James Bolivar Manson English artist Date of Birth: 26.06.1879 Country: Great Britain

Biography of James Bolivar Manson

James Bolivar Manson was an English artist and the director of the Tate Gallery in London from 1930 to 1938. He was born in the Brixton district of London. His father was a literary editor for several publications and newspapers, including the Daily Chronicle. Manson's middle name was given in honor of Simon Bolivar, which was also carried by his grandfather. Despite his father's opposition to him becoming an artist, Manson studied painting in his spare time at the Heatherley School of Fine Art and later at the Lambert School of Art starting in 1890.

In 1903, Manson left his job as a bank clerk and moved to Paris, where he set up an art studio with several other young artists and sculptors, including Jacob Epstein, to save on expenses. He formed long-lasting friendships with many of them. Manson studied at the Julian Academy under the anti-Impressionist artist Adolphe William Bouguereau, as well as with Eugene-Pierre Loran. After a year in Paris, Manson returned to London, where he had a daughter named Mary, followed by a son named Charles in 1906. His wife was Lilian Lodger, a music teacher and violinist who had extensive connections in London's cultural society.

In 1910, Manson joined the Camden Town Group of artists and became its secretary. In 1911, through his wife, he became acquainted with Charles Aitken, the director of the Tate Gallery, and became his closest assistant. Manson joined the London Group of artists in 1914 and began exhibiting his paintings at the New English Art Club (NEAC) in 1915. In 1919, the painter Lucien Pissarro formed the Monarro group, which promoted the work of Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro. Manson became the secretary of the London branch of this group, while Theo van Rijsselberghe held the same position in the Paris branch. The group lasted for three years. Manson became a member of the NEAC in 1927.

In 1930, Manson was appointed the director of the Tate Gallery, a position he held until 1938. During his tenure, he favored and supported Impressionism while being opposed to modernist movements in art, such as Surrealism and Expressionism. Manson struggled with alcoholism. In 1939, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts.