N e w s l e t t e R - Radley College

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In the earliest days of Radley College Art was taught by a visiting tutor in a classroom block known as the slums. This was replaced by a corrugated iron roofed classroom which was on the present Art Department site. Finally, the Sewell Centre, which houses both the Art Department and the Design Department, was opened in 1979 by Sir Patrick Nairne. The Art Department has studios for painting, sculpture, ceramics, digital film and printmaking. It also has a darkroom for photography as well as a History of Art library and seminar room. These facilities have enabled the Art Department to produce work of high quality and a key feature of Radley has been the decision to try and fulfil Sewell’s founding aesthetic vision for Radley by colonising public spaces, corridors and foyers with high quality paintings and installations created by Radley pupils. Art New York, New York by Oliver Cooke at Radley 10 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER
A number of Radleians have moved on to Art College and careers in the Art World. There are Old Radleians running the National Portrait Gallery and Modern Art Oxford. Others are dealers in Bond Street, and auction houses, as well as full time practising fine artists. When I arrived at Radley in 1990 I was astonished by the calibre of work being produced by the boys. Many of them have become extremely successful over the years. Both Hamish and Alastair Mackie (Munt House, F Social), who I taught in the early 1990’s, have gone on to establish themselves as prominent figures on the UK art scene. Hamish has become known for his sculpted bronze work. He also created the lifesize sculpture of St. Peter which is sited next to Clock Tower. Alastair went on to study art at the City and Guilds London Art School after leaving Radley. His work is now highly sought after in the contemporary art world and he numbers the Saatchis as one of his many patrons. Oliver Cooke (Dragon, E Social), who left Radley to pursue a career in Architecture at Cambridge, continues to astonish me with the power, vitality and freshness of his work. It was no surprise to me that, after inviting him back to Radley to exhibit his work, a large number of his paintings were quickly snapped up by members of Common Room. Mick and Janie Wright, dons respectively teaching Biology and French, acquired an evening cityscape of New York that continues to give them enormous pleasure. When I spoke to the Wrights about their painting they talked of the tremendous power and, at the same time, tenderness that exists within the work. It is interesting that after the dreadful events of September 11th they now look upon the work in a slightly different manner as they have noticed that a single candle seems to have taken over the middle ground of the composition, in their minds offering a future of hope and resurrection. Charlie Langton (Pinewood, G Social) is another successful Radley artist. Christ’s ascension featured in his work while at Radley when he painted Charlie Langton painting a portrait of David Margesson, the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire an astonishing rendition of Salvador Dali’s crucifixion which presently hangs in the foyer of the new theatre. Upon leaving Radley, Charlie attended the Charles H. Cecil Florence Academy of Art where he honed his artistic skills. He has since been awarded numerous commissions. Recently, Charlie returned to the Art Department and undertook a series of studies from life of Radley’s legendary cricket coach, Bert Robinson. The finished bronze of Bert is a magnificent sculpture, capturing every detail of his face in the fine tradition of the most gifted and able of Renaissance masters. Charlie recently spoke to Luke Gibson, 6.1 Art Historian about his time here at Radley and how he embarked on art as a career choice. He told Luke how ‘he was not apprehensive going into a reasonably narrow career field, as it was what he had always wanted to do’. He described his experiences at Edinburgh College of Art as enjoyable; however, the facilities he found lacking. Charlie contrasted them directly with the beautiful working conditions he had experienced at Radley. He stated that ‘the teaching at Radley was fantastic and there was always equipment available’. Gaining recognition as an artist requires luck, skill and a lot of hard work. And, Charlie is blessed with all of these and I am certain he will continue to excel in all of his undertakings. continued overleaf Mixed Media by Authur Laidlaw and Sebastian Inglis-Jones THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 11
Page 1 and 2: Radley The N e w s l e t t e r Hock
Page 3 and 4: THE TEAM C Davies (C) (Beeston Hall
Page 5 and 6: adleians Harry Hall (Shell) Ludgrov
Page 7 and 8: ts and Activities in 6 /7 Joshua Re
Page 9: Greek Trips Classics at Radley rema

N e w s l e t t e R - Radley College

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