William Coldstream
| Sir William Coldstream | |
|---|---|
| Born |
William Menzies Coldstream 28 February 1908 Belford, Northumberland, England |
| Died | 18 February 1987 (aged 78) London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | |
| Known for | Painting, Drawing |
| Awards | CBE 1952; Knighted 1956 |
Sir William Menzies Coldstream, CBE (28 February 1908 – 18 February 1987) was an English realist painter and a long-standing art teacher.
Born in Belford, Northumberland, in northern England, the son of a country doctor, Coldstream grew up in London where he was privately educated. He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art between 1926 and 1929. In 1931 he joined the London Artists' Association and then, two years later, the London Group. In 1934, Coldstream joined the GPO Film Unit to make documentary films with John Grierson. During his time with the GPO, Coldstream worked alongside W.H. Auden, Benjamin Britten and Barnett Freedman but also continued to paint. In 1937, with some financial support from Kenneth Clark, Coldstream returned to painting on a full-time basis. Later that year he co-founded the Euston Road School with Graham Bell, Victor Pasmore and Claude Rogers, having previously been involved in the short-lived Objective Abstraction movement. Coldstream's earlier years were characterized by a dedicated engagement with socialist ideals, and by the pursuit of a non-elitist form of art. To this end, he supported the Mass Observation social survey of Britain and participated in their 1938 painting trip to Bolton.
At the start of World War Two Coldstream enlisted in the Royal Artillery before transferring to the Royal Engineers. At first he served as a gunner with a training regiment near Dover and then, from 1940 until 1943 was a camouflage officer with Camouflage Command in Farnham and later in Bristol. In 1943, the War Artists' Advisory Committee, WWAC, offered Coldstream a full-time commission which he accepted, having previously declined to work for the Committee. He was stationed in Cairo with an Indian transport unit and painted four portraits of individuals there. From Cairo he travelled to Italy, painting buildings in Capua, Rimini and Florence. Due to his slow means of working, Coldstream only produced nine pictures during his WAAC commission.
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