John Laviers Wheatley

John Laviers Wheatley
Born	23 January 1892 Abergavenny, Wales
Died	17 November 1955 (aged 63)
Nationality	British
Education	Slade School of Fine Art
Known for	Painting, Drawing

John Laviers Wheatley (23 January 1892 – 17 November 1955) was a British painter, art teacher and museum director who also served as a war artist in both World War One and in World War Two.^[1]

Biography

Divers at Work Repairing a Torpedoed Ship (1918) (Art.IWM ART 2245)

Wheatley was born in Abergavenny in Wales and attended the Slade School of Art during 1912 and 1913, having previously taken art lessions from both Stanhope Forbes and Walter Sickert.^[2] During World War One, Wheatley served in the Artists' Rifles and later in the War was an official war artist. The British War Memorials Committee appointed Wheatley to record the work of the Royal Navy in the British home ports. After a short, and miserable, few days at Rosyth Wheatley was sent to Southampton where he recorded the work of the Salvage Service. He produced over 40 paintings there including a large canvas for the proposed, but never built, national Hall of Remembrance.^[3] After the War, Wheatley was commissioned to paint a portrait of James Crichton, a recipient of the Victoria Cross.^[4]

After the War, Wheatley taught at the Slade for five years from 1920 until 1925 when he, and his wife the artist Grace Wheatley, moved to South Africa. The couple remained there until 1937, during which time John Wheatley was the Michaelis Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town and Director of the National Gallery of South Africa. On his return to England in 1937, Wheatley was appointed director of the Sheffield City Art Galleries.^[1][2] During the Second World War, the War Artists' Advisory Committee commissioned Wheatley to paint several portraits of workers involved in the war effort.^[5] From 1948 to 1950, Wheatley was curator of the National College of British Sports and Pasttimes.^[6]

References

1. David Buckman (1998). Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 2, M to Z. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0 95326 095 X.
2. Frances Spalding (1990). 20th Century Painters and Sculptors. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 1 85149 106 6.
3. Merion Harries & Susie Harries (1983). The War Artists, British Official War Art of the Twentieth Century. Michael Joseph, The Imperial War Museum & the Tate Gallery. ISBN 0 7181 2314 X.
4. "First World War art archive:Wheatley, John". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
5. "War artist archive:John Wheatley". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
6. "Artist biography:John Wheatley". Tate. Retrieved 3 May 2016.

External links

• Paintings by John Laviers Wheatley at the Art UK site