Robin Craig GUTHRIE, RP, NEACBritish, 1902-1971 |
Self Portrait c. 1936
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Guthrie’s 20 portraits of the ‘Great and the Good’ of his day, now in the National Portrait Gallery, are testimony to his artistic stature
Robin Craig Guthrie was a portrait, genre and landscape painter, mural decorator, illustrator and draughtsman. He was born in 1902, in Harting, Hampshire, the son of James Joshua Guthrie (Scottish, 1874-1952), the artist, writer, one of the leading wood engravers of his day and the founder of the Pear Tree Press.
Robin Guthrie entered the four-year course at the Slade School of Art in 1918 with financial assistance from his patron, the collector Jakob de Graaf. He studied under Philip Wilson Steer (British, 1860-1942) and his skilful draughtsmanship brought him to the attention of the school's principal, Henry Tonks (British, 1862-1937).
In the summer of 1920 his painting Pastoral Scene with Figures (in the Slade School Collection) won first prize for composition. He completed his studies at the Slade in 1922 and rented a studio in a church hall on Parkhill Road, Hampstead, London, with his friend and fellow student Rodney Joseph Burn (British, 1899-1984).
He submitted his first exhibit to the New English Art Club in 1923 and shared his first exhibition three years later with Rodney Burn and Steven Bone (British, 1904-1958) at the Goupil Gallery, in 1926. He subsequently exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1931, Fine Art Society, the Tate Gallery, the Leicester Galleries and at many other venues.
Guthrie illustrated a number of books, including A Nosegay of Verses by S R and J Guthrie (1916), All the Way to Alfriston by Eleanor Farjeon (1919), and A Wild Garden by his father, James Guthrie (1924).
In 1931 Guthrie and Rodney Burn were appointed Joint Directors of Painting and Drawing of the School at The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA (1931-33). Guthrie returned to teaching later in his career as an Instructor at the Royal College of Art (RCA) from 1950-52, St Martins School of Art, and City & Guild School, all in London, from 1951-54.
He was elected a Member of the New English Art Club (NEAC) in 1928, and subsequently a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP). His portraits included many of the ‘Great & Good’ of his time, including the former Prime Ministers, David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George, and Clement Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee; the architect of Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station (in addition to the iconic red telephone boxes), Sir Giles Gilbert Scott; the ballet dancer and actress, Moira Shearer; the father of jet propulsion, Sir Frank Whittle; Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck; the founder of the Morris Motor Company and philanthropist, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield; and the evolutionary biologist, humanist and writer, Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (follow link below to view these and other works).
Guthrie was first married to the artist Kathleen Maltby (British, 1905-1981) by whom he had a son. Following their divorce he subsequently married Enid Deborah Claude Dering (known as Deborah), a beautiful 18 year old ballet dancer with the Ballet Rambert who was 20 years his junior. They had a son and a daughter, Alexander and Linnet.
He lived in London and died in 1971. His work is in the collections of The National Portrait Gallery, The Tate, The British Museum, The V&A and other public institutions. The Robin Guthrie Memorial Award for Portrait Drawing was established in his name.
© Albany Fine Art
USEFUL LINKS
National Portrait Gallery, London, UK (20 works)
National Portrait Gallery, London, UK (Self portrait)
LITERATURE
Tate Gallery Catalogues, The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture by Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, published by Oldbourne Press, London, 1964
Exhibition Catalogue, The Slade, 1871-1971: A Centenary Exhibition, held at The Royal Academy of Arts Diploma Galleries, London, Nov-Dec 1971
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