Queer St Ives and Other Stories

by Ian Massey

This first ever queer history of St Ives weaves together biography with art and social history to shine new light on a pivotal era in the development of British modernism Based on original interviews and previously unpublished letters and diaries, Queer St Ives reveals a fascinating, hitherto undocumented history, adding vital new insight into the history of the fabled British art colony. At the center of this pioneering volume is the sculptor John Milne, who arrived in the southwestern town of St Ives, Cornwall, in 1952, to work as an assistant to Barbara Hepworth. Hidden behind tall granite walls, Milne’s house, Trewyn, became a meeting point for queer figures from the arts and was the scene of legendary parties. The large cast―queer and otherwise―featured here includes artists Francis Bacon, Alan Lowndes, Marlow Moss, Patrick Procktor, Mark Tobey, Keith Vaughan and Brian Wall; Whitechapel Art Gallery director Bryan Robertson; actors Keith Barron and Richard Wattis; potter Janet Leach; writers Tony Warren and Richard Blake Brown; and the extraordinary Julian Nixon, a queer everyman whose involvement in the group has been little explored until now.

253 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2022

Reviews

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding and important record of the Queer community and its impact on art, particularly sculpture in Penwith during the 1950-60's.
I laughed out loud, I cried, I felt like I was being whispered secret gossip. The non judgmental tone of the author was informative and intreaging. These artists felt like friends by the end of the book.
Truly a book to be celebrated.