lauderdale House was one of the finest English country house, country houses in Highgate and was ...

in 2002 and 2003 and at the

London Jewish Cultural Centre The London Jewish Cultural Centre (LJCC; formerly the Spiro Institute) was a charitable organisation based (from 2005) at Ivy House, the former home of prima ballerina Anna Pavlova, in North End Road, Golders Green, London. It provided an educ ...

in 2004. Kestelman also exhibited at 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 ...

, with the

and with the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) is a society for contemporary artists that was founded in London, England, in 1886 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. The NEAC holds an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries ...

. Kestelman married Dorothy Mary Creagh, a dress designer, in 1936 and the couple had one child, the actress

Sara Kestelman Sara Kestelman (born 12 May 1944) is an English actress, who is known for her role as Lady Frances Brandon, Lady Jane Grey's mother, in the 1986 film '' Lady Jane'', as well as for providing the voice of Kreia in '' Star Wars Knights of the Ol ...

Memberships & Awards

* 1951: Member, London Group * 1983: Abbey Major Painting Prize, * 1986: Elected Senior Member of the Royal Academy,

References

External links

*
Drawings and set designs in the Victoria & Albert Museum collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kestelman, Morris 1905 births 1998 deaths 20th-century English male artists 20th-century English painters Academics of the Central School of Art and Design Academics of Wimbledon College of Arts Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from London English Jews English war artists English male painters English scenic designers Jewish artists Royal Academicians World War II artists 20th-century British war artists