Metadata : Papers relating to Bernard Meninsky, and his second wife, Nora Meninsky (née Barczinsky)
Collection
- Country:
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Holding institution:
- Tate Archive
- Holding institution (official language):
- Tate Archive
- Postal address:
- Tate BritainMillbankLondonUnited KingdomSW1P 4RG
- Web address:
- https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive
- Country:
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Holding institution:
- Tate Archive
- Holding institution (official language):
- Tate Archive
- Postal address:
- Tate BritainMillbankLondonUnited KingdomSW1P 4RG
- Web address:
- https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive
- Reference number:
- TGA 8225
- Title:
- Papers relating to Bernard Meninsky, and his second wife, Nora Meninsky (née Barczinsky)
- Title (official language):
- Papers relating to Bernard Meninsky, and his second wife, Nora Meninsky (née Barczinsky)
- Creator/accumulator:
- Meninsky, Bernard
- Date(s):
- 1890/1989
- Language:
- English
- Extent:
- 14 boxes
- Scope and content:
- This collection comprises personal and financial papers, as well as correspondence and family photographs of Bernard Meninsky, and his second wife, Nora Meninsky (née Barczinsky). Accompanied by artworks, writings, catalogues and press cuttings, relating to the work of Bernard Meninsky, providing an insight into his struggle with mental illness and depression, and his time as a commissioned war artist during the Second World War.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- Bernard Meninsky was born into a Jewish family in the Ukraine in 1891. The family moved to Liverpool when Meninsky was just a few months old. When still in his teens, Meninsky's skill and accuracy as a draughtsman brought him his first earnings from anatomical drawings for the Liverpool Medical School. At the same time, he studied at Liverpool School of Art winning the King's Medal and a scholarship to study at the Académie Julian, Paris, 1910-11. Between 1912-13 he studied at the Slade School of Art, helped by the Jewish Educational Society. In the first World War he was an official war artist (painting London scenes) and in 1919 he had his first, very successful, solo exhibition of Mother and Child drawings at the Goupil Gallery. These drawings were studies of his first wife, Margaret O'Connor, and their two children, David and Philip. In 1920, Margaret O'Connor died in childbirth a year after leaving her husband. Meninsky exhibited with the London Group from 1913 (becoming a member in 1919) and the New English Art Club from 1914 (a member from 1923). In 1930 an exhibition of his oils was held at St George's Gallery; he also exhibited at Zwemmer's Gallery and the Leger Gallery. His paintings of monumental figures and lyrical landscapes reflect the influence of Masaccio, Samuel Palmer and Picasso's neo-classicism. Meninsky also painted murals and decors for the ballet; he married a dancer, Nora Edwards, in 1927. In addition, he was an accomplished illustrator of books, for instance Milton's 'L'Allegro' and 'Il Penseroso', 1946. In 1948 he selected the exhibition, 'The Art of Drawing' for the Arts Council and wrote a substantial introductory essay for the catalogue. An influential teacher of drawing, he first taught at Gordon Craig's theatre school in Florence and at the Central School of Art and Craft, London. In 1920, he succeeded Sickert as teacher of life drawing at the Westminster School of Art. From 1940 to 1945 he taught at Oxford School of Art, and from 1945 he was instructor in drawing at the Central School. He took his own life in 1950. Nora Meninsky continued to promote her husband's work and assist in exhibitions until her death in 1991.
- Access points: persons/families:
- Meninsky, Bernard
- Meninsky, Nora
- Access, restrictions:
- Open
- Finding aids:
- Online catalogue. Some digitised content is also available online.
- Links to finding aids:
- http://archive.tate.org.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqServer=tdc-calm&dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27TGA%208225%27)
- https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive/tga-8225/personal-and-financial-papers-artworks-writings-correspondence-photographs-publications
- Reference number:
- TGA 8225
- Title:
- Papers relating to Bernard Meninsky, and his second wife, Nora Meninsky (née Barczinsky)
- Title (official language):
- Papers relating to Bernard Meninsky, and his second wife, Nora Meninsky (née Barczinsky)
- Creator/accumulator:
- Meninsky, Bernard
- Date(s):
- 1890/1989
- Language:
- English
- Extent:
- 14 boxes
- Scope and content:
- This collection comprises personal and financial papers, as well as correspondence and family photographs of Bernard Meninsky, and his second wife, Nora Meninsky (née Barczinsky). Accompanied by artworks, writings, catalogues and press cuttings, relating to the work of Bernard Meninsky, providing an insight into his struggle with mental illness and depression, and his time as a commissioned war artist during the Second World War.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- Bernard Meninsky was born into a Jewish family in the Ukraine in 1891. The family moved to Liverpool when Meninsky was just a few months old. When still in his teens, Meninsky's skill and accuracy as a draughtsman brought him his first earnings from anatomical drawings for the Liverpool Medical School. At the same time, he studied at Liverpool School of Art winning the King's Medal and a scholarship to study at the Académie Julian, Paris, 1910-11. Between 1912-13 he studied at the Slade School of Art, helped by the Jewish Educational Society. In the first World War he was an official war artist (painting London scenes) and in 1919 he had his first, very successful, solo exhibition of Mother and Child drawings at the Goupil Gallery. These drawings were studies of his first wife, Margaret O'Connor, and their two children, David and Philip. In 1920, Margaret O'Connor died in childbirth a year after leaving her husband. Meninsky exhibited with the London Group from 1913 (becoming a member in 1919) and the New English Art Club from 1914 (a member from 1923). In 1930 an exhibition of his oils was held at St George's Gallery; he also exhibited at Zwemmer's Gallery and the Leger Gallery. His paintings of monumental figures and lyrical landscapes reflect the influence of Masaccio, Samuel Palmer and Picasso's neo-classicism. Meninsky also painted murals and decors for the ballet; he married a dancer, Nora Edwards, in 1927. In addition, he was an accomplished illustrator of books, for instance Milton's 'L'Allegro' and 'Il Penseroso', 1946. In 1948 he selected the exhibition, 'The Art of Drawing' for the Arts Council and wrote a substantial introductory essay for the catalogue. An influential teacher of drawing, he first taught at Gordon Craig's theatre school in Florence and at the Central School of Art and Craft, London. In 1920, he succeeded Sickert as teacher of life drawing at the Westminster School of Art. From 1940 to 1945 he taught at Oxford School of Art, and from 1945 he was instructor in drawing at the Central School. He took his own life in 1950. Nora Meninsky continued to promote her husband's work and assist in exhibitions until her death in 1991.
- Access points: persons/families:
- Meninsky, Bernard
- Meninsky, Nora
- Access, restrictions:
- Open
- Finding aids:
- Online catalogue. Some digitised content is also available online.
- Links to finding aids:
- http://archive.tate.org.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqServer=tdc-calm&dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27TGA%208225%27)
- https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive/tga-8225/personal-and-financial-papers-artworks-writings-correspondence-photographs-publications
