Biographies
Tonks, Henry (1862-1937)
by Scholes, Robert
Henry Tonks (1862 – 1937) Born in Birmingham, he first trained as a doctor, but also studied drawing and painting, so that, when his friend Frederick Brown offered him a chance to teach at the Slade School in 1892, he accepted, becoming an admired teacher and an important figure in the London art scene until his retirement from the Slade (where he had become Principal in 1917) in 1930. He taught by demonstrating and, as might be expected, stressed anatomical accuracy. He was a member of the New English Art Club, and can be found in famous caricature of the group. Max Beerbohm’s