§ SVEN BERLIN (BRITISH 1911-1999) MOTHER AND CHILD

§ SVEN BERLIN (BRITISH 1911-1999) MOTHER AND CHILD, 1941 monogrammed and dated (to base), wood (26cm high, 9.5cm wide (10.25in high, 3.75in wide)) Footnote: Note: Sven Berlin was an interesting figure within the St Ives school and part of one of the earliest waves of settlers to the artist’s colony. Born in London, Berlin had originally begun a career as an adagio dancer, before moving to Cornwall in 1938. It was via his job in the market garden belonging to Adrian Stokes and Margaret Mellis in Carbis Bay that he made an introduction to Hepworth and Nicholson. One of his most significant contributions to the legacy of the St Ives School was the publication of his biography of the fisherman / artist Alfred Wallis; the first text to be written on this fascinating figure whose aesthetic so influenced the development of Nicholson and his followers. Berlin became a well-known figure and something of an attraction within the St Ives community; he could frequently be observed in his studio garden, stripped to the waist, working on his sculpture. He exhibited paintings, drawings and sculpture regularly with the St. Ives Society of Artists and in London, and was a founding member of the Crypt Group, alongside artists including Barns-Graham, Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Bryan Wynter, and was also a member of the Penwith Society of Arts for a short time.