St Ives school of painting

---

(November 2011 issue art feature)

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Change is in store at the St Ives School of Painting. Words by Sarah Dallas

I am standing in the drawing studio of the St Ives School of Painting. All around me are men in hard hats, busy with drills and saws, up on ladders or lifting paint-splattered floorboards. It is all part of a much-needed £4 million renovation of the school and its adjacent studios.
Famous for its intense bursts of artistic energy in early 20th-century and postwar Britain, St Ives is one of Cornwall’s most beguiling spots. This wild stretch of the Atlantic that sparkles with Mediterranean hues has provided artistic inspiration to everyone from Virginia Woolf (To The Lighthouse was based on her summers here) to Barbara Hepworth, whose sculpture garden remains one of the town’s loveliest attractions.
The School of Painting plays an important role in this heritage. Founded in 1938 by two artists – Borlase Smart and Leonard Fuller, who promised each other in the trenches of the First World War, that they would live and paint in St Ives – its light-filled studio welcomed novice and professional alike. Bryan Pearce, whose radiant depictions of St Ives adorn countless postcards today, honed his technique here. And many of Britain’s abstract expressionists unrolled their canvasses in the adjacent studios. Ben Nicholson, Peter Lanyon and, later, Patrick Heron, all worked in this complex. Even Francis Bacon found his way here, possibly attracted by the bevy of fellow artists to drink with.
But as the artists died, and Pop Art took centre stage in London, the art world moved on. The historic school and studios fell gradually into disrepair. Students and artists who kept the faith had to contend with leaky roofs and dodgy heating (many painting in their overcoats), while staff and tutors struggled with a ramshackle office and an uncertain future.
Now all that is about to change. With an injection of cash from the EU, the National Lottery and English Heritage (among others), a two-year renovation is nearing completion. This autumn, the school reopens its rooms (the artists’ studios follow, next July). “This is a whole new start for us,” says Daniel Barnard, the school’s manager, as he takes me on a tour.
There is a large, bright drawing studio and a smaller studio for workshops; a room for lectures and presentations, a new office and a gallery and display area. Inevitably, a little of the crumbling charm has been lost, but the renovations, overseen by London architects Long & Kentish, appear to have been sensitively done.
Many old wooden wall panels, some splattered with the graffiti of generations of artists, have been preserved and replaced, concealing repairs and new insulation beneath. “Anything that could be repaired has been,” explains Daniel. “We were determined to keep the atmosphere of the place.”
New windows are in the original style (with no double-glazing), and the distinctive blue paint on the doors, apparently left over from fishing boats, has been left untouched. Disabled access into the school has been built, with a lift ferrying visitors straight up to the drawing studio. Downstairs, the old cellars that once stored pilchards will be opened up to the public, while local fishermen will continue to use the ground floor for boat repairs. Ben Nicholson’s former studio, which the school occupied during the works, will now be renovated and then returned to artists in residence at the Tate St Ives.
And what will students in these renovated premises actually be doing? The range of courses on offer this season looks intriguing. “We don’t offer fluffy holiday art classes,” insists Daniel. “Students here are expected to go on a personal journey, and think for themselves. It is more like a mini-foundation course.”
Participants in Beach Salvage Sculpture create works out of objects found on the beaches. Down To The Sea calls on them to “respond to the sea and its many moods”. Traditional oil painting, print-making, drawing and clay work are also on offer.
The school’s long-established drop-in life-drawing classes on Mondays and Wednesdays will remain a fixture. “They are unique, because you don’t need to book,” says Daniel. “And in winter, they fill up with locals, so we see them as part of our contribution to the community.” The school also plans to expand its lectures and presentations, and hopes to attract high-profile tutors from
around the UK.
Author and art historian Michael Bird, who lives in St Ives, believes the school offers students something they won’t necessarily get at today’s art schools: personal, hands-on tuition and a focus on traditional skills. But, he claims, there are challenges ahead. “So much of the school’s reputation is tied up with St Ives’s past,” he says. “It’s important to look forward rather than back, to forge connections with art schools around the country and to start attracting new, edgy talent.”
Michael points out that, as with so many artistic hubs, St Ives is now a property hotspot, and its prices put it well out of the reach of today’s generation of struggling artists. So it is good news that the upcoming renovation of the Porthmeor studios will include several smaller spaces aimed at drawing in up-and-coming artists.
Already, the school does seem to be appealing to a younger crowd. Isaac Willis, a shaggy-haired student visiting from art college at Farnham, Surrey, is on the school’s four-day Into The Wild course. He signed up with some trepidation. Fellow students at Farnham were a bit sceptical. But he was pleasantly surprised. “There is a very unusual atmosphere here,” he says. “On the one hand, there is all this history and tradition. But on the other, the teaching is really adventurous and open. I definitely feel I am learning something.”
Of course, the school’s renovation is only the first part of the absorbing saga unfolding on this scenic, windswept corner of St Ives. Next year, all eyes will be on the artists’ studios themselves.

Sarah Dallas is a globe-trotting freelance journalist, currently based in New York.