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| Ethel Walker Nude Study of a Boy ca. 1918 oil on canvas Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle, Cumbria |
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| Ethel Walker Reclining Nude ca. 1930 oil on canvas Reading Museum, Berkshire |
"One of the foremost figurative artists of the day, Walker studied at the Westminster School of Art and at the Slade (1899-1901). She was one of the generation that would first have been able to study the male nude at art school."
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| Dod Procter Morning 1926 oil on canvas Tate Modern, London |
"Morning was voted Picture of the Year at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1927 and bought for the nation by the Daily Mail newspaper. Its combination of a faintly modern cubist treatment of form with a sound and appealing traditional theme recommended it to a broad public who wished to embrace the contemporary without encountering the troubling concept of an avant-garde. . . . Dod Procter, born Doris Shaw, lived in Newlyn in Cornwall from childhood, and was taught at the school set up there by the 'founder' of the Newlyn School, Stanhope Forbes, and his wife. The Newlyn School had been seen in the 1890s to epitomize a form of healthy naturalism to set against the degenerate modernity of France. . . . In line with the ethos of Newlyn, Procter chose as her model Cissie Barnes, the sixteen-year-old daughter of a local fisherman. Admirers of the work appreciated it as an image of a working girl, waking up to a day of healthy employment – the symbol of a natural way of life that seemed to be under threat increasingly in post-war Britain."
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| Harold Gilman Nude on a Bed ca. 1914 oil on canvas Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
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| Harold Gilman The Model 1911 oil on canvas Southbank Centre, London |
"Like other members of the Camden Town group, Gilman was strongly influenced by Walter Sickert's concept of the 'modern' naked figure, which he sought to place in a contemporary and unglamourized setting. At this stage Gilman was also still strongly influenced by Sickert's manner of painting, but he later developed a more monumental style under the impact of Post-Impressionism."
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| Jacob Kramer Clay (The Anatomy Lesson) 1928 oil on canvas Leeds City Art Gallery, West Yorkshire |
"This painting was based on extensive study made by the artist in the dissecting room of the Leeds medical school. The result is a tough yet moving portrayal of a human cadaver – a decaying piece of inert matter that still preserves the features of humanity. When the picture was shown in a retrospective exhibition of the London Group at the New Burlington Galleries in April 1928 there was considerable controversy whether such a subject was legitimate for a work of art."
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| Dora Carrington Reclining Model 1912 oil on canvas University College London Art Museum |
"Carrington's painting received second prize for figure painting at the Slade School in 1912. The following year she received first prize for a standing female figure viewed from the back."
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| Ernest Procter The Day's End 1927 oil on canvas New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester |
"During the 1920s Ernest Procter built up a reputation for figurative work with allegorical and symbolic themes, in which he combined elements from Italian and Flemish fifteenth-century art with varying degrees of plein-air painting. . . . The Day's End is simpler and more realistic in treatment than many of his major figure paintings. The model – perhaps for both figures – was Billie Waters, one of his students."
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| Henri Gaudier-Brzeska Reclining Female Model ca. 1913 drawing Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
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| Dorothy Mead Model Resting 1965 oil on board London South Bank University |
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| Anonymous British Artist Reclining Figure ca. 1950 oil on canvas Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne |
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| Henry Tonks Study of Sleeping Figure ca. 1920-30 drawing British Museum |
"Tonks's particular expertise in anatomical drawing derived from his training as a surgeon, some of his first serious attempts at drawing being made from cadavers in hospitals. He subsequently took evening classes at Westminster School of Art under Fred Brown, who, on becoming Professor at the Slade, appointed Tonks his assistant. In 1918 Tonks succeeded Brown as Professor, remaining at the Slade until his retirement in 1930. . . . While Tonks was an intimidating presence for students in the life class, he was unusually considerate to the models, ensuring that they took proper rests and that the room was warm enough for them when posing nude."
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| Raymond Coxon Model Resting ca. 1931 oil on canvas Manchester Art Gallery |
"Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Coxon was a fellow student of Henry Moore at both Leeds School of Art and the Royal College of Art. In the 1920s they were particularly close, founding the British Independent Society in 1927 together with Leon Underwood. While a student Coxon was particularly noted for his bold and striking figure-drawing style. Model Resting relates to Coxon's experiences as a part-time teacher at Chelsea School of Art. He began working there in 1930 and remained teaching until the late 1960s."
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| William Dobell Seated Model - Life Class 1930 oil on canvas University College London Art Museum |
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| Rex Whistler Seated Model 1923 oil on canvas University College London Art Museum |
"Whistler came to study at the Slade in 1923, after a term at the Royal Academy Schools. He had been asked to withdraw from the Academy on ground of "incompetence," a truly astounding judgement in view of Whistler's supreme dexterity. At the Slade he was greatly appreciated by Tonks, who said the art school had seen "no one so distinguished since Augustus John." . . . The present study won first prize, which brought with it an award of £5. The fluidity of handling evident here was soon to gain Whistler a reputation as a consummate mural painter."
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| Thomas Gillott Life Class 1912 oil on canvas Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery |
"Thomas Gillott enrolled at Nottingham School of Art in 1906, there developing his particular interests in anatomy and animal painting. In July 1912 he was admitted to the Upper School of Painting at the Royal Academy. A year later, he died."
– quoted passages from The Artist's Model from Etty to Spencer by Martin Postle and William Vaughan (London: Merrell Holberton, 1999)