Cork Street
Encyclopedia
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
in the West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
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...
. It is very well known in the British
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...
art world for the commercial art galleries
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
that dominate the street. It is located to the north of Burlington House
Burlington House
Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in London. It was originally a private Palladian mansion, and was expanded in the mid 19th century after being purchased by the British government...
, which houses the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, a leading British art institution. Immediately to the west and running parallel to Cork Street are New Bond Street and Old Bond Street. The nearest tube station is Green Park
Green Park tube station
Green Park tube station is a London Underground station located on the north side of Green Park, close to the intersection of Piccadilly and the pedestrian Queen's Walk...
.
Cork Street is part of the Burlington Estate
Burlington Estate
The Burlington Estate is an area in Mayfair to the north of Piccadilly in the West End of London, England . It was developed in the 18th century. The estate was owned by the Earls of Burlington, in particular Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington....
, developed from the 18th century. The first Earl of Burlington
Earl of Burlington
Earl of Burlington is a title that has been created twice, the first time in the Peerage of England and the second in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation was for Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork, on 20 March 1664...
was Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork (1612–1698), hence the name, after the city of Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
in south western Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The street in particular and the area in general was associated with tailors. For example, Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell, born as George Bryan Brummell , was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV...
(1778–1840), who introduced the flamboyant form of gentleman's fashion in Regency London that became known as dandyism, patronised tailors in Cork Street and its surrounding area. Savile Row
Savile Row
Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...
, not far from Cork Street to the east, is now the street most associated with high-quality gentleman's tailors today.
In the 20th century, the street became associated with the art world, partly due to its proximity with the Royal Academy on Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
to the south. Victoria Miro Gallery
Victoria Miro Gallery
The Victoria Miro Gallery is a leading British contemporary art gallery in London, with an international reputation, run by Victoria Miro, one of the "grandes dames of the Britart scene", who first exhibited Chris Ofili and the Chapman Brothers...
was founded in Cork Street, although it has now moved. Messum's
Messum's
Messum's is one of the best known art galleries in Cork Street, Mayfair, a street with a concentration of art galleries in London, England. It was founded by David Messum in 1963...
at No. 8 is another notable gallery. Other galleries include The Hay Hill Gallery located at No. 5,The Gallery in Cork Street together with the associated Gallery 27 at Nos 28 and 27, the Adam Gallery at No. 24, Beaux Arts London at No. 22 and Modern Masters Gallery at No. 23.
Many British-based artists have exhibited in Cork Street over the years. One of the most notable is Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon (painter)
Francis Bacon , was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery. Bacon's painterly but abstract figures typically appear isolated in glass or steel geometrical cages set against flat, nondescript backgrounds...
, a leading late-20th century painter. Paintings by Edward Piper
Edward Piper
Edward Blake Christmas Piper was an English painter.Edward Piper was the eldest son of the artist John Piper and his wife Myfanwy. He was educated at Lancing College and later studied under Howard Hodgkin at the Bath Academy of Art in Corsham and later at the Slade School in London.He produced...
and John Piper
John Piper
John Piper may refer to:* John Piper , 20th century English painter and printmaker* John Piper , 20th century BBC radio host* John Piper , 19th century lieutenant-governor of Norfolk Island...
(the two leading artists in the Piper family) have been exhibited at Messum's. Other artists whose works have been shown in Cork Street galleries include William Bowyer
William Bowyer (artist)
William Bowyer RA is a contemporary British portrait and landscape painter, who works in a traditional manner.-Life and work:...
, Francis Cotes
Francis Cotes
Francis Cotes was an English painter, one of the pioneers of English pastel painting, and a founder member of the Royal Academy in 1768.-Life and work:...
, Derek Gardner
Derek Gardner
Derek George Montague Gardner is best known as an English painter. After a career as a civil engineer before and after serving in the Royal Navy in the Second World War, he became widely recognised as one of the leading English painters of marine subjects.-Early life:Gardner was born in...
, Hugo Grenville, Heinz Henghes
Heinz Henghes
Heinz Henghes was a British sculptor.Born Gustav Heinrich Clusmann in Hamburg , at the age of 17, Henghes ran away from home to go to the United States. In New York City he met a number of artists and writers, and was influenced by Isamu Noguchi...
, Eric Meadus
Eric Meadus
Eric Meadus was an English artist whose work was exhibited in the Royal Academy and Paris Salon.Meadus came from the 'Flower Roads' of Swaythling, a council estate. He was born in Rigby Road, Southampton, but his family soon moved to Lobelia Road. He first exhibited in a mixed show at the City Art...
, Marilene Oliver
Marilene Oliver
Marilene Oliver is a British-based printmaker and sculptor.Marilene Oliver gained a BA in Fine Art Printmaking and Photomedia at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and an MA in Fine Art Printmaking at the Royal College of Art, both in London.Her research at the RCA involved scanning...
, Roland Penrose
Roland Penrose
Sir Roland Algernon Penrose CBE was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom.- Biography :...
, Patrick Procktor
Patrick Procktor
Patrick Procktor RA was a prominent English artist of the late 20th century.-Early life:Patrick Procktor was born in Dublin, the younger son of an oil company accountant, but moved to London when his father died in 1940...
, Anne Sudworth
Anne Sudworth
Anne Sudworth is a British artist internationally known for her paintings of magical trees and haunting moonlit landscapes. Drawing and painting since early childhood, she started her career as a professional artist in 1993 when she presented her first exhibition "Visions and Views"...
, Will Teather, Julian Trevelyan
Julian Trevelyan
Julian Otto Trevelyan, RA was a British artist and poet.Trevelyan was the only child of Robert Calverley Trevelyan and his wife Elizabeth van der Hoeven...
, Clive Wilkins
Clive Wilkins
Clive Wilkins is a figurative painter from the United Kingdom.He works in the Northern European tradition of oil painting relying heavily on strong craft skills allied to a precise & studied drawing ability...
, and most recently noted glass Adriana Brinsmead.
Trivia
- John ArbuthnotJohn ArbuthnotJohn Arbuthnot, often known simply as Dr. Arbuthnot, , was a physician, satirist and polymath in London...
, a physician, polymath and satirist, died at his house in Cork Street on 27 February 1735. - Brownlow Bertie, 5th Duke of Ancaster and KestevenBrownlow Bertie, 5th Duke of Ancaster and KestevenBrownlow Bertie, 5th and last Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, 5th Marquess of Lindsey, 8th Earl of Lindsey...
(1729–1809) married his first wife on 11 November 1762 in Cork Street.
See also
- Dover StreetDover StreetDover Street is a street in Mayfair, London, England. The street is notable for its Georgian architecture as well as the location of historic London clubs and hotels, which have been frequented by world leaders and historic figures in the arts. It also hosts a number of contemporary art galleries...
, another street close by in Mayfair with many art galleries. - Burlington ArcadeBurlington ArcadeThe Burlington Arcade is a covered shopping arcade in London that runs behind Bond Street from Piccadilly through to Burlington Gardens. It is one of the precursors of the mid-19th century European shopping gallery and the modern shopping centre...
, close to Cork Street.