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HENRY LAMB Edge of the Forest, Hampshire
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Henry Lamb was at the epicenter of Modern Britain's artistic and literary milieu. The son of a renowned Manchester mathematician, Lamb studied medicine before changing course and moving to London in 1905 to study at the Chelsea School of Art. In London, Lamb traveled in many overlapping circles. Augustus John was a close friend; for a time they were flat mates. Lamb was also in the Bloomsberries' orbit, forging close relationships with Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Carrington, Ottoline Morrell and Lytton Strachey. In 1914 he painted the iconic portrait of his friend Strachey. Unlike many of his artist friends who were conscientious objectors during WWI, Lamb felt it was his duty to serve. His medical training allowed him to join the Ambulance Corps in Salonica and later Palestine. The artist's 1919 painting Irish Troops in the Judaen Hills is his most important work from these war years. It was a commission for the Hall of Remembrance, where fellow artist and close friend Stanley Spencer also completed a major work. In August 1928, at age 46, Henry married 24 year old Lady Pansy Pakenham. Pansy domesticated the independent and unruly Lamb. Settling in to family life at their Cotswold home, "Brookside" in Combe Bisset, the couple entertained Cecil Beaton, Kenneth Clark and Evelyn Waugh. Surrounded by beautiful countryside, Lamb painted landscapes, portraits of Britain's best and brightest and countless oils and drawings of Pansy and their children. By 1934, when Lamb painted Edge of the Forest, Hampshire, he had found equilibrium in his life. The scene is tranquil and the colors and brushwork muted and graceful. However, the trees have a decorative quality reminiscent of Lamb's Bloomsbury period. |
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Ivan Le Lorraine Albright Robert Salmon |
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