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8
“ASenseofForm”:theartofDavidBomberg
Furthermore,Bomberg’snamewasexcludedfrommajorpublicationsonmod-
ernBritishartthatappearedduringhislifetime,suchasforinstanceHerbert
Read’sContemporaryBritishArt(1951)andJohnRothenstein’sModernEnglish
Painters(1956)2l
Bombergwasalsodeniedmanyteachingposts,beforeheeventuallywasal-
lowedtoteachdrawingtoguncrewsinHydePark,andlateronattheBorough
PolytechniclHavingrealized,towardstheendofhislife,howbadlyignored
andabandonedheandhisarthadbecome,theembitteredBombergbecame
consumedbyrageanddespair,whichundoubtedlybroughtabouttheartist’s
prematuredeathin1957l
Today,DavidBombergisconsideredtobeoneofthegreatestBritishartistsof
thetwentiethcenturylHeisparticularlywell-knownforhiscontributiontothe
avant-gardemovementinBritainlHefoughtforthemodernistcauseassoon
ashisearlyartschoolyearslWhenhisprofessorcriticizedhisCubistworkfor
itsinappropriateness,Bombergattackedhimwithhispalettewhichwelldemon-
stratedhisyouthfulbuoyancylHewasneverwillingtocompromiseinhisart
whichsometimesalienatedcriticsandartdealerslHishighlyavant-gardestyle
wasevenrejectedbytheOmegaWorkshops(associatedwiththeBloomsbury
Group),wheretheyoungartistworkedin1912lBomberg’surgencytopaintthe
aforementionedSappersatWorkinaCubo-Futuristmanneragainexemplifies
hisdeterminationtopursuetheavant-gardecausel
Evenfollowingtheearlystagesofhiscareer,Bomberg,remainedinnovative
incomparisonwithotherBritishartistslAfterhehadabandonedhisfascina-
tionwithCubismandtheavant-gardedistortionofthenaturalenvironment,he
begantoapproachabstractionandarguablymayclaimtohavebecomeanEx-
pressionistpainter-notonlyrepresentingaground-breakingshiftofdirection
butalsodisparatewiththeartproducedwithintheBritishIslesatthattimel
OnecouldcontendthatBombergwasbornintoanerawhichinitselfwas
transitorytoBritishartingenerallWhenhewasyoung,Britishpainterswere
stillworkingonpastoralviewsoftheBritishlandscapeandportraitsofprom-
inentfiguresoftherulingclass,mostlyexecutedinamimeticstyletoplease
theeyesofthebourgeoistastelWhileattheonsetofthetwentieth-centurythe
Britishpublicwereextremelyscepticaltowardsnewdevelopmentsinart,today,
acenturylater,theyaremorewillingandopentoacceptingnewideasandart
thatbreakswithtraditionlBombergfoundhimselfinapositioninwhichhewas
expectedtoaccustomthepublictothenewdevelopmentsfromtheContinentl
Thetaskwasnotaneasyone,andalthoughtheartistsucceeded,itcosthim
criticalacclaimandfinancialsuccessl
2Cork(1987:1)l
