Gray, Ronald (1868-1951) by Scholes, Robert

Ronald Gray (1868 – 1951) A figure and landscape painter, he studied at the Westminster School and later taught art at Bishops Stortford College. He was part of the London art scene for many years, and knew , , , , and . In for February 13, 1913 , Anthony Ludovici had this to say about him: Steer Gore Tonks Connard MacColl The New Age NA 12.15:359 Mr. Ronald Grey [sic] is conscientious. His transcriptive faculty is phenomenal–almost Dutch, or “double” so! He has not learned freedom yet, and so long as technical mastery is not acquired, it is perfectly right for a man to be slavishly precise. He cannot be anything else; unless, with the Futurists, he wishes to conceal his incompetence beneath a bushel. No 21 has, therefore, many excellent points. But Mr. Ronald Grey very likely does not require to be told that he is not “out of the wood” yet–he probably knows it perfectly well. It is possible that Ludovici was writing about another artist named Ronald Grey, since he treats him as if he were quite young. But we have been unable to locate any information about such a person. Wrongly spelled artists’ names are common in this periodical. The University of Glasgow has a number of letters from Ronald Gray, including one to James Laver described as follows: Autograph letter signed. 1945 January 6. Walnut Cottage, High Ham, Taunton, Somerset. From Ronald Gray to James Laver. Offering Laver his correspondence with Steer and Tonks; he would also like to be rid of his correspondence with MacColl and Philip Connard. He has also ‘a lot of charming letters’ from Max Beerbohm.

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