Victorian London: Mapping the Emergence of the Modern Art Gallery: Pamela M. Fletcher

Chenil Gallery

The Chenil Gallery was founded by Jack Knewstub, brother-in-law of William Orpen and William Rothenstein. It opened in 1905 at 183a King’s Road in Chelsea, an area associated with “smaller traders” (Helmreich and Holt, 46). In the early years of the twentieth century, the Gallery gained a reputation for exhibiting leading works of contemporary British artists, including Augustus John, William Orpen, David Bomberg and Eric Gill. The last documented exhibition was held in the gallery in 1926; the business was liquidated in 1927 (Helmreich and Holt, 58).

Address: 183A King's Road, Chelsea

Start Date: 1906 [1905]*

End Date: at least 1914 [1927]

Dealer: Jack Knewstub

Selected exhibitions

Etchings by Augustus John (1906) [NAL]

Sculptures by Mr. Eric Gill and Landscapes by Mr. J.D. Innes (1911) [NAL]

Drawings made in India by William Rothenstein (1911) [NAL]

Works by David Bomberg (1914) [NAL]

Exhibition catalogues: National Art Library, London

Sources

Fletcher, Pamela and Anne Helmreich. “Selected galleries, dealers and exhibition spaces in London, 1850-1939.” In The Rise of the Modern Art Market in London, 1850-1939. Eds. Pamela Fletcher and Anne Helmreich. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011. 298.

Helmreich, Anne and Ysanne Holt. “Marketing Bohemia: The Chenil Gallery in Chelsea, 1905-1926.” Oxford Art Journal 33/1 (2010): 43-61.