Victor Pasmore CH CBE English, 3 December 1908-23 January 1998
Victor Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on 3 December 1908. He studied at Summer Fields School in Oxford and Harrow in west London, but with the death of his father in 1927 he was forced to take an administrative job at the London County Council. He studied painting part-time at the Central School of Art and was associated with the formation of the Euston Road School. After experimenting with abstraction, Pasmore worked for a time in a lyrical figurative style, painting views of the River Thames from Hammersmith much in the style of Turner and Whistler.
In the Second World War, Pasmore was a conscientious objector. Having been refused recognition by his Local Tribunal, he was called up for military service in 1942. He refused orders and was court martialled and sentenced to 123 days imprisonment. The sentence qualified him to go to the Appellate Tribunal in Edinburgh, which allowed him unconditional exemption from military service.
One of the first exhibitions in which his works feature was held at the Zwemmer gallery, London 1934. His works were influenced by Monet and Cézanne.
His break into abstract art was inspired by the artists Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee.Their writings feature nature and the creation of a dynamic harmony in art which stood for the future harmony of society.
Beginning in 1947, he developed a purely abstract style under the influence of Ben Nicholson and other artists associated with Circle, becoming a pioneering figure of the revival of interest in Constructivism in Britain following the War. Pasmore's abstract work, often in collage and construction of reliefs, pioneered the use of new materials and was sometimes on a large architectural scale. Herbert Read described Pasmore's new style as "The most revolutionary event in post-war British art".
In 1950, he was commissioned to design an abstract mural for a bus depot in Kingston upon Thames and the following year Pasmore contributed a mural to the Festival of Britain that promoted a number of the British Constructivists.
Pasmore was a supporter of fellow artist Richard Hamilton, giving him a teaching job in Newcastle and contributing a constructivist structure to the exhibition "This Is Tomorrow" in collaboration with Ernő Goldfinger and Helen Phillips. Pasmore was commissioned to make a mural for the new Newcastle Civic Centre. His interest in the synthesis of art and architecture was given free hand when he was appointed Consulting Director of Architectural Design for Peterlee development corporation in 1955. Pasmore's choices in this area proved controversial; the centerpiece of the town design became an abstract public art structure of his design, the Apollo Pavilion. The structure became the focus for local criticism over the failures of the Development Corporation but Pasmore remained a defender of his work, returning to the town to face critics of the Pavilion at a public meeting in 1982.
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WHERE ROCKS BECOME SEA | Autumn–Winter Show
4 Nov 2023 - 6 Jan 2024Gallery show of contemporary art for sale, featuring new paintings by artists Sara Dudman, Masako Tobita, and ceramics by Peter Hayes, Charlotte Jones, Mitch Pilkington, Antonia Salmon, Paul Wearing, and prints by Melvyn Evans and Trevor Price, and sculptures by Tommy Rowe and Michael Thacker. With supporting works by leading 20th Century modern artists: Terry Frost, Barbara Hepworth, Victor Pasmore and Joe Tilson. Artworks also available for sale by St Ives and British Artists: Wilhelmina BARNS-GRAHAM, Peter BLAKE, Sandra BLOW, Patrick CAULFIELD, Lynn CHADWICK, Maurice COCKRILL, Terry FROST, Barbara HEPWORTH, Patrick HERON, David HOCKNEY, Bryan INGHAM, Albert IRVIN, Margaret LOVELL, Henry MOORE, Ben NICHOLSON, Victor PASMORE, Bryan PEARCE, Tommy ROWE, William SCOTT, Joe TILSON.Read more -
COLLECT | MODERN ART
9 Sep - 4 Nov 2023Gallery exhibition of Modern St Ives and British art for sale, featuring art – paintings, prints, drawings, and sculptures – by leading 20th Century artists, including: Wilhelmina BARNS-GRAHAM, Peter BLAKE, Sandra BLOW, Patrick CAULFIELD, Lynn CHADWICK, Maurice COCKRILL, Terry FROST, Barbara HEPWORTH, Patrick HERON, David HOCKNEY, Bryan INGHAM, Albert IRVIN, Margaret LOVELL, Henry MOORE, Ben NICHOLSON, Victor PASMORE, Bryan PEARCE, Tommy ROWE, William SCOTT, Joe TILSON.Read more -
PENWITH RHYTHMS: ANCIENT AND SACRED LANDSCAPE
Cornwall’s Prehistoric landscape is the focus of this exhibition of guest artists’ works 23 Oct - 27 Nov 2021The dramatic landscape of west Cornwall has captured the imagination of writers and artists for three centuries, and now this ancient and sacred landscape is explored and celebrated anew in...Read more -
COLLECT: MODERN ART
Exhibition of original art by leading 20th Century St Ives & British Artists 12 Mar - 30 Apr 2021Our annual selling exhibition of original art by leading 20th Century St Ives and British Artists, provides exciting opportunities for new and seasoned collectors alike. With the boost in growth...Read more -
RELOCATION
11 Sep - 24 Oct 2020The opening collection at our new premises at 22 Fore Street is a changing showcase of artworks by some of the many established and emerging British Artists whom we represent,...Read more -
CORNUCOPIA
9 Sep - 9 Nov 2017The award-winning Porthminster Gallery celebrates the rich autumnal bounty of original art with its latest curated selling show in St Ives. A ‘cornucopia’ of delights – a visual feast –...Read more -
Collect | Modern St Ives + British Art
21 May - 25 Jun 2016A specially curated selling exhibition of collectable artworks by major St Ives and British names. The exhibition will also feature new sculptures by Margaret Lovell and Peter Hayes, and paintings...Read more