Maurice de Sausmarez Archive
Please note
The catalogue titles or descriptions in this collection may contain terminology and phrases that would now be considered unacceptable. Where present these original terms continue to be included to preserve historical accuracy and provide social and historical context.See the Access and usage section below for further details.
Details
Type of record: Archive
Title: Maurice de Sausmarez Archive
Classmark: MS 2270
Related People: Maurice De Sausmarez(Personal name)
Creator(s): De Sausmarez, Maurice (1915-1969)
Date(s): c.1900-2015
Size and medium: 77 boxes; 615 printed items
Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/682314
Collection group(s): Maurice de Sausmarez Archive
Description
Archive of artist, educator and writer Maurice de Sausmarez (1915-69). The archive comprises an extensive collection of manuscripts of his numerous lectures, articles and publications, incoming correspondence and retained copies of many of his own letters, original drawings, printed material including exhibition catalogues and art books, photographs, personal items and other ephemera. Together they reveal an important network of artists, thinkers and groups who reshaped the cultural life of postwar Britain and beyond. Among his circle were the art critic and philosopher Sir Herbert Read and the art historian and sociologist Arnold Hauser, pioneering art educators Harry Thubron, Tom Hudson and Victor Pasmore and the visual artists Bridget Riley, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore, Naum Gabo, William Coldstream, Terry Frost, Alan Davie, Hubert Dalwood and Margaret Benyon.
Biography or history
The artist and art historian Maurice de Sausmarez (1915-1969) was a gifted and dedicated teacher whose influence on several generations of artists and designers was profound and enduring. He was instrumental in developing and establishing experimental programmes and curriculums for teaching the fine arts within universities and specialist colleges. He also addressed the challenge of art education for the general public through lectures and public broadcasts. Born in Australia in 1915, de Sausmarez’s family moved to the West Indies the following year. In 1923, 5 years after his father’s disappearance and presumed death while swimming, his mother moved the family back to England. He was educated at Christ’s Hospital, Horsham and Willesden School of Art before becoming a student at the Royal College of Art. Awarded a Continuation Scholarship by the RCA in 1939, it had to be relinquished due to the war. De Sausmarez took up a teaching position but in 1941, after failing his
Armed Services medical examination, he resigned due to ill health. He contributed to an exhibition of Contemporary British Art organised by the Central School of Art and Design and agreed to undertake drawings of Bedfordshire as part of the Recording Britain Scheme.
By 1943 de Sausmarez was publishing articles and exhibiting his work in London. The following year he began work as a free-lance designer and consultant and continued with part-time teaching in various London art schools.
In 1947 de Sausmarez was appointed Head of the School of Drawing and Painting at Leeds College of Art and began his important association with the city and the region. Two years later he was named Lecturer and Head of the Department of Fine Art at the University of Leeds. There he taught art and gave lectures throughout the 1950’s before taking up the same role at Hornsey College of Art in London (1959-62) and eventually moving on, in 1962, as principal of the prestigious Byam Shaw School of Drawing and Painting. In 1964 de Sausmarez published Basic Design: The Dynamics of Visual Form. For more than half a century the book has remained an essential work.
A full and excellent chronological history of de Saumarez’s life and work can be found in the volume On Artists and their Making: Selected Writings of Maurice de Sausmarez (London, Unicorn Press, 2015) compiled and edited by Hilary Diaper in collaboration with Jane de Sausmarez. It serves as the best guide to much of what can be found in his archive. To celebrate his centenary there was also a retrospective exhibition of de Sausmarez’s paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery at Leeds; an illustrated catalogue, Maurice de Sausmarez 1915-1969, includes essays by Hilary Diaper and Richard Cork.
Access and usage
Reproduction
Access
Some parts of this collection have not been listed in detail and the content may be protected under the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation. Please consult the relevant part of the catalogue for specific details. Where a detailed record does not exist, please contact Special Collections. Upon receipt of your request, a member of the team will discuss your requirements with you and review relevant material accordingly
This collection is subject to various access conditions. Please see individual catalogue descriptions for further details on access.
This section contains material that is less than 30 years old and may contain sensitive information.
You will need to complete a data protection access form and return it to Special Collections for review by staff before access can be granted. This request will be reviewed by a member of staff in accordance with any relevant legislation and you will be informed of the decision
The catalogue titles or descriptions in this collection may contain terminology and phrases that would now be considered unacceptable. Where present these original terms continue to be included to preserve historical accuracy and provide social and historical context.
View the Cultural Collections sensitivity policy
Material in this collection is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can only be supplied by the Library for research or private study within the terms of copyright legislation. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.
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On our website
Collection guide: Maurice de Sausmarez Archive Collection Guide
A guide to using the Maurice de Sausmarez Archive in Special Collections at the University of Leeds. The Archive documents de Sausmarez's life and work as an artist, writer and influential art educator.