Edinburgh University Press A Cultural Biography of William Johnstone: The Making of British Modern Art

Tells the virtually forgotten story of pioneering educator and influential artist William Johnstone Examines his relationship with poets and musicians of the new Scottish Renaissance and in particular with Hugh MacDiarmid Reflects on his exhibition history in relation to his identity as a Scottish painter Includes a catalogue of Johnstone’s posthumous library Includes works by Johnstone previously thought lost to scholarship Considers his painting in relation to his Scottish peers post-1960 Based on primary sources including National Library of Scotland, CSM Museums and Study Collection, National Arts Education Archive, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Lhote Studio Archive and the Bourdelle Archive Scottish artist William Johnstone (1897–1981) has been significantly overlooked in the histories of British modernism, yet his role as the progressive Principal of Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and subsequently the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London helped shape the the work and careers of artists such as Richard Hamilton, Victor Pasmore, Nigel Henderson, Alan Davie and Eduardo Paolozzi. Drawing directly on Johnstone’s personal archive as well as a range of newly researched primary sources, Beth Williamson studies Johnstone’s ideas and his artworks within the context of his working relationships with other important British artists of the period. His dialogues with significant thinkers in the wider cultural field serve to illuminate these intellectual debates in a lively way. Williamson considers these important relationships against the background of Johnstone’s thinking and theirs, examining key texts, artworks, and moments in British art and art education in an international context, revealing Johnstone’s intellectual formation considering its significance then and now.