
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (France, 1891-1915)
Gaudier-Brzeska was a sculptor and draughtsman born in St-Jean-de-Braye, France but was active in England for most of his short but very prolific and impactful career. Before settling in England, he lived in Germany and then Paris, where he began to sculpt, later meeting the Polish writer Sophie Brzeska, with whom he lived with until […]

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spain, 1746 – 1828)
Goya was a Spanish painter, printmaker, and draughtsman of the late 18th century, court painter to Charles III, Charles IV, and Ferdinand VII of Spain. Los Caprichos was his first series of etchings, released to the public in 1799 and published by the artist himself. This set of 80 etchings were developed employing a relatively […]

Ben Nicholson (England, 1894 – 1982)
Son of painters Mabel Pryde and William Nicholson, born in Denham, Buckinghamshire. He studied at the Slade School of Art in London and travelled widely in Europe and the United States from 1912 and 1918. He married artist Winifred Roberts in 1920 and would build a relationship with then second curator at the National Gallery […]

Taller de Gráfica Popular, TGP (Mexico, 1937)
The Popular Graphics Workshop is an artists’ print making collective founded in Mexico in 1937 by Leopoldo Mendez, Pablo O’Higgins, and Luis Arenal. The workshop also functioned as a workers’ organisation, primarily concerned with using art to support anti-militarism, organised labour, opposition to fascism, and promote the ideals of the Mexican revolution, and aligning themselves […]

Alfred Wallis (England, 1855-1942)
Alfred Wallis was a British fisherman and artist known for his depictions of the Cornish landscape adopting seafaring folk imagery and a distinctive style, which at the time was recognised as ‘naive’ but powerfully sincere as the subject matter of his paintings emerged from first-hand experience of life at sea. Wallis was born in Devonport, […]

Christopher Wood (England, 1901-1930)
Born in Knowsley, near Liverpool, Christopher ‘Kit’ Wood started, but never finished, studying medicine and architecture to later pursue a career as an artist in Paris, from 1921 to 1926. In France, he would come in contact with the Parisian avant-garde, becoming close to Jean Cocteau’s creative circle. In England, he became close friends to […]

A University Art Collection in the Making
‘As you know, the University is hoping that it can do something about the visual perception of all students…therefore, we should like to build up a collection of pictures.’ Albert Sloman to Jim Ede, 26 July 1965 Art arrived at the University of Essex even before we opened our doors to students in 1964. Founding […]