David Bates

Key facts

Lived

1840–1921, British^[2]

Movements

• genre painting
• landscape painting

^[2]

Works held in

10 museums^[1]

Wikipedia

View article

• On Ripple Common, Worcestershire

  Newport Museum and Art Gallery

  Newport, United Kingdom

  1 works

  Museum detailsMap
• Broadheath Common

  Nottingham Museums

  City of Nottingham, United Kingdom

  1 works

  Museum details

Plan your visit to see David Bates →

• What is David Bates known for?+

  David Bates is known for his landscapes, which belong to the tradition of open-air painting. He is grouped with the Birmingham School of artists, who favoured direct observation of the English countryside.
• What is David Bates's most famous work?+

  David Hockney, born in Bradford in 1937, is a prolific artist who constantly experiments with different subjects and materials. He attended Bradford School of Art, followed by the Royal College of Art in London. While still a student, Hockney exhibited his work in London. After leaving college, a London art dealer presented an exhibition of his work titled *David Hockney: Pictures with People In*. It was a sellout, and Hockney became celebrated as a new young artist. Among his well-known works is his book filled with paintings of his dogs. Also, from 1961 to 1963, Hockney created a series of images after 18th-century pictures by William Hogarth, called *A Rake’s Progress*. These 16 prints tell a moral story about similar problems in the 20th century. In 1970-71, Hockney painted *Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy*; the Tate Gallery has stated that it is the most popular work in their collection.
• What should I know about David Bates's prints?+

  When considering David Bates's prints, bear in mind some basic facts about the fine art print market. A print is an image conceived by the artist as a print and executed solely as a print, usually in a numbered edition, and signed by the artist. Each print in the edition is an original, printed from a plate, stone, screen, block or other matrix created for that purpose. There is no one original print from which copies are made. Each print is inked and pulled individually; it is a multi-original medium. The number of prints in the edition is decided by the artist. The sequential numbering provides an accounting for the number of prints in the edition. Each print has a specific number; i.e. 12/25 (the edition is 25, the particular print is number 12). The edition claim is written as a pair of numbers on the left bottom margin of the print itself: it consists of a print number and an edition number written as a group with a short separating line between them. The print number is written above or to the left, the edition size is written below or to the right. The title of the print is written in the middle of the bottom margin of the print. The signature (and/or chop mark) is on the right of the bottom margin of the print. Edition descriptions are always signed in pencil.
• What style or movement did David Bates belong to?+

  It is difficult to assign David Bates to a single style or movement, but his work can be examined in the context of art history. During the 17th century, Dutch painting saw a rise in popularity, with artists creating a comprehensive visual record of Dutch life. This period saw the emergence of different types of painting, each depicting a particular environment. Dutch artists produced country scenes with canals, dunes, farm houses and windmills. The Dutch coast was the inspiration for marine painting. People from all classes appeared in paintings of everyday life, in farms, taverns and domestic houses. The produce and imports of Holland, such as flowers, fruit, fish, game, cheese, carpets, glassware and silverware, were the subjects of still-life painting. There was also an unprecedented demand for portraiture. Realism was a key element in Dutch painting, with artists carefully studying colours, tones, proportions and spatial intervals from nature. Stylistic conventions evolved over time, with artists aiming for pictorial clarity. The trend towards realism began in the 1610s and 1620s, with space in paintings reduced and the viewpoint brought down to eye-level.
• What techniques or materials did David Bates use?+

  Artists' materials and techniques are essential to the study and appreciation of art. Oil paint is a common medium, valued for its blending capabilities. Some artists use complex layering of paint to create effects, such as the soft texture of cloth. Jan van Eyck's work, for example, features layering of verdigris pigment mixed with lead white and tin-lead yellow, finished with a translucent glaze of verdigris in boiled linseed oil with pine resin. Watercolour is another medium with unique properties. With watercolour, artists typically work from light to dark, as light colours cannot be applied over dark ones. This requires careful planning to achieve the desired colour. The choice of materials and techniques is not the only element of artistic creation. Artists make choices that go beyond the limitations of their materials. Understanding these techniques and processes, and how they intersect with the artist's aesthetic decisions, is important to understanding art history.
• What was David Bates known for?+

  David Bates is known for his paintings, which often feature human figures within outdoor settings. These are not direct copies of nature; rather, they are representations of the artist's imagination. Rubens began producing these works around 1616. They often incorporate implied narratives. One example is *Landscape with Carters*. In this piece, the central subject is a detailed depiction of trees, including gnarled roots and jagged rocks. The carters with their horse-drawn wagon are based on studies from life. The painting depicts a landscape with sunlight on one side and night on the other, complete with a full moon and figures by a campfire. The carters are shown struggling to control their wagon as they navigate a difficult path.
• When did David Bates live and work?+

  Walter Richard Sickert was born in Munich in 1860^[2]; his family relocated to England in 1868. He initially pursued acting before studying art, first briefly at the Slade School of Fine Art in 1881, then as an assistant to Whistler in 1882. A decisive meeting with Degas in Paris in 1883 led to Sickert's focus on urban subject matter, particularly London music halls. Sickert's career developed through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He moved to Dieppe in 1898, before returning to England in 1905. He exhibited frequently, including with the New English Art Club, and taught evening classes. A major retrospective of his work was held at the National Gallery in 1941. Walter Sickert died in Bathampton in 1942.
• Where can I see David Bates's work?+

  David Bates's work can be viewed in several museums across the United States and in Europe. In the United States, you can find his pieces at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis. Other US locations include the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, and the Wolfsonian at Florida International University in Miami Beach. The Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum in Atlanta, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston also hold works. In the United Kingdom, museums with relevant holdings include the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, the National Museums of Scotland Royal Museum in Edinburgh, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Other European locations include the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, the Kunsthaus Zurich, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
• Where was David Bates from?+

  David Bates was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1945. By 1951, he had moved with his family to Los Angeles. He began drawing at a young age and later attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. In 1963, Bates travelled in Europe, visiting Greece among other places. During the 1960s, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in New Jersey. While there, he painted and exhibited in New York. In 1968, Bates relocated to Big Sur, California. He has taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and also in the University of Notre Dame Rome Studies Program. He is known for his paintings of figures, still lifes, and landscapes.
• Who influenced David Bates?+

  It is difficult to identify specific individuals who directly influenced David Bates. Art history often involves tracing connections between artists across time, with some working in reverence of predecessors, while others use familiar imagery to counter the original message. One source mentions that Analytic Cubism, particularly the work of Braque and Picasso, along with early Kandinsky and Miró, helped to shape an artist during their college years. The same artist also studied Matisse, Mondrian, Léger, Renaissance and Quattrocento artists, Old Masters, and African art. Another source notes the importance of John Graham to artists such as De Kooning and Gorky. Graham introduced them to Davis, Xceron and others, and his book, *System and Dialectics of Art*, included them all.
• Who was David Bates?+

  Robert Bevan was born in Hove, Sussex, in 1865^[2]. He studied at the Westminster School of Art and the Académie Julian in Paris. Bevan visited Pont-Aven in 1890-1 and 1893-4; in 1892, he visited Tangier. Bevan settled in London in 1900. He kept abreast of developments in French art, but he seems to have worked somewhat alone until the Fitzroy Street Group discovered his work at the Allied Artists' Association in 1908. Bevan was a founder member of the Camden Town Group, the London Group, and the Cumberland Market Group. His painting The Courtyard was based on preliminary sketches done in Poland, a place that reminded him of Brittany. He visited Poland several times between 1899 and 1904. During these years, he made frequent trips to Paris to see exhibitions. This stimulus, as well as contact with Gauguin, inspired Bevan’s experiments with colour. The colour in The Courtyard is more intense, and the Expressionistic swirling forms more dramatic, than in his previous work. Bevan died in 1925.
• Why are David Bates's works important today?+

  David Bates's work is important because it engages with questions of originality, newness, and the avant-garde. These concepts remain relevant in contemporary art and culture. Bates's art prompts a re-evaluation of what constitutes the avant-garde, moving beyond established styles or techniques. His approach demands a continuous renewal of artistic questioning in relation to social forms. Bates's practice aligns with a present demand made by objects, responding to the question: what is avant-garde now? This temporality is key, as judging something as avant-garde involves an affirmative connection between the present and the future. His work challenges conventional histories of the avant-garde, urging a critical reconstruction of specific historical contexts. Bates's art encourages a re-examination of Duchamp and Dada, prompting a rethinking of what lives within them and how it speaks to current practices. His work contributes to the ongoing debate about the avant-garde's demands and its capacity to question and challenge established norms.