Mark Gertler

Mark Gertler (1891-1931) was a British painter born in Spitalfields, London, to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents. He grew up in poverty and attended the Slade School of Fine Art from 1908, where his contemporaries included Stanley Spencer, Dora Carrington, and Paul Nash.

Gertler’s style combined elements of Post-Impressionism and early Modernism. He was influenced by artists such as Cézanne and Van Gogh. His paintings are characterised by bold colour palettes and strong compositions. Gertler’s best-known work is “The Merry-Go-Round” (1916), a depiction of a fairground ride. This painting has been interpreted as an anti-war statement related to the First World War.

Personal relationships played a significant role in Gertler’s life and art. His close association with the Bloomsbury Group, particularly his friendship with the writer D.H. Lawrence and painter Dora Carrington, profoundly affected him both personally and artistically. His unrequited love for Carrington became a source of emotional turmoil and creative inspiration, often evident in the psychological depth of his portraits.

Throughout his career, Gertler struggled with ill health and financial instability. His Jewish identity and outsider status in the British art world, combined with his intense personal struggles, contributed to a sense of alienation that is palpable in much of his work. Despite these challenges, Gertler exhibited regularly at the London Group and the New English Art Club, and his art was championed by critics such as Roger Fry and Clive Bell.

Gertler’s life was tragically cut short when he died by suicide in 1931 at the age of forty. However, his legacy endures in the powerful, emotionally charged works he left behind. Today, Mark Gertler is recognised as a pivotal figure in British art, his paintings representing both the anxieties and aspirations of a generation poised between tradition and modernity.