— This page is yet to be completed —
For over 200 years Bushey has had many artistic communities. The most famous is Herkomer’s Art School.
Herkomer’s Art School
It was established by Hubert von Herkomer in 1883. When the School closed in 1904, it had taught more than 500 students over the twenty years of its existence. The success of the School can be measured by its alumni, including Lucy Kemp-Welch, George Harcourt, E. Borough Johnson, Tom Mostyn, William Nicholson, Algernon Talmage, Roland Wheelwright, and many more. Click here for a list of some 590 students of Herkomer from 1883 to 1900 (as recorded in Grant Longman’s leaflet ‘The Herkomer Art School 1883-1900’). [Ref. 1]
Bushey School of Painting
In 1905 Lucy Kemp-Welch started her Bushey School of Painting which was located in Art School buildings established by Herkomer. She specialised in ‘Figure and Animal Painting from the Living Model’. The intake of students was less than that of the Herkomer School, but with Lucy Kemp-Welch’s rising fame as an animal artist, a new lease of life came to the Herkomer tradition of teaching. She was an elected member of the RBA and for many years lived in Bushey. She ran her Art School until 1926. During the period 1901-10, Kemp-Welch spent considerable time painting at St. Ives, Cornwall.
Bibliography
- The Herkomer Art School 1883-1900, by Grant Longman. Published by E.G. Longman, Bushey, 1976. ISBN 0901957046. Click for a pdf.
- The Herkomer Art School and subsequent developments 1901-1918 by Grant Longman. Published by E.G. Longman, Bushey, 1981.
- A Passion for Work: Sir Hubert von Herkomer 1849-1914 by David Setford and Stephen Poole. Published by Watford Museum 1982. ISBN 0907958001.
- The Beginning of the Herkomer Art School by Grant Longman. Published by E.G. Longman, Bushey, 1983.
- Hubert Von Herkomer: A Victorian Artist by Lee MacCormick Edwards. Published by Ashgate Publishing, 1999. ISBN: 1840146869.