Geoffrey Sneyd Garnier, 1889 - 1970
Geoffrey Sneyd Garnier studied at the Forbes school in Cornwall and went on to become the only Newlyn School artist to devote himself entirely to the art of print-making.
Son of the author Russel Garnier, Geoffrey was born in Wigan and educated at Charterhouse. He studied engineering in London before going to work in Toronto as an engineer. While in Canada, he decided to become an artist, and in order to fund this career change he tried his luck at Gold prospecting in the Yukon.
Garnier returned to England in 1910 to study at the School of Painting in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and in 1913 he came to Newlyn to study at Stanhope Forbes' School of Painting. By coincidence, Garnier's first cousin, Jill Blyth, came to study at the Forbes School the same year, and the couple soon fell in love. Their courtship was briefly interrupted by the outbreak of War, as Garnier enlisted in the Army, but was shortly discharged with health issues.
Geoffrey and Jill married in 1917 and set up home at Orchard Cottage, Newlyn, which became the venue for many lively gatherings of the Newlyn and Lamorna artists.
Garnier shared a studio at Trewarveneth with R.C. Weatherby. His primary medium was etching and engraving in which he was largely self-taught, but his proficiency was widely acclaimed and he gave etching lessons to 'Lamorna' Birch in the 1920s.
[Text source: Penlee House, Museum and Gallery, Penzance]