Charles Kearley
Encyclopedia
Charles Hudson Kearley was an English
property developer and art collector.
, in Norfolk
. His father, C.F. Kearley, was the brother of Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, 1st Viscount Devonport
, and head of the firm of Kearley & Tonge, tea importers and jam manufacturers. C.F. Kearley had also gone into business as a builder and property developer, and his son Charles joined the firm after leaving school.
, a group of modern flats. In 1936, Kearley asked the architect and artist Raymond Myerscough-Walker (1908–1984) to make drawings of a design by Minoprio & Spenceley. This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, with Myerscough-Walker encouraging Kearley's enthusiasm for modern art, architecture and design. C F Kearley's next development was Kensal House, a block of modern flats in Ladbroke Grove
by the architect Maxwell Fry
.
Kearley inherited the business and undertook many projects, including designs by Myerscough-Walker and Maxwell Fry which are important examples of modern architecture.
, where he owned a hotel and also had a farm. He continued as a property developer, building flats in Portugal
, the Canary Islands
, and elsewhere. But his greatest interests were in yachting
, owning racehorses, and in contemporary art.
’s painting of a bombed-out church in Bristol, commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee, and Ben Nicholson
’s ‘1946 (still life – cerulean)’. Continental 20th century artists such as Paul Cézanne
, André Derain
, Gino Severini
and Fernand Léger
were also well represented.
In 1975 John Lomax
designed a modern house at Hat Hill Copse to house Kearley's collection of modern art. The house is now the home of the Cass Sculpture Foundation. He had no children to leave his collection to, and he decided to bequeath it to the district of Chichester
for its Pallant House Gallery
, which had opened in 1982.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
property developer and art collector.
Background and education
Kearley was educated at Gresham's SchoolGresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. His father, C.F. Kearley, was the brother of Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, 1st Viscount Devonport
Hudson Kearley, 1st Viscount Devonport
Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, 1st Viscount Devonport, PC, DL was a British grocer and politician. He founded the International Tea Company's Stores, became the first chairman of the Port of London Authority, and served as Minister of Food Control during World War I.-Early life and business...
, and head of the firm of Kearley & Tonge, tea importers and jam manufacturers. C.F. Kearley had also gone into business as a builder and property developer, and his son Charles joined the firm after leaving school.
Career
Kearley's influence appeared in the progressive buildings erected by the family firm. One important project was Fairacres at RoehamptonRoehampton
Roehampton is a district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north, Putney to the east and Wimbledon Common to the south. The Richmond Park golf courses are west of the neighbourhood, and just south of these is...
, a group of modern flats. In 1936, Kearley asked the architect and artist Raymond Myerscough-Walker (1908–1984) to make drawings of a design by Minoprio & Spenceley. This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, with Myerscough-Walker encouraging Kearley's enthusiasm for modern art, architecture and design. C F Kearley's next development was Kensal House, a block of modern flats in Ladbroke Grove
Ladbroke Grove
Ladbroke Grove is a road in west London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is also sometimes the name given informally to the immediate area surrounding the road. Running from Notting Hill in the south to Kensal Green in the north, it is located in North Kensington and straddles...
by the architect Maxwell Fry
Maxwell Fry
Edwin Maxwell Fry, CBE, RA, FRIBA, FRTPI, known as Maxwell Fry , was an English modernist architect of the middle and late 20th century, known for his buildings in Britain, Africa and India....
.
Kearley inherited the business and undertook many projects, including designs by Myerscough-Walker and Maxwell Fry which are important examples of modern architecture.
War
During the Second World War, Kearley was in a reserved occupation. He built airfields and also manufactured air-sea rescue boats.Interests
In the 1940s, Kearley moved to the Isle of ManIsle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, where he owned a hotel and also had a farm. He continued as a property developer, building flats in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, and elsewhere. But his greatest interests were in yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
, owning racehorses, and in contemporary art.
Art Collection
Much of Kearley's art collection was bought on the advice of the critic R. H. Wilenski, a champion of modern art. The collection grew to include important works such as John PiperJohn Piper (artist)
John Egerton Christmas Piper, CH was a 20th-century English painter and printmaker. For much of his life he lived at Fawley Bottom in Buckinghamshire, near Henley-on-Thames.-Life:...
’s painting of a bombed-out church in Bristol, commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee, and Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson
Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...
’s ‘1946 (still life – cerulean)’. Continental 20th century artists such as Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
, André Derain
André Derain
André Derain was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.-Early years:...
, Gino Severini
Gino Severini
Gino Severini , was an Italian painter and a leading member of the Futurist movement. For much of his life he divided his time between Paris and Rome. He was associated with neo-classicism and the "return to order" in the decade after the First World War. During his career he worked in a variety of...
and Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
were also well represented.
In 1975 John Lomax
John Lomax
John Avery Lomax was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk songs...
designed a modern house at Hat Hill Copse to house Kearley's collection of modern art. The house is now the home of the Cass Sculpture Foundation. He had no children to leave his collection to, and he decided to bequeath it to the district of Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
for its Pallant House Gallery
Pallant House Gallery
Pallant House Gallery is an art gallery in Chichester, West Sussex, England. It houses one of the best collections of 20th century British art in the world....
, which had opened in 1982.