A Devonshire Valley, Number 1

Robert Bevan was a founder member of the Camden Town Group in 1911, which included among others, Walter Richard Sickert, Frederick Spencer Gore, Harold Gilman, Lucien Pissarro, Walter Bayes and Charles Ginner. These London based artists were strongly influenced by Gauguin, Van Gogh and Cézanne in their strong use of decorative colour and realistic treatment of contemporary scenes.

Applehayes Farm at Clayhidon on the Devon-Somerset border belonged to Harold Harrison a retired rancher from Argentina who became friends with the group members whilst a student at the Slade School of Art. From 1910 onwards he invited artists to visit, amongst them Spencer Gore, Charles Ginner and Robert Bevan. In 1913, exactly a hundred years ago, all three were in residence during one of the most productive periods at the farm.

Bevan, in particular, was inspired by the East Devon landscape and in 1916 he rented a cottage in the Bolham Valley. From 1915 onwards his compositions became increasing simplified and geometric, perhaps under the influence of a series of Post-Impressionist exhibitions in London. His attachment to the area continued and in the early 1920s he purchased a cottage where he worked until his death in 1925.