Cork Street

Cork Street

View north along Cork Street
Length 420 ft[1] (130 m)
Location Mayfair, London
Postal code W1S
south end Burlington Gardens
51°30′35″N 0°08′28″W / 51.5098°N 0.1410°W / 51.5098; -0.1410
north end Clifford Street
51°30′39″N 0°08′31″W / 51.5108°N 0.1420°W / 51.5108; -0.1420

Cork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England, with many contemporary art galleries,[2] and was previously associated with the tailoring industry. It is part of the Burlington Estate, which was developed from the 18th century.

Location

The street runs approximately north-west from the junction of Burlington Arcade with Burlington Gardens, and is close to Burlington House, which houses the Royal Academy of Arts. It is parallel to, and immediately to the east of, New Bond Street. The nearest tube station is Green Park.

History

Burlington House in the 1690s. The line of Cork Street runs away from the back of the house on the left hand side.

Cork Street is part of the Burlington Estate,[3] which was developed from the 18th century. The first Earl of Burlington was Richard Boyle (1612–1698), 2nd Earl of Cork; the street is named for that city.

The street in particular and the area in general was associated with tailors. In particular, the leading Regency London tailors Schweitzer and Davidson were located in Cork Street.[4] Beau Brummell (1778–1840), who introduced the flamboyant form of gentleman's fashion that became known as dandyism, patronised Schweitzer and Davidson in Cork Street.[5] Savile Row, not far from Cork Street to the east, is now the street most associated with high-quality gentleman's tailors today.

Cork Street is today known in the art world for its many commercial art galleries.[6] In the early 20th century, the street became associated with the art world.[7] It is close to the Royal Academy on Piccadilly to the south, when has an interest in the artistic nature of the street.[8] As of 2012, there are 22 galleries in the street.[9]

The street is considered to be one of the United Kingdom's "most important art hubs".[7] The galleries of Cork Street have launched the careers of many major modern artists in Britain. For example, the Mayor Gallery was the venue for the first London exhibitions of Francis Bacon, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, and Joan Miró.

The book Duchess of Cork Street: The Autobiography of an Art Dealer takes its name from the street.[10]

Attack on Cork Street

Cork Street Robert Fraser art gallery attacked by Grey paint.

In 1985 the Grey Organisation, a radical arts collective, launched an attack on Cork Street covering some of the galleries in grey paint.[11] In a press release, GO justified the attacks on Cork Street, describing the galleries established there as "boring and lifeless", stating they "intended to liven up their lives a bit!". The attack took place on Tuesday 21 May 1985, somewhere between midnight and 6am. Members of the Grey Organisation were later arrested, released on bail and banned from central London, but when prosecuted at Well Street Magistrates' court, pleaded 'Not Guilty' and were released without charge.[12]

Development

As of 2012, 22–27 Cork Street may be demolished for a £90 million development by the British insurance company Standard Life and the London property development company Native Land on a site stretching to Old Burlington Street.[13][14] There is a campaign to resist the development, which will directly affect seven of the galleries in the street: Alpha Gallery, Adam Gallery at No. 24,[15] Beaux Arts London at No. 22,[16] Gallery 27 at No. 27,[17] Mayor Gallery, Stoppenbach & Delestre, and Waterhouse & Dodd. Another development could affect the future of four more galleries on Cork Street: Hay Hill, Bernard Jacobson, Messum's, and Petleys.[9]

Campaign

In 2012 the Save Cork Street campaign was created to protect Cork Street as a contemporary arts district. With 13,000 supporters, including David Hockney and Sir Peter Blake, the Save Cork Street campaign attracted major press interest. Chaired by artist and arts promoter Simon Tarrant, the Save Cork Street committee petitioned Westminster Council to stipulate gallery usage for future Cork Street developments. [18][19][20]

  1. ^ "Mulligans of Mayfair". www.londontown.com. LondonTown.com. Retrieved 11 January 2013. 

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Corks Street, London.
  1. ↑ "Driving directions to Cork St". Google. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "Cork Street". www.londontown.com. LondonTown.com. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Cork Street and Savile Row Area Burlington Estate Lease Tables, Survey of London, volumes 31 and 32: St James Westminster, Part 2, pp. 546–65, 1963. British History Online, English Heritage.
  4. ↑ "Between a Gentleman and His Tailor". www.georgianindex.net. The Georgian Index. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  5. ↑ Jesse, William (1844). The life of George Brummell, esq., commonly called Beau Brummell. Volume 1. Saunders and Otley. p. 64.
  6. ↑ "London Art Galleries". www.britisharts.co.uk. UK: British Arts. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  7. 1 2 Batty, David (20 August 2012). "Mayfair's art galleries under threat from developers". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ "Simon Tarrant – The Royal Academy of Arts Council Statement". art-antiques-design.com. Art, Antiques and Luxury Design Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  9. 1 2 "A third of Cork Street's galleries to close". Phaidon. 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  10. ↑ Browse, Lillian (1999). Duchess of Cork Street: The Autobiography of an Art Dealer. Giles de la Mare. ISBN 978-1900357142.
  11. ↑ "Save the last dance for me?". /www.stewarthomesociety.org. Stewart Home. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Art Line Magazine". Vol. 2(9). International Art News. 1985.
  13. ↑ "Save Cork Street". London W1. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  14. ↑ "Cork Street Gallery District To Be Demolished By Developers". www.artlyst.com. Artlyst. 23 September 2012. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  15. ↑ Adam Gallery, London, UK.
  16. ↑ Arts London, UK.
  17. ↑ The Gallery in Cork Street, London, UK.
  18. ↑ "Saving Cork Street: Is London’s Historic Art District Under Threat?". Time. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "Cork Street goes pop". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "Cork Street art dealers oppose development plans". BBC News. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
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