Reginald Brill

Reginald Brill (1902–1974) was an English social realist and narrative painter who has just begun to receive the recognition which was enjoyed in their lifetimes by his contemporaries, William Roberts and Stanley Spencer. His keenly observed images convey a strong sense of what life was like for the working man in England in the 1950s.

Brill won a scholarship to the Slade and the ‘Prix de Rome’. At the age of thirty he became principal of the School of Art in Kingston-upon-Thames. In five years he transformed what was a disorganized and ill-housed institution into one of the most respected art schools in England. It is now the Faculty of Art and Design of the Kingston University.

This generously illustrated book reproduces 91 of Brill’s paintings in colour, and a further 79 black-and-white illustrations reveal him as a master draughtsman. Judith Bumpus’s account of Brill’s life and work is the first major study of the artist, and using his own diaries, archives and anecdotes from surviving friends she reveals a man of charisma, wit and artistic dedication.