- In full:
- Roland Algernon Penrose
- Born:
- October 14, 1900, London, England
- Died:
- April 23, 1984, Farley Farm House, near Chiddingly, East Sussex (aged 83)
- Movement / Style:
- British Surrealism
- Surrealism
- Notable Family Members:
- spouse Lee Miller
Sir Roland Penrose
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Who was Sir Roland Penrose?
Sir Roland Penrose (1900â1984) was a British artist, collector, and writer, known for his curatorial work promoting modern and contemporary artists.
Penrose studied painting in Paris in the 1920s, where he became involved with the Surrealist movement. In 1936, he established the British Surrealist group and organized the first International Surrealist Exhibition in London. Penrose also collected art, including works by Pablo Picasso, and launched the London Gallery with E.L.T. Mesens in 1938.
During World War II, Penrose lectured on camouflage. After the war, he co-founded the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in 1946. From the late 1940s through the 1970s, he dedicated most of his time to curatorial work for the ICA and the Tate Gallery. Penrose wrote books on artists such as Picasso, MirĂł, Man Ray, and Antoni TĂ pies. He was knighted in 1966 for his contributions to contemporary art. He married Lee Miller in 1947.
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What kind of art did Sir Roland Penrose make?
Sir Roland Penrose was a British artist known for his curatorial work promoting modern and contemporary artists. In the 1920s, he became part of the Surrealist movement, creating collages and using frottage, a technique he learned from Max Ernst. Penrose separated from his wife in 1934 and went back to England in 1935. He established the British Surrealist group in 1936 along with Gascoyne, artist Paul Nash, and poet and critic Herbert Read. He returned to making collages in the last years of his life and exhibited his work a number of times from 1980 until his death in 1984.
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How did Penrose contribute to art as a collector?
Sir Roland Penrose significantly contributed to art as a collector, promoter, and curator of modern art, particularly Surrealism. In 1936, he established the British Surrealist group and organized the first International Surrealist Exhibition in London. Penrose began collecting art around that time, starting with a Pablo Picasso piece. In 1938, he launched the London Gallery with E.L.T. Mesens, exhibiting works by artists like RenĂ© Magritte and working to exhibit Picassoâs Guernica. Penrose also purchased Paul Ăluardâs extensive art collection that year. After World War II, he co-founded the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in 1946 and dedicated much of his time to curatorial work, including major exhibitions, and wrote books on artists like Picasso, Joan MirĂł, and Man Ray.
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What are some books or writings by Sir Roland Penrose?
Sir Roland Penrose was a British artist, collector, and writer known for his promotion of modern and contemporary artists. Penrose wrote books on his friends Pablo Picasso (1958), Joan MirĂł (1970), Man Ray (1975), and Antoni TĂ pies (1977), and he penned an autobiography, Scrap Book, 1900â1981, in 1981. In 1939, he collaborated with Lee Miller on his poem âThe Road Is Wider than Longâ.
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What role did Penrose play in the Surrealist movement in Britain?
Sir Roland Penrose played a pivotal role in introducing Surrealism to Britain. After becoming part of the Surrealist circle in Paris in the 1920s, he brought the movement to England in 1935 with poet David Gascoyne.
In 1936, Penrose, along with Gascoyne, Paul Nash, and Herbert Read, established the British Surrealist group. Penrose was instrumental in organizing the first International Surrealist Exhibition in London that same year. In 1938, he launched the London Gallery with E.L.T. Mesens, showcasing works by artists such as RenĂ© Magritte and exhibiting Pablo Picassoâs Guernica. Penrose's efforts significantly impacted British culture, despite the movement's relatively short communal existence.
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How did Penrose's relationships with other artists shape his career and contributions to modern art?
Sir Roland Penrose was deeply embedded in the surrealist movement, and his relationships with fellow artists significantly shaped his career and contributions to modern art.
As a student in Paris, Penrose became part of the Surrealist circle, where he met and married poet Valentine BouĂ©. Inspired by the surrealist aesthetic, he began creating collages and experimenting with frottage, a technique he learned from Max Ernst. Penrose's connections extended to Pablo Picasso through French Surrealist poet Paul Ăluard. These relationships led Penrose to collect and promote the works of contemporary artists, further establishing his role in the art world. With E.L.T. Mesens, Penrose launched the London Gallery, showcasing artists like RenĂ© Magritte and Picasso.
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Sir Roland Penrose (born October 14, 1900, London, Englandâdied April 23, 1984, Farley Farm House, near Chiddingly, East Sussex) was a British artist, collector, and writer known best for his curatorial work and promotion of modern and contemporary artists.
Penrose attended Queensâ College, Cambridge, and earned a bachelorâs degree in architecture in 1922. He left for Paris that year and studied painting in the studio of artist AndrĂ© Lhote. In 1923 he moved to a studio in Cassis sur Mer, and the following year he met and married poet Valentine BouĂ©. The two became part of the Surrealist circle. Penrose was captivated by the philosophy and aesthetic of the Surrealist movement and began creating collages and took up the technique of frottage, which he had learned from Max Ernst. In the 1930s he also began what would be a long career of promoting contemporary artists and financed Surrealist projects by Ernst as well as the film Public Affairs (1934) by French director Robert Bresson.
Penrose separated from his wife in 1934 and went back to England in 1935. He and his friend poet David Gascoyne took Surrealism with them from Paris. He established the British Surrealist group in 1936 along with Gascoyne, artist Paul Nash, and poet and critic Herbert Read. Penrose was also instrumental in organizing the first International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries in London in the summer of 1936. It was at about that time that Penrose began collecting art, starting with the purchase of a work by Pablo Picasso (whom he had met through French Surrealist poet Paul Ăluard). While visiting Paris in 1937, Penrose met model and photographer Lee Miller, and, though Miller was married at the time and Penroseâs career in London was taking off, the two began a romantic relationship. In 1938, with Belgian artist E.L.T. Mesens, he launched the London Gallery with an exhibition of works by Belgian Surrealist RenĂ© Magritte and worked on behalf of Picasso to exhibit and tour the artistâs monumental painting Guernica (1937). Penrose also purchased Ăluardâs large and impressive collection of art in 1938. Miller finally joined Penrose in London in 1939. The two collaborated that year on his poem âThe Road Is Wider than Long,â which recounted their travels in 1938 through Romania and Greece and for which she contributed photographs.
During World War II, Penrose remained in England, where he was active at the Eastern Command Camouflage School in Norwich, where he lectured on the art of camouflage. Penrose was also involved with the Artistsâ Refugee Committee, which found artists safe passage to England from Nazi-occupied countries. Following the war Penrose reopened the London Gallery (which had closed in 1939) and then, with Read, Mesens, and others, established the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in 1946. He and Miller married in 1947 and in 1949 bought Farley Farm House, which became their primary residence. The couple hosted their artist friends on a regular basis in their home, which they decorated lavishly with their own art and with their art collection.
From the late 1940s through the 1970s, Penrose dedicated most of his time to curatorial work for the ICA. In 1948 he and Read cocurated the first two exhibitions: â40 Years of Modern Artâ and â40,000 Years of Modern Art,â which introduced Modernist works of art to the broader public in London. During the 1960s Penrose served as a trustee and curator at the Tate Gallery and organized exhibitions on Picasso (1960)âfor which he was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire)âErnst (1961), MirĂł (1964), and others. He also wrote books on his friends Picasso (1958), MirĂł (1970), Man Ray (1975), and Antoni TĂ pies (1977), and he penned an autobiography, Scrap Book, 1900â1981, in 1981. For his work in the field of contemporary art, he was recognized with a knighthood in 1966. He returned to making collages in the last years of his life and exhibited his work a number of times from 1980 until the year of his death.