Humankind: Ruskin Spear: Class, culture and art in 20th-century Britain

Humankind: Ruskin Spear is the first book on the painter Ruskin Spear RA (1911-1990) since 1985, exploring his career and the coded standards of the 20th-century art world. It examines popular press debates, the changing preferences of the institutionalized avant-garde, the battles fought within art colleges, and the changing status of figurative art in the post-war period. Spear's work was committed to social realism but had a sophistication, authenticity, and humor that flowed from his responses to bravura painting across a broad historical swath of European art. He was a tutor at the Royal College of Art and had friendships with figures as diverse as Sir Alfred Munnings and Francis Bacon. His satirical pictures took as their subject matter political figures, art, leisure and pleasure in 20th-century Britain, and the structures of leisure and pleasure in 20th-century Britain. The book is written with a general reader in mind and presents a remarkable rumbustious character and a diverse series of art and non-art worlds.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 13 January 2022
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Humankind: Ruskin Spear

Ruskin Spear RA (1911-1990) has been the subject of the first book on the painter since a brief monograph in 1985. The book explores Spear's career to decode the coded standards of the 20th-century art world, examining class and culture in Britain and notions of 'vulgarity.'

The book delves into popular press debates surrounding the annual Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the shifting preferences of the institutionalized avant-garde from the Second World War onwards, the battles fought within art colleges as post-war students challenged the skills and commitment of their tutors, and the changing status of figurative art in the post-war period. Spear, committed to social realism, infused his art with sophistication, authenticity, and humor, drawing from his responses to bravura painting across a broad historical swath of European art and his knowledge of the working-class culture of Hammersmith in West London.

Spear's geography revolved around the working-class culture of Hammersmith and the spectacle of pub and street life, a metropolitan life largely unknown to and unrecorded by his contemporaries. Tracking Spear also sheds light on the networks of friendship and power at the Royal College of Art, the Royal Academy of Arts, and within the post-war peace movement. As the tutor of the generation of Kitchen Sink and future Pop artists, Spear's interest in non-elite culture and marginalized groups is particularly noteworthy, as evidenced by his biting satirical pictures that took political figures as diverse as Khrushchev and Enoch Powell as their subject matter.

In conclusion, Humankind: Ruskin Spear provides a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the life and work of Ruskin Spear RA, shedding light on his contributions to the 20th-century art world and his impact on British society.

Weight: 1328g
Dimension: 315 x 260 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780500971192