Leonard John FULLER
Born and educated at Dulwich College, Fuller studied at the RA Schools between 1912-14, winning the British Institute Scholarship in painting (1913), and went on to attend the Clapham School of Art. Whilst serving in the Machine Gun Corps during WWI, he became friendly with Borlase SMART, and after the war attended the RA again (1919-21), and also got married to the artist Marjorie MOSTYN (called Nancy), daughter of the artist Tom Mostyn.
From 1922-32 he taught art at St John's Wood Art Schools, exhibited at the Paris Salons (Silver medallist), and also taught at his old school, Dulwich College (1927-37). Borlase SMART persuaded him to come to St Ives, and with his wife he established the St Ives School of Painting (1938ff). He was also a Founder member of the Penwith Society of Artists. A charming portrait of Terry FROST and Son (oil on canvas) is part of the permanent collection of the Newlyn Art Gallery.
A complete resume of his important contributions to the St Ives art colony and to the crucial role he played during and after World War II is best found in Tovey (2003) pp94-6. Fuller died in St Ives.
media
Painter and teacher, portraiture
works and access
Works include: Knitting (portrait of the artist's wife); Reverie; Woman with Long Hair; The Fish Market at Bruges; Portrait of R A Thomas, Governor, Camborne School of Mines; Portrait of Arthur Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin (1950s) at Cornish Studies Library; Lanhams Framing Workshop, St Ives (1962), Portrait of John Leonard Holman (1887-1949, and Portrait of Kenneth James Holman, all at RCM, Truro.
Access to work: Cornwall Education Committee; Newport; Penzance: NAG col, Penlee House; St Ives Town Council; RCM, Truro; St Paul's Cathedral, London
exhibitions
Paris 1927-31; Glasgow Institute (2); Liverpool (2); Manchester (1); P (19); RA (21); RCA (47); RHA (2); ROI (36)
STISA Shows & touring
Artists from Cornwall (1992) RWE Bristol
memberships
STISA 1938-49 & 1952-73, 1946-49 (Chairman)
Penwith Society of Arts in Cornwall (Founder member, first Chairman)
ROI
RCA
misc further info
references
Axten (2004) Bryan Pearce & his artist friends
Benezit
Buckman (2006) Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945
Crespon-Halotier
Hardie (2009) Artists in Newlyn and West Cornwall (p326)
Holmes (1993) Artistic Tradition
Johnson & Greutzner (1975) Dictionary of British Artists
Newton et al (2005) Painting at the Edge
Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF) Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly: Oil Paintings in Public Ownership
RWE (1992) Artists from Cornwall, 'Artist Profiles: Historical', pp 33-7
Tate (1985) St Ives 1939-64: 25 Years of Painting, Sculpture and Pottery (biog notes p120 with photo c1950)
Tovey (2000) GF Bradshaw & STISA ( Appendix 3: Principal Members of STISA 1927-1960)
Tovey (2003) Creating a Splash
Whybrow (1994) St Ives/Portrait of an Art Colony;
Whybrow (2013) St Ives: The Story of Porthmeor Studios;