Mark Gertler English artist Date of Birth: 02.12.1891 Country: Great Britain

1. Biography of Mark Gertler
2. Early Life and Education
3. Artistic Career and Patronage
4. Collaboration and Conflict
5. Later Life and Tragic End

Biography of Mark Gertler

Mark Gertler was an English artist known for his exceptional portraiture and landscape painting in England at the beginning of the 20th century. He also painted still life works. Gertler was a member of the New English Art Club (NEAC).

Early Life and Education

Gertler was born into a Jewish family of immigrants from Austro-Hungary (now Poland). He received a scholarship to study painting at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1908 to 1912. During his studies, Gertler primarily painted portraits of his family members, particularly his mother. It was during this time that Gertler became acquainted with artists such as Paul Nash, Edward Wadsworth, Christopher Nevinson, and Stanley Spencer. He also had a close relationship with the eccentric artist Dora Carrington.

Artistic Career and Patronage

Gertler gained patronage from the renowned London patroness Ottoline Morrell, who introduced him to Walter Sickert, the founder of the Camden Town Group, and immersed Gertler in the Bloomsbury Group. In addition to his portraiture and landscape works, Gertler also painted still life pieces. He became well-known in England for his artistic talent and became a member of the New English Art Club in 1914.

Collaboration and Conflict

In 1914, Gertler began working under the patronage of influential art critic, art historian, and patron Edward Marsh. This collaboration lasted for two years until Gertler, a pacifist by conviction, severed ties with Marsh after he joined Winston Churchill's war cabinet.

Later Life and Tragic End

In the early 1920s, Gertler was diagnosed with tuberculosis and had to undergo treatment in a sanatorium. Shortly after, his closest friends, writer Katherine Mansfield and D.H. Lawrence, also succumbed to tuberculosis. In the 1930s, Gertler taught at the Westminster School of Art. However, his paintings struggled to sell during this time. An exhibition of his works organized in the late 1930s failed, and shortly after, the artist tragically took his own life in his studio.

Gertler's life served as inspiration for literary characters such as Loerke in D.H. Lawrence's "Women in Love" and Gombauld in Aldous Huxley's novel "Crome Yellow."