Barges on the Thames

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

Born in Johannesburg, Edward Wolfe arrived in London in 1916, having previously acted as a child and worked for a jeweller. On a scholarship in London he studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic School of Art, and then the Slade School of Art. There he met the artist, Nina Hamnett who introduced him to artist and critic, Roger Fry. Fry invited Wolfe to join the Omega Workshop, a commercial unit which designed furniture, objects and decorative furnishings made by artists and designers, most notably, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell. Wolfe first exhibited with the Omega Workshop in 1918, followed by a show with the London Group in 1919. Wolfe returned to South Africa in 1919–20, but settled in London in 1921. He travelled extensively in Europe, North Africa and Mexico, meeting leading figures such as novelist, Arnold Bennett; Russian avant-garde artist, Natalia Goncharova; and writer, Aldous Huxley. He acted as a BBC censor in the Second World War after which he continued to exhibit his work widely around the world until his death in 1982. Retrospectives were held in London (1967 and 1997) and Wolfe’s works are represented in many museum collections including the Tate in London.

Places

England, River Thames, London, St. Paul's Cathedral, City of London, Tower Bridge

Subjects

topography, townscape/cityscape, river, bridge (urban), cathedral, dome, window, tower, studio, barge/canal boat

Materials & Techniques

paper (as artists material), pastel, charcoal, charcoal drawing, pastel drawing

Artist

Edward Wolfe (1897 - 1982)

Title

Barges on the Thames

Date

c.1955-1959

Medium

Charcoal and pastel on paper

Acquisition

Purchased from Mayor Gallery, March 1974

Inscription

none visible

GAC number

11027