Sir Roland Penrose (14 October 1903 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom.

Biography

---

Penrose's father was a successful portrait painter and he grew up in a strict Quaker family in Watford. After studying Architecture at Cambridge, Penrose switched to painting and moved to France where he lived from 1922 and married his first wife the poet Valentine Boue. During this period he became friends with Picasso and Max Ernst, who would have the strongest influence on his work and most of the leading Surrealists.

Penrose returned to London in 1936 and was one of the organisers of the London International Surrealist Exhibition, which led to the establishment of the English surrealist movement. Penrose settled in Hampstead where he was the centre of the community of avant-garde British artist and emigres that settled there and opened the London Gallery on Cork Street where he promoted the Surrealists as well as friends Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo. Penrose commissioned a sculpture from Moore for his Hampstead House that became the focus of a press campaign against abstract art. In 1938, Penrose organised a tour of Picasso's Guernica that raised funds for the Republican Government in Spain. Penrose and Boue's marriage had broken down in 1934 and by 1939 Penrose had begun his relationship with Lee Miller. As a Quaker, Penrose was a pacifist but after the outbreak of World War II volunteered as an air-raid warden and then taught Camouflage at the Home Guard training centre at Osterly Park. This led to Penrose being commissioned as a Captain in the Royal Engineering Corps and working as Senior Lecturer at the Eastern Command Camouflage School in Norwich. Penrose was also influential in securing passage from Europe for many artists and finding them work and accommodation in England or onward travel to the US including Kurt Schwitters and Dali.

After the war, he co-founded the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, with the art critic and writer Sir Herbert Read in 1947. Penrose organised the first two ICA exhibitions 40 Years of Modern Art that included many key works of Cubism and 40,000 Years of Modern Art which reflected his interest in African Sculpture. Penrose was a presence at the ICA for 30 years. He produced a number of books, which cover the works of his friends Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Man Ray and Antoni Tàpies. He was also a trustee of the Tate Gallery organising a survey of Picasso's work there in 1960 and using his contacts to negotiate purchases of works by Picasso and the Surrealists at discounted prices.

Penrose and Miller bought Farley Farm in East Sussex in 1949 where he displayed his valuable collection of modern art in particular the Surrealists and works by Picasso. Penrose also designed the landscaping around the house as a setting for works of modern sculpture. In 1972, thieves broke into his country house stealing a number of works and then demanded a ransom. The trustees of the Tate Gallery agreed to loan Penrose the funds to pay the ransom on the condition he promised works to the collection.

He was married twice:

• 1) Valentine Boue (1925–1937)
• 2) Lee Miller (1947–1977) and they had a son Antony Penrose.

Legacy

---

His bold and enigmatic surrealist paintings, drawings and objects are some of the most enduring images of the movement. He is remembered for his postcard collages, examples of which are found in major national collections across Britain. He was awarded the CBE in 1960 and he was knighted for his services to the visual arts in 1966. The University of Sussex awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Letters in 1980.

Audio

---

An interview with Roland Penrose (and Lee Miller) recorded in 1946 can be heard on the audio CD Surrealism Reviewed.

1903 births | 1984 deaths | English artists | Surrealism | British knights | Alumni of Cambridge University