In 1944, the primary substantial monograph of the British sculptor Henry Moore was revealed by Lund Humphries. Produced underneath wartime situations, Henry Moore: Sculpture and Drawings was a exceptional achievement, and its success led to subsequent books on modern British artists, together with Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Paul Nash. The driving pressure behind these formidable publications was Peter Gregory (1887-1959), director and later chairman of Lund Humphries, who shunned the limelight, preferring anonymity. But, as Valerie Holman exhibits on this impeccably researched guide, the shadowy determine who described himself merely as “a businessman” was extremely influential within the British artwork world: a pal and supporter of artists, architects and writers, an assiduous writer, and integral to the event of a number of key arts organisations.
Gregory believed that for a society to flourish it was important to nurture the humanities
Gregory believed that for a society to flourish it was important to nurture the humanities. Throughout 12 concise chapters, masking each his skilled actions and private friendships, Holman examines the a number of methods through which he pursued that goal. Born to a well-to-do household, Gregory was raised in Edinburgh then Bradford, the place he developed an appreciation for artwork and poetry. On leaving faculty in 1907 he joined the main Bradford printing and publishing agency Percy Lund, Humphries & Co. Ltd, being promoted to publishing supervisor in 1911 after which co-director with Eric Humphries in 1919. Working between the agency’s London and Yorkshire places of work, he promoted good design, excellence in printing and an setting through which artists and designers thrived.
In 1932, Lund Humphries’s London workplace moved to 12 Bedford Sq., the place Gregory staged exhibitions by notable figures comparable to Man Ray, Jan Tschichold and the agency’s design advisor Edward McKnight Kauffer. When conflict arrived, he was seconded to the Ministry of Data as a press censor earlier than changing into secretary of the Conflict Artists’ Advisory Committee the place, alongside Kenneth Clark, he commissioned works of conflict artwork. Renewing his deal with publishing after the conflict, he overcame the challenges of austerity to provide quite a few high-quality monographs that solidified his conviction that residing artists deserved the identical critical therapy because the Previous Masters.
Artists’ go-to writer
Gregory supported many British artists, and his exacting requirements and talent to empathise with them made him their go-to writer. A number of works from his assortment are amongst this guide’s plentiful illustrations, together with Moore’s marble Half-Determine (1932), which grew to become his first sculpture exhibited in a London public gallery when Gregory loaned it to the Tate in 1937. He additionally commissioned works, together with Patrick Heron’s Horizontal Stripe Portray (1957-8), an infinite summary composition of horizontal bands conceived for the reception space of 12 Bedford Sq. and subsequently bought by the Tate. He additionally supported artists by establishing the revolutionary Gregory Fellowships on the College of Leeds (1950-80), which for 30 years offered painters, sculptors, poets and infrequently musicians with the time and house through which to develop their work.
A putting facet of Gregory’s profession is the sheer variety of arts organisations with which he was related. In 1943 he was appointed chairman of the nascent Design Analysis Unit, well-known for its company designs. He served on the chief committee of the Modern Artwork Society, advising on acquisitions (1947-58), sat on the Visible Arts panel of the Arts Council of Nice Britain (1954-56) and, most pricey to his coronary heart, performed a big function in establishing the Institute of Modern Arts in 1946, serving as honorary treasurer. As its director Dorothy Morland famous, he was “all the time there when wanted, tactfully providing concepts, contacts, monetary help and a relaxing presence”.
Holman has evidently spent hours poring over the archives, however who, actually, was Peter Gregory? It’s a query solely answered partially by this guide, which is much less a biography and extra a marvellous cultural historical past considered by means of one man’s life and work. Because the writer concedes, when it got here to Gregory’s private life her sources have been patchy: his diaries cowl a restricted interval and his correspondence is inconsistent. As a substitute of a rounded image, we now have “a composite, if sketchy, portrait”. The place this research excels is in illuminating Gregory’s extraordinary legacy. Remembered primarily as a writer, he’s revealed right here as one of many twentieth century’s most devoted champions of latest artwork and design. As Moore as soon as stated, “There are few males who’ve achieved a lot, so modestly for younger residing artists.”
• Valerie Holman, Peter Gregory: Writer and Patron of Trendy British Artists, Lund Humphries, 160pp, 16 color & 244 b/w illustrations, £35 (hb), revealed 1 October 2024
• David Trigg is an unbiased author, critic and artwork historian. He’s the writer of Cash in Artwork (HENI, 2024)
