William Coldstream : Figure 1963
Despite the experience (with Euan Uglow), I still enjoyed the work of Uglow, and as part of my thesis in my final year I sought to place his work in the context of the 20th Centuary figurative painting tradition. This is evident in the work of the Euston Road School of painting and drawing in the 1930’s. This led me to find out more about how this school developed and both its influence on British Art, but also its influence on art education in England. Inevitably this included evaluating the work of William Coldstream and the Government Coldstream Reports which impacted directly on how art and design was taught in art schools. In 1978 I went to meet William Coldstream at the Slade School of Fine Art. He was both welcoming and guarded whilst answering my questions about how the philosophies underpinning the Euston Road School had been used to develop and convert the art and craft diploma courses to degree programmes.
