St Ives Through the Eyes of Artists

The seaside town of St Ives is found at the far end of the county of Cornwall, United Kingdom. For centuries, fishing and tin mining were the only industries in the village, but with the coming of the railway in 1877, the town became a haven for escapist artists.

The St Ives Arts Club has been battered by the winds and waves since its founding in 1890. Originally membership was restricted to professional artists, musicians and authors, but today, photographers, comedians, and keen amateurs can join.

In 1928, sculptor Ben Nicholson and painter Christopher Wood visited the village and met local mariner and amateur artist Alfred Wallis, whose unschooled, naive style of painting with miscellaneous materials influenced the pair greatly.

Hepworth's sculptures can be seen in many of Britain's public spaces and, of course, St Ives has its own. Her 1965 bronze sculpture Dual Form stands in front of the town's guildhall.

These studios were used by many of the internationally significant artists who made St Ives their home, including Ben Nicholson, Patrick Heron, Francis Bacon, and Wilhelmina Barns Graham.

Between 1962 and 1970, the Troika Pottery, founded by Leslie Illsley, Jan Thompson, and Benny Sirota, worked here. They contrasted their work to Leach's studio pottery, emphasising form and decoration, seeing ceramics are pure art rather than functional objects.

In 1993, the Tate St Ives Gallery opened to the public, exhibiting the work of modern and contemporary British artists, especially those who've worked in Cornwall.