Queer St Ives and other stories / Ian Massey.

  • Massey, Ian (Art historian)
Date:
2022
  • Books

About this work

Description

This first ever queer history of St Ives weaves together biography with art and social history to shine new light on a pivotal era in the development of British modernism. At its centre is the sculptor John Milne (1931-1978), who arrived in the town in 1952 to work as an assistant to Barbara Hepworth. Hidden behind 20-foot-high granite walls, Milne's house, Trewyn, became a meeting point for queer figures from the arts as well as the scene of legendary parties. The large cast - both queer and otherwise - featured in Queer St Ives and Other Stories includes artists Francis Bacon, Alan Lowndes, Marlow Moss, Patrick Procktor, Mark Tobey, Keith Vaughan and Brian Wall; Whitechapel Art Gallery director Bryan Robertson; actors Keith Barron and Richard Wattis; potter Janet Leach; and writers Tony Warren and Richard Blake Brown. There is also the extraordinary Julian Nixon, a queer everyman whose involvement in the group has been little explored until now. Based on original interviews and previously unpublished letters and diaries, Queer St Ives and Other Stories reveals a fascinating, previously undocumented history, adding vital new insights into the history of this fabled Cornish art colony. Publication supported by the Paul Mellon Centre.

Publication/Creation

London : Ridinghouse, 2022.

Physical description

253 pages : illustrations (black and white, and colour) ; 23 cm

Bibliographic information

Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-251) and index.

Contents

Introduction: Shadow and light -- 1. The boy from Eccles -- 2. At Trewyn -- 3. Tapestry of innocence -- 4. The playground -- 5. Le Quartier St Ives -- 6. Working methods -- 7. How to disappear -- 8. An embellished life -- 9. Light and shadow -- Notes -- Bibliography.

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatus
    History of Medicine
    TPO.4438.AA9
    Open shelves

Permanent link

Identifiers

ISBN

  • 1909932698
  • 9781909932692