When the St Ives School of Painting opened in April 1938 it was the fulfillment of a vow made by two young officers who had served in the trenches some twenty years earlier. They vowed that if they survived the horrors of the Western Front, they would one day live and paint in St Ives. Both were trained and experienced artists: Borlase Smart studied under Julius Olsson RA at his School of Painting in the Porthmeor Studios in St Ives and Leonard Fuller was trained at The Royal Academy.

After the war Borlase Smart and his wife settled in St Ives living for a while in his Porthmeor studio. In the years that followed he became one of St Ives' leading painters specialising in boldly rendered seascapes. He was a founding member of the St Ives Society of Artists and did much to promote the work of local artists. Leonard Fuller, by then married to Marjorie Mostyn RCA whom he had met at the Royal Academy Schools, returned to the Home Counties after the war and became Drawing Master at Dulwich College at the same time gaining a considerable reputation for his portraits, many of which were shown in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions.

By the mid thirties there was clearly a need for an art school in St Ives (Julius Olsson's school having ceased some twenty years earlier), so in 1938 Borlase Smart persuaded Leonard Fuller to leave the Home Counties and open The St Ives School of Painting in Denis Mitchell's former Porthmeor studio. The school was an immediate success attracting students from all parts of this country and abroad.

1939 saw the arrival of Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth who with Bernard Leach (who had set up his pottery in 1920) were to form the nucleus of a modern art movement that would achieve an international reputation within a few short years. Leonard Fuller was sympathetic to new ideas and welcomed newcomers as did Borlase Smart who invited Nicholson and Hepworth and later other younger artists to join the St Ives Society of Artists. Among these these young modern artists were Peter Lanyon, Terry Frost and Wilhelmina Barns Graham who used the facilities of the school, particularly the life classes.




In 1948, with the death of their owner, the Porthmeor studios and fishermen's cellars were put up for sale. After much fundraising and supported by an interest free loan from the Arts Council the studios were secured in the name of The Borlase Smart Memorial Trust. Many works from the 1950s by artists now known as the 'Middle Generation' were produced by occupants of the Porthmeor Studios, notably Patrick Heron, (who had moved into Ben Nicholson's former studio) Terry Frost and Wilhelmina Barns Graham. These were exciting times for St Ives artists whose works gained national prominence in the Festival of Britain and international recognition through touring exhibitions and links with New York.

The school flourished throughout this period by attracting both local and visiting students: the St Ives born painter and primitivist Bryan Pearce attended the school shortly after taking up painting in his mid twenties.


The deaths of Leonard Fuller, Barbara Hepworth, Roger Hilton and Bryan Wynter in the mid-seventies were seen by many to be the end of an era. Fuller's widow Marjorie, continuing her husband's work, oversaw the running of the school. From 1975 the artist Roy Ray was asked by Marjorie to take on the role of Principal. This brought a new lease of life to the school just as St Ives was also beginning to regain its momentum with the revival of the September festival in 1977, staging lectures, films and exhibitions. In that same year, regular Wednesday evening life drawing classes were introduced which proved to be very popular with both local artists and visitors - a tradition which continues to this day having become something of an institution.

In 1985, the Tate Gallery's exhibition 'St Ives 1939-64' renewed interest in the work of the 'Middle Generation' and highlighted the need for a permanent showcase for their work in the town. Within five years, Cornwall County Council initiated a scheme to achieve this and a local organisation, St Ives Tate Action Group (STAG), launched its own campaign at The School of Painting - a campaign that was to raise a staggering £130,000 toward funding the award winning Tate St Ives.

By the late eighties Roy had built up a team of artists/tutors who proved to be highly popular, particularly with students who were seeking access to contemporary ideas and a more personal direction in their work. Workshops were developed along the lines of mini-foundation courses that also proved valuable to sixth-form groups and by the 1990's visiting school groups from various parts of the country had become a regular part of the school's annual attendance. By the end of the nineties, the school had achieved charitable status.

Seventy years after its conception, the school now occupies a unique position and attracts students from far and wide to be taught by practicing artists in historic surroundings at the centre of this thriving arts community.