Still life by British painter Sven Berlin (1911-1999)

Still life oil on board by an important British painter. Sven Berlin (1911-1999) was a key protagonist in the pre-war period working in St Ives, Cornwall alongside many of the most important names in 20th century art. This oil painting depicts a full and bountiful still life of fruits within an interior. Signed and dated top left.

Oil on board measuring 62cm x 72cm. Housed in period, wooden trim.

Sven Berlin (1911-1999)

Sculptor, painter, draughtsman and writer who led a bohemian, often controversial life. Born in London of an English mother and Swedish father, Berlin was apprenticed as a mechanical engineer, in 1928 enrolled at Beckenham School of Art, but decided instead to pursue a career as an adagio dancer in music-halls. In 1934 and 1938 pursued art studies at Camborne-Redruth Schools of Art in Cornwall as well as other subjects such as poetry, philosophy and comparative religion. Had first one-man show at Camborne Community Centre in 1939, by which time he had begun sculpting. Although a conscientious objector at outset of World War II, he eventually joined the Army. Settled in St Ives, and was co-founder of Crypt Group in 1946 and a founder-member of Penwith Society in 1949, the year his book Alfred Wallis, Primitive, was published.

Other books included The Dark Monarch: A Portrait from Within, about St Ives and its inhabitants; it led to several libel actions. His autobiography A Coat of Many Colours, 1994, contains chapters on fellow-artists in St Ives; second volume, Virgo in Exile, appeared in 1996. After a few moves, partly by horse and gypsy waggon, Berlin eventually settled at Wimborne, Dorset. He was a regular exhibitor of work sometimes extremely strong, sometimes of variable quality. A notable show was at Belgrave Gallery, 1989. Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate Gallery, National Library of Scotland and other British and foreign collections hold his work. Sven Berlin’s daughter Greta Berlin was a sculptor and her daughter the artist Zennor Witney.

Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman

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