The Open ‘82

When news broke of a London Group poster appearing in ‘The Friend’, it led Peter Clossick LG to rediscover a signed 1982 gem by John Bellany.

“The London Group ‘82” ran at Camden Arts Centre (17 Oct–7 Nov 1982), and is notable for including a touring show to St Ives and Brighton supported by the Arts Council, and a prize from the Henry Moore Foundation.

In his book ” The London Group: A History 1913–2013“, our archivist, David Redfern LG writes:
“The London Group ‘82”, Camden Arts Centre, Arkwright Road, Camden, 17th October to 7th November 1982. The catalogue to this show has much more information. Stan Smith is recorded as President, John Bellany as Vice President and the Working Party was Neville Boden, Robert Clarke, Dennis Creffield, Brian Fielding, David Gluck, Mel Gordon, Roger Kite, Barry Martin, Mike Pope and Arthur Wilson. Membership this year stood at eighty-six. The Foreword states: “There are two innovations this year, one the tour to St. Ives and Brighton: the other the prize so generously donated by Henry Moore”. The prize donated by the Henry Moore Foundation was worth £1,000 and would be awarded for an additional two years. There is no record of the prize-winner. In addition, three artists accepted invitations to show with The London Group, David Hockney, John Hoyland and Ken Kiff. Forty-four of the eighty-six members showed one work each, whilst ninety non-members had one work selected. Sixty-five other works had been, “selected but may not all be exhibited”. If the catalogue numbering system identified how many artists submitted work to the Group for selection, then the highest catalogue entry number was 999! Many non-members exhibiting at this exhibition were later to be elected to the Group including Victoria Bartlett, Gus Cummins, Hugh Davis, Alfred Harris, Janet Patterson and David Shutt. About seventeen three-dimensional works were shown, two-dimensional work was varied, mostly oil paintings but some prints and drawings as well. Most expensive asking price was John Edwards’ oil painting “Considered Departure” at £2,750. John Bellany was asking £2500 for his, “Song Thrush laments the ship wreck”. The catalogue has a photograph of Stan Smith, John Bellany and some Working Party members on the steps of the Camden Arts Centre. The catalogue was designed by David Strickland as a vertical format using cream paper with black text and the Private View invitation was illustrated with a drawing by John Bellany. Camden Arts Centre charged The London Group £1,500 as a hiring fee for the galleries. After additional costs and the deduction of just over £100 in catalogue and poster sales, the Group were invoiced for £1,773.39 in total.

Part of this exhibition toured to the Penwith Galleries, St. Ives, from the 16th November to the 7th December 1982. The tour of selected work from the Camden Arts Centre show was financially supported by the Arts Council. It then toured to the Gardner Centre for the Arts, Sussex University, Brighton, from the 19th January to the 12th February 1983. There were no new catalogue publications for the tour. It would appear that extra copies of the London show were printed and used at these venues, although separate posters and PV invites were produced.

In a letter to members Stan Smith wrote, “As we discussed at Working Party meetings, we are obliged to make a selection of members’ work in order to travel all non-members’ work. With great difficulty such a selection has now been made: initially based upon imperatives such as size and thereafter as making a very small representative show of members’ work within the show.” (my italics). Thirty members’ work was toured. It is unclear who the “we” are who made “a selection”. No doubt the letter was to defuse any rumblings from those members not selected for the tour. Interesting to note that all non-members’ work was toured, how magnanimous was that!