John Bratby
Encyclopedia
John Randall Bratby was an English
painter who founded the kitchen sink realism
style of art that was influential in the late 1950s.
Born in Wimbledon
, Bratby studied at Kingston College from 1948 to 1950, then at the Royal College of Art
from 1951 to 1954. Three years after his graduation he became a tutor at the college. Bratby became famous for his adaptation of the impressionist realism of Walter Sickert
and the Camden Town Group
towards a more aggressively expressionist style influenced by van Gogh
and the Abstract Expressionists
.
" after a painting of Bratby's which depicted a kitchen sink. David Sylvester
wrote an article in 1954 about trends in recent British art, calling his article "The Kitchen Sink" in reference to Bratby's picture. Sylvester argued that there was a new interest among young painters in domestic scenes, with stress on the banality of life.
The futility, banality, and despair of life are also compellingly expressed in Bratby's autobiographical novel Breakdown, which depicts an artist in crisis. Bratby painted several kitchen subjects, often turning practical utensils such as sieves and spoons into semi-abstract shapes. He also painted bathrooms, and made three paintings of toilets.
Other artists associated with the "kitchen sink" style include Derrick Greaves, Edward Middleditch
and Jack Smith
.
The term later became applied in Great Britain to a form of quarrelsome domestic drama epitomised by John Osborne
's play Look Back in Anger
. In America, the term was associated with Paddy Chayefsky
and other dramatists who created gritty plays for live television during the 1950s.
In 1958 Bratby created works for the fictional artist Gulley Jimson in the Alec Guinness
film The Horse's Mouth
. Two years later, he published a novel, Breakdown (London: Hutchinson, 1960; Cleveland and New York: World Publishing Company, 1961), that some readers found quasi-autobiographical. The novel was the first of a quartet.
Bratby's own work fell out of favour with the emergence of Pop art
, but his paintings have increased in value and critical support over recent years. Paul McCartney
has been a collector of his works.
A portion of Bratby's painting Four Lambrettas and Three Portraits of Janet Churchman (1958) is featured on the cover of Mark Knopfler
's 2007 album Kill To Get Crimson
.
Bratby was earlier married to the painter Jean Cooke. He died in Hastings
, Sussex
, leaving a widow, Patricia.
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...
painter who founded the kitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose 'heroes' usually could be described as angry young men...
style of art that was influential in the late 1950s.
Born in Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, Bratby studied at Kingston College from 1948 to 1950, then at the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
from 1951 to 1954. Three years after his graduation he became a tutor at the college. Bratby became famous for his adaptation of the impressionist realism of Walter Sickert
Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....
and the Camden Town Group
Camden Town Group
The Camden Town Group was a group of English Post-Impressionist artists active 1911-1913. They gathered frequently at the studio of painter Walter Sickert in the Camden Town area of London.-History:...
towards a more aggressively expressionist style influenced by van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
and the Abstract Expressionists
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
.
Kitchen sink
Bratby's expressionistic style became known as "kitchen sink realismKitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose 'heroes' usually could be described as angry young men...
" after a painting of Bratby's which depicted a kitchen sink. David Sylvester
David Sylvester
Anthony David Bernard Sylvester CBE, was a British art critic and curator. Although he received no formal education in the arts, during his long career he was influential in promoting modern artists, in particular the work of Joan Miró, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon.Born into a well connected...
wrote an article in 1954 about trends in recent British art, calling his article "The Kitchen Sink" in reference to Bratby's picture. Sylvester argued that there was a new interest among young painters in domestic scenes, with stress on the banality of life.
The futility, banality, and despair of life are also compellingly expressed in Bratby's autobiographical novel Breakdown, which depicts an artist in crisis. Bratby painted several kitchen subjects, often turning practical utensils such as sieves and spoons into semi-abstract shapes. He also painted bathrooms, and made three paintings of toilets.
Other artists associated with the "kitchen sink" style include Derrick Greaves, Edward Middleditch
Edward Middleditch
Edward Middleditch , was an English artist.He was born in Chelmsford, Essex. From 1949–52 he attended Royal College of Art, where his teachers were Ruskin Spear, Carel Weight and John Minton. His fellow students included Derrick Greaves and Jack Smith. Middleditch associated early on with the...
and Jack Smith
Jack Smith (artist)
Jack Smith was a British realist and, later, abstract artist.- Life :Jack Smith was born in 1928 in Sheffield, Yorkshire....
.
The term later became applied in Great Britain to a form of quarrelsome domestic drama epitomised by John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
's play Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger is a John Osborne play—made into films in 1959, 1980, and 1989 -- about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man , his upper-middle-class, impassive wife , and her haughty best friend . Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace...
. In America, the term was associated with Paddy Chayefsky
Paddy Chayefsky
Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky , was an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for Best Screenplay....
and other dramatists who created gritty plays for live television during the 1950s.
In 1958 Bratby created works for the fictional artist Gulley Jimson in the Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
film The Horse's Mouth
The Horse's Mouth (film)
The Horse's Mouth is a 1958 film directed by Ronald Neame and filmed in Technicolor. Alec Guinness wrote the screenplay from the 1944 novel The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary, and also played the lead role of Gulley Jimson, a London artist.-Synopsis:...
. Two years later, he published a novel, Breakdown (London: Hutchinson, 1960; Cleveland and New York: World Publishing Company, 1961), that some readers found quasi-autobiographical. The novel was the first of a quartet.
Bratby's own work fell out of favour with the emergence of Pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
, but his paintings have increased in value and critical support over recent years. Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
has been a collector of his works.
A portion of Bratby's painting Four Lambrettas and Three Portraits of Janet Churchman (1958) is featured on the cover of Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
's 2007 album Kill To Get Crimson
Kill to Get Crimson
Kill to Get Crimson is the fifth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released 23 October 2007. The album cover image is taken from the painting "Four Lambrettas and Three Portraits of Janet Churchman" by John Bratby, painted in 1958....
.
Bratby was earlier married to the painter Jean Cooke. He died in Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, leaving a widow, Patricia.