Rare moments in the history of Derby's struggle to come to terms with contemporary art in the 1960s are being recollected in an exhibition called "Tom Early and Friends" being staged in Falmouth. One of those "friends", David Ainley, looks back on Tom's life.
TOM Early was a founder member of the Derby Group, a coterie of lecturers, notably Keith Richardson-Jones, and students at the College of Art in Green Lane, who were determined to revitalise art in the town.
Tom (1914-1967) came to Derby in 1958 to take up the post of registrar at the Pastures Hospital, Mickleover.
He and his wife, Eunice, were, with others, also instrumental in bringing the Samaritans to Derby.
Though he had not painted for a number of years, Tom brought with him a remarkable and intimate knowledge of modern art in Cornwall, where, in the late 1940s and 1950s, following encouragement by artist Ben Nicholson, he became part of the St Ives art colony.
There he joined the Penwith Society of Artists and exhibited with them to critical acclaim in St Ives and London.
The Cornish Review of Spring 1951 reported that: "The authentic voice of Cornwall was heard… nowhere more insistently than in the rapturous exclamation of Tom Early, in whose swirling panoramas the boats danced, like animated corks, in and out of the bays or lay like jazzy skeletons upon the brilliant yellow sands. In this painter… the most vibrant emotive forces were at work."
The Cornish artist and writer Sven Berlin described him as "a unique painter" who "leads us through landscapes of fierce intensity, a terrifying loneliness without ever seeming to be aware of our dismay and our wonder at walking within a dream he has made".
In the book Britain's Art Colony by the Sea (1959), Denys Val Baker regretted that Tom Early had left Cornwall as he "reflected intensely the way in which the Cornish scene took charge of the painter's work… with his startling use of bright colours".
Once in Derby, Tom became a frequent visitor to the college of art and, stimulated by the environment in which there were lively debates about new developments in art, he resumed painting, drawing inspiration not from the local landscape but, among other things observed and remembered, from ecclesiastical architecture and stained glass.
The range of symbolic forms he devised, married to his individual use of colour, resulted in unique and memorable works that resonate with psychological depth the mysteriousness of which defies any simple interpretation.
Friends with whom Tom Early was associated in St Ives, represented by work in this new exhibition in Falmouth, include some of the best-known names in 20th century British art, amongst them Ben Nicholson, Peter Lanyon and Terry Frost.
Maybe it was Tom's experience of the Penwith Society of Artists that spurred his eagerness, with others of similar enthusiasm, to found an exhibiting group of contemporary artists in Derby. The Derby Group, whilst accepting "no conformity in style or aims" promoted itself as a forum for work in "the modern idiom".
Its first exhibition was held in April and May, 1962 at the old Derby Art Gallery in the Wardwick (the extension with which today's visitors are familiar was built in 1964).
The Derbyshire Advertiser heralded the show in an article headed "Artists' avant-garde assault on Derby". Whilst referring to the show as "an exhilarating experience" it was noted that "many of the public are certain to be puzzled by such explosive material which is almost totally unrelieved by any concession to pictorialism".
The ensuing extensive controversy in the local press, particularly in the Derby Evening Telegraph, led to an dynamic public meeting at the art gallery attended by more than 500 people who, with varying degrees of insight, genuine curiosity or outright derision questioned four of the artists, including Tom Early.
Following this exhibition, the Derby Group's reputation grew beyond Derby and a number of successful shows followed in the Midlands and the South through the 1960s.
The Arts Review (January 1966) commented that "One is impressed to find, firmly based outside London, such a talented group which is clearly part of the mainstream of modern painting".
After Tom Early's death in 1967, the group's final exhibition, including his work, was held in Lincoln in 1968, by which time most of the members had moved away from Derby to pursue careers elsewhere.
Of the Derby Group artists represented in the Falmouth exhibition by works from the 1960s, Ian Breakwell, who died in 2005, became internationally renowned for innovative work across a range of media.
His association with Derby was recognised in the exhibition at Quad, Ian Breakwell: The Elusive State of Happiness, in 2010. Twenty-one of his works are now in the collection of the Tate.
Keith Richardson-Jones (1925–2005) moved to Monmouthshire and became involved with the innovative Signals Gallery in London. As he adopted more minimalist approaches, often referencing music, he had one-person shows at Lisson Gallery in London, Oriel in Cardiff, and a 25-year retrospective at three galleries in Wales in 1996.
Peter Cartwright, who had a 70th birthday retrospective show at Derby Art Gallery in 2009, and Michael Miller continue to work in Nottinghamshire and Hertfordshire respectively. Both have exhibited in John Moores painting exhibitions and Michael Miller in the Threadneedle Prize.
Dennis Hawkins (1925-2001) had an international reputation as an award-winning printmaker, whose work was widely collected here and abroad. He was also well-known as director of art at Repton School (1952-1985).
For many years secretary of the Derby Group, I remain active in Derbyshire and am now known for works which arise from my interest in the labour involved in places mined for lead and tin in Derbyshire and Cornwall. My works have been shown in the Jerwood Drawing Prize and the Discerning Eye exhibitions.
In 2009, Tom Early's widow Eunice Campbell, author of The Magic Shuttle: the Story of Tom Early St Ives and after, now living in Salisbury, donated eight of his paintings and drawings to the collection of Falmouth Art Gallery.
Of the new exhibition, the gallery director Henrietta Boex has commented: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to showcase works by this vibrant and intriguing artist. Tom Early is so often overlooked despite being held in high regard by his contemporaries in St Ives and Derby.
"We hope visitors to the show will come away feeling they have made an exciting artistic discovery."
In the light of the last 50 years, Derbeians might smile wryly at the speculation of the Evening Telegraph's art critic following the Derby Group exhibition of 1962 that "if the standard is maintained and if these people get the local support they deserve, the Derby Group will do for Derby what the Hallé did for Manchester".
Readers might reflect whether Derby Art Gallery now has the ability to mount an exhibition that would generate such interest and controversy that accompanied the Derby Group show of 1962.
Has the public's increased familiarity with art diminished its ability to shock viewers into awareness?
Does the gallery, with its commendable commitment to improving the display of works by Joseph Wright, have the space to maintain a changing exhibitions programme of contemporary art of quality that will encourage people to visit the gallery frequently?
Has the accessions policy in recent years enabled the gallery to acquire significant contemporary works for its permanent collection?
Anyone in pursuit of some art that, for a decade, stirred the artistic sensibilities of Derby will not find it in the city but has an chance to be reminded of it by visiting Cornwall. Tom Early and Friends, is being staged at Falmouth Art Gallery until June 21.
Do you remember Tom Early from his years in Derby? Why not share your memories? contact details below.
