Austin Osman Spare facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Austin Osman Spare
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Spare in 1904
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| Born | 30 December 1886 London, England
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| Died | 15 May 1956 (aged 69) London, England
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| Education | Royal College of Art |
| Known for | Drawing, painting, occultism |
| Movement | Symbolism, proto-surrealism |
| Patron(s) | Lord Howard de Walden, Charles Ricketts, Marc-André Raffalovich, John Gray, Aleister Crowley |
Austin Osman Spare (born December 30, 1886 – died May 15, 1956) was a talented English artist. He was known for his drawings and paintings. His art often featured clear lines and sometimes strange, imaginative creatures.
Spare was also interested in occultism, which involves hidden knowledge and magic. He created his own special ways of thinking about the mind. These included automatic writing and automatic drawing, where he let his unconscious mind guide his hand. He also developed a method called sigilization, which used symbols to represent ideas.
Born into a working-class family in London, Spare showed an early love for art. He won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art. While there, he explored ideas like Theosophy and Western esotericism, which are spiritual philosophies. He even spent a short time with the famous occultist Aleister Crowley.
Spare wrote several books about his unique ideas, including Earth Inferno (1905) and The Book of Pleasure (1913). He became well-known for being the youngest artist to show his work at the prestigious Royal Academy summer exhibition in 1904.
After serving as a war artist during the First World War, Spare continued his art career. He lived in South London and often struggled financially. However, when surrealism became popular in the 1930s, critics saw his work as an early example of this style. His home was destroyed during the Blitz in World War II. He continued to create art until his death in 1956.
Spare's ideas about sigils greatly influenced the chaos magic movement. His art also gained new attention in the 1970s.
Contents
Austin Osman Spare: Early Life and Art Training
Childhood and First Art Steps
Austin Osman Spare was born in London on December 30, 1886. His father, Philip Newton Spare, was a police officer. His mother, Eliza Osman, came from Devon. Austin was the fourth of their children to survive.
He went to St. Agnes School and grew up in the Anglican Christian faith. From about age 12, he started taking evening art classes. He studied at the Lambeth School of Art with a teacher named Philip Connard.
Becoming an Artist: 1900–1905
In 1900, Spare began working as a designer for a glass company called Powell's. This company was connected to the Arts and Crafts movement. He continued his evening classes at Lambeth School of Art.
Two important visitors to Powell's, Sir William Blake Richmond and FH Richmond, saw Spare's drawings. They were very impressed and helped him get a scholarship to the Royal College of Art (RCA). His art was also shown at big exhibitions in St. Louis and Paris. In 1903, he won a silver medal at a national art competition. Judges praised his "remarkable sense of colour and great vigour."
Spare started studying at the RCA but found the teaching disappointing. He often skipped classes. His art style focused on clear lines, which was different from what the college taught. He was influenced by artists like Aubrey Beardsley. Spare became popular with other students, including Sylvia Pankhurst, a famous activist.
In 1905, Spare wrote and illustrated his first book, Earth Inferno. In this book, he explored his own mystical ideas.
In May 1904, Spare had his first public art show at a library in London. His paintings showed his unique spiritual views. His father secretly sent two of Spare's drawings to the Royal Academy. One of them was accepted for their famous summer exhibition. Journalists were very interested because Spare was only 17, making him the youngest artist in the show. He left the RCA in 1905 without a degree.
Austin Osman Spare: Career and Unique Ideas
Early Career and Exhibitions: 1906–1910
After leaving college, Spare worked as a designer and illustrator for books. His first book illustration was for Ethel Rolt Wheeler's Behind the Veil in 1906. He also illustrated other books in the following years.
In 1905, his drawing The Resurrection of Zoroaster was shown at the Royal Academy again. It featured strange, beaked serpents. In 1906, he also published his first political cartoon in a newspaper.
Spare spent a lot of time illustrating his second book, A Book of Satyrs. This book had nine satirical images that made fun of things like politics. It also included self-portraits and drawings of his collection of interesting objects. The book was later re-printed in 1909.
In October 1907, Spare had a big exhibition called "Black and White Drawings by Austin O Spare." It got a lot of attention from the press. Reviewers often compared him to Aubrey Beardsley and described his work as unusual and strange. One newspaper said his "inventive faculty is stupendous and terrifying."
Meeting Aleister Crowley and New Friendships
The famous occultist Aleister Crowley was interested in Spare's work. Crowley had started a religion called Thelema. He became a supporter of Spare's art. Spare contributed drawings to Crowley's journal, The Equinox.
Spare was invited to join Crowley's magical group, the A∴A∴. He joined in July 1907. However, Spare did not like Crowley's strict rules and ceremonies. He eventually left the group, preferring his own way of thinking.
Spare had many supporters, including wealthy art collectors. He also became friends with people in London's artistic circles. He was especially close to the writers Marc-André Raffalovich and John Gray.
Marriage and New Books: 1911–1916
In 1911, Austin Spare married Eily Gertrude Shaw. However, their relationship was difficult. Eily did not understand his artistic and spiritual interests.
Around 1910, Spare illustrated The Starlit Mire, a book of short sayings. His drawings for this book also showed his interest in the unusual. Another important drawing was A Fantasy, which showed Spare surrounded by horned animals. This reflected his belief in a connection between humans and their animal ancestors.
Over several years, Spare worked on his third major book, The Book of Pleasure, published in 1913. This book explored his mystical ideas about the human mind and the use of sigils. It was influenced by Eastern philosophies like Taoism and Buddhism. The book did not sell well and received mixed reviews.
In 1914, Spare contributed to a new art magazine called Colour. He then decided to start his own art magazine, Form, with co-editor Frederick Carter. The first issue came out in 1916. It included articles by Spare and Carter about automatic writing, which they believed allowed the unconscious mind to create art. However, Form was not very popular.
World War I and Later Works: 1917–1927
In 1917, during the First World War, Spare joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. He worked as a medical orderly and later as an official war artist.
After the war in 1919, Spare separated from his wife. He focused on a new book, The Focus of Life, published in 1921. This book continued to explore his mystical ideas. The success of this book led him to try and revive Form magazine, but it only lasted for three more issues. He then co-edited another art journal, The Golden Hind, which also stopped after eight issues in 1924.
In 1924 and 1925, Spare created sketchbooks of "automatic drawings" filled with strange creatures. He also wrote a new book, The Anathema of Zos, which criticized British society. He published it himself in 1927.
Surrealism and World War II: 1927–1945
Spare held more art exhibitions in 1927 and 1929, but his work was not very popular at the time. He was living in poverty. He then created a series of unique portraits called "Experiments in Reality." These were shown in 1930, which was his last major exhibition in London's West End for many years.
When surrealism became popular, people noticed Spare's earlier work. A reporter called him the "Father of Surrealism." This renewed interest helped him, and his exhibitions in Walworth Road in 1936, 1937, and 1938 were successful. He even started teaching art students.
When World War II began in 1939, Spare tried to join the army but was too old. During the Blitz in 1941, a German bomb destroyed his home and all his artwork, leaving him homeless.
Kenneth Grant and Later Life: 1946–1956
After the war, Spare had a successful exhibition in 1947. His work showed the growing influence of Spiritualism. He painted portraits of famous spiritualists and movie stars. Some people even called him "the first British Pop Artist."
In 1949, Spare met Kenneth Grant, an occultist, and his wife Steffi. They became good friends and shared an interest in spiritual topics. The Grants' influence led Spare to write new mystical manuscripts. He also became more interested in witchcraft and created artworks with titles like "Witchery."
Spare held successful art shows in local pubs, which earned him good money. He also illustrated articles for The London Mystery Magazine.
Austin Osman Spare: His Art and Ideas
His Artistic Style
Spare's art was very diverse. He created paintings, many drawings, pastel works, and etchings. He also published books that combined text with his images. He was productive throughout his life. His friend Haydn Mackay said that "rhythmic ornament grew from his hand seemingly without conscious effort."
Critics had mixed reactions to his work. Some were confused but impressed, while others were dismissive. An early review of The Book of Satyrs in 1909 called him a "young man of talent." However, it also said his mind worked in "somewhat tortuous channels."
In 1914, a critic reviewing The Book of Pleasure said it was "impossible" to understand Spare's drawings. They regretted that a "good draughtsman limits the scope of his appeal."
From 1922 to 1924, Spare co-edited an art magazine called Golden Hind. It featured impressive drawings and prints by him and other artists. In the 1920s and 1930s, Spare's work was shown in several galleries.
After 1930, Spare did not have many West End shows for 17 years. He would teach art and then display his finished works in his flat. He believed there was a big demand for affordable art. He mostly worked with pastel or pencil, drawing quickly. He especially liked drawing older people.
In the late 1930s, he developed a new painting style called "siderealism," which was well-received. His 1947 exhibition at the Archer Gallery was very successful. This led to a renewed interest in his work after the war. Public interest in Spare declined in the 1960s but slowly started to grow again in the mid-1970s.
Zos Kia Cultus: Spare's Philosophy
From a young age, Spare developed his own spiritual ideas, which became known as the Zos Kia Cultus. This term was created by Kenneth Grant. Spare had rejected his childhood Christian faith at age seventeen. He told a reporter, "I am devising a religion of my own."
Zos and Kia Concepts
Two main ideas in Spare's philosophy were Zos and Kia. Spare used "Zos" to mean the human body and mind. He also used it as a nickname for himself. Some believe he got the word from Greek words for "life" or "animal." Others think it balanced his own initials, "AOS," representing the beginning and end.
Spare used "Kia" (pronounced keah or keer) to describe a universal mind or ultimate power. It's similar to the idea of Brahman in Hinduism or the Tao in Taoism.
The Unconscious Mind
Spare believed the unconscious mind was the source of all inspiration. He thought the conscious mind was not useful for this. He felt it only kept us separate from what we truly wanted.
Spare believed that if you intentionally pushed certain desires into your unconscious mind, they would become very powerful. He saw the subconscious mind as the source of all magical power. He thought a desire could only become real if it became a part of the subconscious.
Some say Spare's ideas were influenced by Carl Gustav Jung's psychology. Jung believed the mind had hidden depths. However, Spare was critical of both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, calling their ideas "Fraud and Junk."
Atavistic Resurgence
Spare also believed in "atavistic resurgence." This was the idea that the human mind holds memories from earlier species in our evolution. He thought the "soul" was the continuing influence of our "ancestral animals." By tapping into this, he believed people could gain insights from past lives. This theory combined ideas of reincarnation and evolution. He saw a deep connection between humans and other animals. This was shown in his art through figures with animal horns. Spare admired Charles Darwin, the scientist who developed the theory of evolution.
Magic and Sigils
Spare created his unique sigils by combining letters of words into special symbols. These symbols represented desires. He believed they could be used with certain body postures, like yoga, to focus energy.
After his experiences with Aleister Crowley, Spare did not like traditional ceremonial magic. He preferred his own methods.
Austin Osman Spare: Personal Life and Legacy
Personal Life
Friends often described Spare as a kind and down-to-earth person. He loved animals throughout his life. He cared for many animals he found and was a member of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Death
In May 1956, Spare became very ill. He was taken to a hospital in London. Doctors found he had several health problems. He died on May 15, 1956, at the age of 69. He was buried next to his father in Ilford, London.
Legacy and Influence
In Art
In 1964, an exhibition of Spare's work was held. The Pop Artist Mario Amaya wrote that Spare's celebrity portraits from the 1930s and 1940s were "the first examples of Pop art in this country." He also said Spare's automatic drawings predicted Abstract Expressionism. London's The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History has a special gallery dedicated to his work.
In Esotericism
Some of Spare's techniques, especially his use of sigils, were adopted and made popular by Peter J. Carroll. Carroll and others are important figures in the chaos magic movement. This movement uses some of Spare's ideas and techniques.
In Music
- Asgærd, a British prog rock band, released a song called "Austin Osman Spare" in 1972.
- John Balance of the industrial music group Coil (formed in 1982) called Spare his "mentor." He said, "what Spare did in art, we try to do through music."
- The Polish death metal band Behemoth released an album called Zos Kia Cultus in 2002.
- Sleep of Monsters, a Finnish band, released a song in 2016 that mentions Austin Spare.
In Culture
In 2016, a new street near Spare's former home in London was named after him.
Selected Exhibitions
- Bruton Galleries, London, October 1907
- The Baillie Gallery, London, October 1911
- The Baillie Gallery, London, October 1912
- The Ryder Gallery, London, April–May 1912
- The Baillie Gallery, London, July 1914
- St. George’s Gallery, London, March 1927
- The Lefevre Galleries, London, April 1929
- Godfrey Phillips Galleries, London, November 1930
- Artist's studio, 56A Walworth Road, Elephant, London, Autumn, 1937
- Artist's studio, 56a Walworth Road, Elephant, London, Autumn, 1938
- Archer Gallery, London, November 1947
- The Temple Bar (Doctors), 286 Walworth Rd. London, October–November 1949
- The Mansion House Tavern, June–July 1952
- The White Bear, London, November–December 1953
- Archer Gallery, London, October–November 1955
- The Greenwich Gallery, London, July–August 1964
- Alpine Club Gallery (Group Exhibition), London, June–July 1965
- The Obelisk Gallery, London, 1972
- The Taranman Gallery, London, September 1974
- Oliver Bradbury & James Birch Fine Art, London, November–December 1984
- The Morley College Gallery, London, September 1987
- Henry Boxer, London, November 1992
- Arnolfini, Bristol, 2007
- Cuming Museum, South London, September–November 2010
- Atlantis Bookshop, London, 2010
- The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History, October 2014 -
- Iceberg Projects, Chicago, IL, USA, April–May 2022
See Also
In Spanish: Austin Osman Spare para niños
