The remarkable story of how a group of untrained London artists became an art world sensation in the interwar years.

This is the first study of the East London Group, an important group of artists, who despite achieving commercial success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, are largely unknown today. Their atmospheric paintings depicting scenes from everyday life and their London surroundings are now highly sought after as the talents of the group are being rediscovered.

Inspired by the charismatic teacher John Cooper, its artists, mainly working-class people with little art world experience, achieved shows at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, Tate Gallery, and around the UK. Then, amazingly, two of them reached the Venice Biennale in 1936.

This fascinating book is based on correspondence and interviews with the group members plus archival research over many years. Richly illustrated, the group’s story is examined in captivating detail, with biographies of all the artists and a list showing where readers can see their paintings today.

About The Author

David Buckman has been a journalist and author for over 50 years, with a focus on writing about arts. Monograph subjects include J. B. Manson, Leonid Pasternak, Martin Leman, Glyn and Katherine Walne, and Charles Debenham’s East Anglia. He is an advisor to the Public Catalogue Foundation.