Mark Gertler: Flowers in a Vase, 1933

Mark Gertler (1891-1939) was a British painter of figure subjects, portraits and still-life. His early life and his relationship with Dora Carrington were the inspiration for Gilbert Cannan's novel Mendel. The characters of Loerke in D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love, and Gombauld in Aldous Huxley's Crome Yellow were based on him. From an early age Gertler showed signs of a great talent for drawing, and in 1908 he enrolled at the Slade School of Art in London. During the four years he spent at the Slade, Gertler was a contemporary of Paul Nash, Edward Wadsworth and Stanley Spencer, among others.

Gertler's patron was Lady Ottoline Morrell, through whom he became acquainted with the Bloomsbury Group. She introduced him to Walter Sickert, the nominal leader of the Camden Town Group. Gertler was soon enjoying success as a painter of society portraits, but his temperamental manner and devotion to advancing his work according to his own vision led to increasing personal frustration and the alienation of potential sitters and buyers. As a result, he struggled frequently with poverty.

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HC-1497: card size 7" x 5" (178mm x 127mm)