Exeter College of Art and Design

Former art college in Devon, England

50°42′36″N 3°30′49″W﻿ / ﻿50.709914°N 3.513501°W﻿ / 50.709914; -3.513501

Exeter College of Art and DesignActive| 1854–2000

|

Location|

Exeter

Devon

England

The old School of Art building, now the Phoenix arts centre Exeter College of Art and Design Earl Richards Road North site 1980's

Exeter College of Art and Design was an art college based in Exeter, Devon. Founded in 1854, it amalgamated with what would become Plymouth University in 1989.

The main building was located at Earl Richards Road North Exeter from the 1970s with some facilities based at Barts until the early 1980s. Graphics was based on Gandy Street in the old School of Art buildings until it relocated to the main site in 1984. The Printmaking department was initially located at The Mint.[1] The Art College offered higher education courses including Foundation, BA (Hons) and Combination courses with the University of Exeter as well as MA/Pg diplomas. Disciplines were, Fine Art Ceramics, Graphics, Painting, Printmaking, Photography, Sculpture and 4D (Film, Video, Sound).

The Priory Press was introduced by Alan Richards and Bernard Beard in association with The Bartholomew Print Workshop in the 1960s and produces limited edition handmade printed books.[2]

## History

[edit]

The School of Art was founded in Exeter in 1854 as part of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and promoted by Edward Bowring Stephens, a local sculptor.[3] In 1858, decorative designer Kent Kingdon offered a £5 prize for a decorative design.[4]

In 1951, The Exeter School of Art was renamed as the Exeter Central College of Art.[5]

Clifford Fishwick (1923–1997) was appointed Painting Master in 1947[6] and was principal of the college from 1958 to 1984. A skilled painter, having trained at Liverpool School of Art, he was a friend of Peter Lanyon and exhibited regularly with the Penwith Society of Arts.[7] Fishwick is now regarded as an important, if underrated, figure in post-war British painting and one of the better artists of the St Ives group.[8]

In 1966, students' print work was featured in an exhibition entitled "An Approach to Printmaking in Exeter" at The Whitechapel Gallery, London. In 1973, the College was renamed again as Exeter College of Art and Design and a new building opened at Earl Richards Road North on the outskirts of Exeter.

In 1976, painting tutor John Butler set up The Spacex (art gallery) which became a registered educational charity in 1990.[9]

The college amalgamated with Polytechnic South West, based in Plymouth, in 1989, and in 2007 the facilities moved permanently to the Plymouth Campus. In 2011, planning permission was granted to demolish and redevelop the site to provide 39 dwellings with parking and landscaping.[10]

## Tutors

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* Clifford Fishwick (Principal) 1958–84[11]
* Edward Allington (Fellow Ceramics) then Professor, Head of Graduate Sculpture at Slade School of Fine Art[12]
* Chris Garret (4D, also Biff cartoons)[13]
* Marek Laczynski (Printmaking)
* Ray Smith (Painting)
* Alexander McNeish (Head of Painting)

## Alumni

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* John Angel (1881–1960) sculptor [14]
* Christian Birmingham illustrator [15]
* Penny Dale illustrator and writer of children's books.
* Julian Dawson (b. 1954) singer songwriter author
* Elaine M. Goodwin author and mosaic artist
* Iain McKell fashion, portrait and social documentary photographer [16]
* Jon Middlemiss studio potter[17]
* William Snell Morrish (1844–1917) landscape painter
* Chris Pig (b. 1965) printmaker [18]
* Richard Starzak English animator, screenwriter, and film director.[19]
* Andrew Sumner Movie journalist, publisher and TV presenter
* Kev F. Sutherland (b. 1961) comedian and comic strip creator [20]
* Keith Towler social worker [21]
* Heather Tweed (b. 1959) visual artist [22]
* Frederick John Widgery (1861–1942) landscapist and mayor of Exeter [23]

## References

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1. ^ "Exeter Historic Buildings Trust". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
2. ^ Maxted, Ian (16 January 2007). "Exeter Working Papers in British Book Trade History; 12 A history of the book in Devon". First published 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
3. ^ Oxford National Biography (2013). "Exeter Memories – E B Stephens". exetermemories.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
4. ^ "Exeter Memories – Kent Kingdon". exetermemories.co.uk. 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
5. ^ "Art history in Plymouth". www1.plymouth.ac.uk. 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
6. ^ "The Art Room: Portfolio – Devon Art Gallery in Topsham". theartroomtopsham.co.uk. 2012. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013. "Martin Bentham"
7. ^ A.Alvarez (28 January 1997). "Obituary: Clifford Fishwick – People – News – The Independent". The Independent. London: INM. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
8. ^ "Volume and exhibition help put overlooked figure in rightful place | This is Cornwall". thisiscornwall.co.uk. 2013. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
9. ^ "Spacex Gallery | Artist Biographies". artbiogs.co.uk. 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
10. ^ "Planning Pages". pub.exeter.gov.uk. 2013. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
11. ^ "Clifford Fishwick". Poems, paintings and drawings. Devon Records Office. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
12. ^ "The Slade School of Fine Art: Prof Edward Allington". ucl.ac.uk. 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
13. ^ "Still Life – Martin Bentham RWA, Christopher Garratt & Robert Organ at The Art Room – Topsham". artrabbit.com. 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
14. ^ M.E. Brine (2009). "John Angel F. R. B. S". devonheritage.org. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
15. ^ "Christian Birmingham from HarperCollins Publishers Australia". harpercollins.com.au. 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
16. ^ Farrelly Liz (2004). Fashion Forever : 30 years of subculture. New York: Thames Hudson. ISBN 1903781086.
17. ^ "Jon Middlemiss". cornwallartists.org. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
18. ^ "Untitled Document". chrispig.com. 2009. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
19. ^ "Video: Ipswich animator reveals all about part he played in creating new Shaun the Sheep Movie". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
20. ^ "FRINGE REPORT". fringereport.com. 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
21. ^ "Keith_Towler_biography.pdf". docs.google.com. 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
22. ^ "Heather Tweed – Saatchi Critic text". heathertweed.co.uk. 2012. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
23. ^ "Exeter Memories – F J Widgery". exetermemories.co.uk. 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.

## External links

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* Historical photos of the college
* Spacex Gallery website[permanent dead link]
* Exhibition catalogue written by Lesley Kerman
* 2012 Artwork Installation by Sarah Bennett in the abandoned Art College building Archived 27 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine