John Skeaping

John Skeaping
Name	John Skeaping
Birth date	1901
Birth place	London
Death date	1980
Death place	London
Nationality	British
Occupation	Sculptor; Painter; Printmaker; Teacher
Known for	Animal sculpture; Equestrian bronzes

John Skeaping was a British sculptor, painter, printmaker and teacher noted for his animal and equestrian subjects. He worked across sculpture, drawing and print media and was active in British and international artistic circles from the 1920s through the 1970s. His career intersected with prominent figures and institutions in modern art, and he produced public commissions, exhibition pieces and pedagogical contributions.

Early life and education

Skeaping was born in London and studied at institutions and with teachers that connected him to Royal College of Art, Slade School of Fine Art, Goldsmiths, University of London, Camberwell College of Arts, Royal Academy of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea School of Art, Saint Martin's School of Art, University of the Arts London, École des Beaux-Arts, Académie Julian, Royal Society of British Sculptors, British School at Rome, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Gallery, Tate Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Geographical Society, British Museum, Suffolk County Council, Borough of Westminster.

During his formative years he encountered teachers, peers and movements connected with Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Jacob Epstein, Naum Gabo, Constantin Brâncuși, Alberto Giacometti, Antoine Bourdelle, Aristide Maillol, Medardo Rosso, Auguste Rodin, François Pompon, Émile-Antoine Bourdelle, Walter Sickert, Duncan Grant, David Bomberg, Roger Fry, Gertrude Stein, Wyndham Lewis, Vorticism, Bloomsbury Group, Omega Workshops.

Artistic career and major works

Skeaping emerged in the 1920s with animal bronzes and equestrian works that were shown alongside artists and venues such as Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Society of British Sculptors, Society of Graphic Art, Grosvenor Gallery, New English Art Club, Frankfurt Art Fair, Venice Biennale, Salon d'Automne, Salon des Indépendants, London Group, British Council, Imperial War Museum, Tate Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Serpentine Galleries, Hayward Gallery, Whitechapel Gallery, Southampton City Art Gallery, Walker Art Gallery, Ashmolean Museum, Manchester Art Gallery, National Museum Cardiff, Edinburgh College of Art, Yale Center for British Art, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Smithsonian Institution.

Notable commissions, prizes and public works linked him to institutions and patrons such as London County Council, City of London, British Railways, BBC, Shell-Mex and BP, Woburn Abbey, Chatsworth House, National Trust, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Horticultural Society, Cheltenham Festival, Festival of Britain, Coronation of Elizabeth II.

Sculpture style and technique

Skeaping's sculpture practice balanced naturalism and modernist simplification, resonating with sculptors and movements including Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Constantin Brâncuși, Jacob Epstein, Naum Gabo, Alberto Giacometti, Antoine Bourdelle, Aristide Maillol, François Pompon, Auguste Rodin, Gaston Lachaise, Medardo Rosso, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, André Derain, Georges Rouault, Marc Chagall, Paul Nash, Ben Nicholson.

He worked in media associated with studios and workshops such as Fonderia Battaglia, H.M. Studio Foundry, Lamberti Foundry, Bronzes of Italy, Sussex Foundry, Weathered Bronze Foundry, Artistic Bronze Foundry, Lost-wax casting, Cire perdue, Patination techniques, Terra cotta, Stone carving, Marble work, Alabaster carving, Plaster casting, Direct carving, Modeling, Armature construction.

Painting and printmaking

Alongside sculpture Skeaping produced drawings, watercolours, oils, lithographs and woodcuts, shown with printmakers and galleries such as Tate Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts, Whitechapel Gallery, Serpentine Galleries, Curwen Press, Cranach Press, Purdy Hicks Gallery, Grafton Gallery, Redfern Gallery, Arthur Tooth & Sons, Goupil Gallery, Bloomsbury Group, Omega Workshops, London Group, New English Art Club, Society of Wood Engravers, Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers.

His graphic work reflects affinities to artists and movements including Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Kurt Schwitters, Eileen Gray, Gertrude Hermes, Enid Marx, Sybil Andrews, John Piper, Blanche Lazzell, Fayum, Japanese woodblock tradition, Ukiyo-e, Hokusai, Hiroshige.

Teaching and collaborations

Skeaping taught and collaborated with institutions and figures such as Royal College of Art, Slade School of Fine Art, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea School of Art, City and Guilds of London Art School, Goldsmiths, University of London, Camberwell College of Arts, Royal Academy Schools, British Council, Arts Council England, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Gallery, Sir Kenneth Clark, John Rothenstein, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Jacob Epstein, Jacob Epstein's students, Barbara Hepworth's studio, Henry Moore's studio, Margaret Gardiner, Alfred Munnings.

His collaborative networks included print workshops and foundries such as Curwen Press, Fonderia Battaglia, H.M. Studio Foundry and exhibition organizers including Royal Academy of Arts, Venice Biennale, Festival of Britain, Hayward Gallery, Serpentine Galleries.

Personal life and relationships

Skeaping's personal and social milieu connected him with artists, writers and cultural figures including Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Jacob Epstein, Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, Roger Fry, Wyndham Lewis, Gertrude Stein, Ethel Carrick, Stanley Spencer, Alfred Munnings, Margaret Gardiner, Graham Sutherland, Paul Nash, John Piper, Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood, Edward Wadsworth, C.R.W. Nevinson, David Bomberg, Naum Gabo, Alberto Giacometti.

He lived and worked in London and maintained studios and residences connected to areas and institutions such as Camden Town, Chelsea, London, St John's Wood, Hampstead, Dartmoor, Suffolk, East Anglia, Westminster, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Legacy and exhibitions

Skeaping's work remains in public and private collections at institutions including Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Gallery, British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, Ashmolean Museum, Walker Art Gallery, Yale Center for British Art, Museum of Modern Art, Musée d'Orsay, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, National Museum Cardiff, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, National Galleries of Scotland, Christie's, Sotheby's, British Council Collection, Royal Academy of Arts.

Retrospectives and group exhibitions that have featured his work were organized by Tate Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Academy of Arts, Hayward Gallery, Serpentine Galleries, Whitechapel Gallery, Dulwich Picture Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Ashmolean Museum, Manchester Art Gallery, Walker Art Gallery, Yale Center for British Art, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Smithsonian Institution.

Category:British sculptors Category:20th-century British artists