At sixteen, typhoid and double pneumonia nearly killed Ginner. He convalesced on a tramp steamer sailing the south Atlantic and Mediterranean, then returned to Cannes and took a job in an engineer's office. When he finally settled on a career, it was architecture, not painting. He spent three years in a Paris architect's office before switching to the Academie Vitti in 1904 to study under Paul Gervais, then briefly defected to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts after a clash with his teacher.
Key facts
- Lived
- 1878–1952, British
- Movement
- Works held in
- 21 museums[1]
Biography
His father, Isaac Benjamin Ginner from Hastings, had moved the family to southern France. Charles grew up bilingual and retained a French accent for years after relocating to London. A trip to Buenos Aires in 1909 produced his first solo exhibition. The following year he went to London to serve on the hanging committee of the Allied Artists Association, where Harold Gilman and Spencer Gore befriended him and persuaded him to stay. By 1911 he was a member of the Camden Town Group, painting London streets and interiors with a thick, mosaic-like application of paint that owed as much to Van Gogh and Cezanne as to his Camden Town colleagues.
In 1914 he published a manifesto for what he called Neo-Realism in the journal New Age. "Realism, loving Life, loving its Age, interprets its Epoch by extracting from it the very essence of all it contains of great or of weak, of beautiful or of sordid," he wrote. The statement became the closest thing the Camden Town painters had to a shared artistic creed, though the group was dissolving by then into the broader London Group, which Ginner joined in 1913.
He served as a war artist in both world wars and was elected to the Royal Academy in 1942. He died in London in 1952.
Timeline
- 1878Born on 4 March in Cannes, France, the third of four children in a British family. At sixteen he contracted typhoid and double pneumonia, and was sent to recuperate on a long voyage aboard his uncle's tramp steamer.
- 1904Aged 26, entered the Academie Vitti in Paris to study painting after his parents finally withdrew their opposition to an artistic career.
- 1911At 33, became a member of the Camden Town Group in London, having been persuaded to settle in the city by Harold Gilman and Spencer Gore the previous year.
- 1914Aged 36, published his artistic manifesto on Neo-Realism in The New Age, spelling out his creed of meticulous direct observation of urban and landscape subjects.
- 1942At 64, elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in London. He served as an Official War Artist during both World Wars.
- 1950Aged 72, awarded a CBE for his services to art.
- 1952Died on 6 January in London, aged 73.
Notable Works
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Where to See Charles Ginner
1 museum worldwide.
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1 works
National Gallery of Canada
Rideau-Vanier Ward, Canada
Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Charles Ginner known for?
Charles Ginner is known for his paintings of London streets and interiors. These paintings used a thick, mosaic-like application of paint, influenced by Van Gogh and Cezanne.Who was Charles Ginner?
Charles Ginner was a British artist who was born in 1878 and died in 1952. He was a member of the Camden Town Group and the London Group, and he served as a war artist in both world wars.What was Charles Ginner's art style?
Charles Ginner's art style involved a thick, mosaic-like application of paint. This was influenced by Van Gogh and Cezanne, as well as his Camden Town colleagues.When was Charles Ginner born?
Charles Ginner was born in 1878 in United Kingdom. Charles Ginner died in 1952, aged 74.How did Charles Ginner die?
Charles Ginner died in 1952 at the age of 74.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Charles Ginner.
- [1] museum National Gallery of Canada Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] book Post-impressionism : cross-currents in European painting Used for: biography.
- [3] book Post-impressionism : cross-currents in European painting Used for: biography.
- [4] book Tillyard, S. K, The impact of modernism, 1900-1920 : early modernism and the arts and crafts movement in Edwardian England Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-17. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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