Bryan Pearce
Encyclopedia
Walter Bryan Pearce was a British
painter
. He was recognised as one of the UK's leading naïve art
ists.
Pearce suffered from the congenital disease phenylketonuria
, which affects the normal development of the brain. He attended a special needs school in the 1940s and 1950s and then, encouraged by his mother and, later, by other St. Ives artists, he began drawing and painting in watercolours in 1953 before moving on to oil paint
on board and, later, conté crayon. He attended Leonard Fuller's St. Ives School of Painting from 1953 to 1957.
area, drawn in typically flat style, with areas of bright colour surrounded by heavy outlines, like stained glass
. His learning disabilities gave his art, in the words of Peter Lanyon
, an "awareness more direct" than pure observation. Lanyon also said that "Because his sources are not seen with a passive eye, but are truly happenings, his painting is original", and "It is necessary to accept these works as the labour of a man who has to communicate this way because there is no other." His art has been compared to that of Alfred Wallis
.
Guided by Denis Mitchell, he joined the Penwith Society of Arts in 1957, and the Newlyn Society of Artists. He had his first solo exhibition at the Newlyn Gallery near Penzance
in 1959, and his first solo exhibition in London at the St Martin's Gallery in 1962. Retrospectives were held at various venues from 1966 to 2004, particularly at Penwith Gallery in 1966, the Museum of Modern Art
in Oxford in 1975, the Royal Cornwall Museum
in Truro in 2000, and the Victoria Art Gallery
in Bath in 2004. Examples of his work are held by many public galleries. His business affairs were dealt with first by his family and ultimately by trustees, enabling him to concentrate on his art. In the second half of his career a good deal of his work was produced and sold in the form of prints in relatively small signed, numbered editions. Some of these were small hand-made etchings, with which the artist had a 'hands on' creative involvement; others were full size screenprints made by printer-craftsmen 'after' works in other media. The latter certainly render just over twenty of Pearce's original images, with their pure, expansive areas of specific colours, extremely convincingly. Two of the earliest screenprints, 'St Ives All Round' and 'Newlyn All Round' (both 1976) were printed in black line only. A number of one-colour lithographs also exist.
Bryan Pearce's mother, Mary, died in 1997. He died peacefully at home in St. Ives, and his funeral was held at St Ives Parish Church on 22 January 2007. An exhibition was held at the Tate Gallery, St Ives
from 3 February - 13 May 2007. It had been planned as a retrospective but became a memorial show.
The Bryan Pearce Estate gave a collection of his works from the 1950s to 2006 to the Royal Cornwall Museum
. These were shown 17 November 2007 – 5 January 2008, at the Museum. Meanwhile, on 12 March 2008, an auction record for a painting by Bryan Pearce was set at Bonham's New Bond Street auction rooms in London when the work "St Ives Harbour 1" (1965), 20" x 46", realised a hammer price of £28,000 (with commission around £33,500). This record was soon broken as, in the following May, Pearce's largest known oil painting, 'Penzance Harbour (all round)', oil on board 20.5" x 60.5", sold for £39000 (with commission around £47,000) at a Penzance auction house, and was destined for the permanent collection at Penlee House, Penzance. In October 2011, his St. Ives (all round) 1977, oil on board 24" x 45½", exceeded the pre-sale top estimate at Christies three times over, selling for £55250 (including buyer's premium) making it the most expensive Pearce to-date.
Several biographies have been published, including Ruth Jones's The Path of the Son (1976), Marion Whybrow's Bryan Pearce: a private view (1985) and Janet Axten's The Artist and His Work (2004).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. He was recognised as one of the UK's leading naïve art
Naïve art
Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...
ists.
Early life
Bryan Pearce was born in St. Ives, Cornwall, which remained his home for the rest of his life. His father, Walter, was a butcher in St Ives, played rugby for Cornwall, and was later mayor of St Ives. His mother, Mary Warmington, was a painter from another local family.Pearce suffered from the congenital disease phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria is an autosomal recessive metabolic genetic disorder characterized by a mutation in the gene for the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase , rendering it nonfunctional. This enzyme is necessary to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine to the amino acid tyrosine...
, which affects the normal development of the brain. He attended a special needs school in the 1940s and 1950s and then, encouraged by his mother and, later, by other St. Ives artists, he began drawing and painting in watercolours in 1953 before moving on to oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
on board and, later, conté crayon. He attended Leonard Fuller's St. Ives School of Painting from 1953 to 1957.
Artistic career
Pearce specialised in paintings of his home town, and the surrounding PenwithPenwith
Penwith was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, whose council was based in Penzance. The district covered all of the Penwith peninsula, the toe-like promontory of land at the western end of Cornwall and which included an area of land to the east that fell outside the...
area, drawn in typically flat style, with areas of bright colour surrounded by heavy outlines, like stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
. His learning disabilities gave his art, in the words of Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon was a Cornish painter of landscapes leaning heavily towards abstraction. He also made constructions, pottery and collage....
, an "awareness more direct" than pure observation. Lanyon also said that "Because his sources are not seen with a passive eye, but are truly happenings, his painting is original", and "It is necessary to accept these works as the labour of a man who has to communicate this way because there is no other." His art has been compared to that of Alfred Wallis
Alfred Wallis
Alfred Wallis was a Cornish fisherman and artist.Wallis's parents, Charles and Jane Wallis were from Penzance in Cornwall and moved to Devonport, Devon to find work in 1850 where Alfred and his brother Charles were born. Shortly after this the children's mother died and this prompted the family to...
.
Guided by Denis Mitchell, he joined the Penwith Society of Arts in 1957, and the Newlyn Society of Artists. He had his first solo exhibition at the Newlyn Gallery near Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
in 1959, and his first solo exhibition in London at the St Martin's Gallery in 1962. Retrospectives were held at various venues from 1966 to 2004, particularly at Penwith Gallery in 1966, the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in Oxford in 1975, the Royal Cornwall Museum
Royal Cornwall Museum
The Royal Cornwall Museum is a museum in the city of Truro, Cornwall, England. It is the oldest museum in Cornwall and the leading museum of Cornish culture. Its exhibits include minerals, an unwrapped mummy and objects relating to Cornwall’s unique culture...
in Truro in 2000, and the Victoria Art Gallery
Victoria Art Gallery
The Victoria Art Gallery is free public art museum in Bath, Somerset, England.The building was designed in 1897 by John McKean Brydon, and has been designated as a Grade II listed building. The exterior of the building includes a statue of Queen Victoria, by A. C. Lucchesi, and friezes of...
in Bath in 2004. Examples of his work are held by many public galleries. His business affairs were dealt with first by his family and ultimately by trustees, enabling him to concentrate on his art. In the second half of his career a good deal of his work was produced and sold in the form of prints in relatively small signed, numbered editions. Some of these were small hand-made etchings, with which the artist had a 'hands on' creative involvement; others were full size screenprints made by printer-craftsmen 'after' works in other media. The latter certainly render just over twenty of Pearce's original images, with their pure, expansive areas of specific colours, extremely convincingly. Two of the earliest screenprints, 'St Ives All Round' and 'Newlyn All Round' (both 1976) were printed in black line only. A number of one-colour lithographs also exist.
Bryan Pearce's mother, Mary, died in 1997. He died peacefully at home in St. Ives, and his funeral was held at St Ives Parish Church on 22 January 2007. An exhibition was held at the Tate Gallery, St Ives
Tate St Ives
Tate St Ives is an art gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, England, exhibiting work by modern British artists, including work of the St Ives School. The three storey building, designed by architects Evans and Shalev, lies on the site of an old gas works, overlooking Porthmeor Beach. It was opened in...
from 3 February - 13 May 2007. It had been planned as a retrospective but became a memorial show.
The Bryan Pearce Estate gave a collection of his works from the 1950s to 2006 to the Royal Cornwall Museum
Royal Cornwall Museum
The Royal Cornwall Museum is a museum in the city of Truro, Cornwall, England. It is the oldest museum in Cornwall and the leading museum of Cornish culture. Its exhibits include minerals, an unwrapped mummy and objects relating to Cornwall’s unique culture...
. These were shown 17 November 2007 – 5 January 2008, at the Museum. Meanwhile, on 12 March 2008, an auction record for a painting by Bryan Pearce was set at Bonham's New Bond Street auction rooms in London when the work "St Ives Harbour 1" (1965), 20" x 46", realised a hammer price of £28,000 (with commission around £33,500). This record was soon broken as, in the following May, Pearce's largest known oil painting, 'Penzance Harbour (all round)', oil on board 20.5" x 60.5", sold for £39000 (with commission around £47,000) at a Penzance auction house, and was destined for the permanent collection at Penlee House, Penzance. In October 2011, his St. Ives (all round) 1977, oil on board 24" x 45½", exceeded the pre-sale top estimate at Christies three times over, selling for £55250 (including buyer's premium) making it the most expensive Pearce to-date.
Several biographies have been published, including Ruth Jones's The Path of the Son (1976), Marion Whybrow's Bryan Pearce: a private view (1985) and Janet Axten's The Artist and His Work (2004).
Further reading
- Tate GalleryTate GalleryThe Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
(2007), St. Ives, all around: the paintings of Bryan Pearce. John Wade, ISBN 9781854377579 http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/ - C. J. StevensC. J. StevensClysle Julius Stevens is a writer. He has published over 30 books , been published in hundreds of magazines, and the United States Library of Congress contains a special collection of his works.In 1998, the Portland Press Herald described him as "versatile and...
(2004), The Miracle of Bryan Pearce. John Wade, ISBN 1882425219 http://www.johnwade.com - Janet Axten (2004), Bryan Pearce and his Artist Friends. Janet Axten, ISBN 0954690907 http://www.wcaa.org.uk/cornwall-artists/janet-axten
- Janet Axten (2000), Bryan Pearce: The Artist and His Work. Janet Axten, ISBN 1900178087 http://www.wcaa.org.uk/cornwall-artists/janet-axten
- Marion Whybrow (1985), Bryan Pearce- A Private View. Marion Whybrow, ISBN 0948385014 http://www.wcaa.org.uk/cornwall-artists/marion-whybrow
- Ruth JonesRuth JonesRuth Jones is a Welsh TV actress and writer. She starred in and co-wrote the multi-award winning TV comedy Gavin & Stacey and has appeared in many other successful comedies over recent years...
(1976), The Path of the Son. Ruth Jones, ISBN 0950490407