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Indigo Days: The Art and Memoirs of Julian Trevelyan
Over 50 years of intense artistic activity, Julian Trevelyan painted, etched and drew. His delightful memoir of his life and painting career from 1930 to 1950 was first published in 1957. It is reissued here with an illustrated study of his work during the period by Nicholas Usherwood. There is also a foreword by Raleigh Trevelyan, author, cousin and friend of the artist.
Julian Trevelyan was the only son of a 'charming eccentric' father, and nephew of the great social historian G.M. Trevelyan. His unconventional background led on to an intellectual and emotional openness which was to place him at the centre of avant garde art.
In Indigo Days he gives a highly entertaining account of what it was like to be a young radical artist in London and Paris in the 1930s. He moved to Paris in 1931 where he joined the celebrated etching school Atelier 17 run by S.W. Hayter and frequented by Miro, Max Ernst, Giacometti, Alexander Calder, Oskar Kokoschka and Picasso. In 1936, his work was chosen by Roland Penrose and Herbert Read for inclusion in their International Surrealist exhibition and he became a member of the English Surrealist Group. He joined Tom Harrisson's Mass Observation Movement in 1937 and worked for a period in Bolton, recording numerous scenes around the Potteries, an experience which was to have a profound effect on his painting.
During the second world war he served as a camouflage officer but left the Army in 1942 following a breakdown. Trevelyan returned to London and to Durham Wharf, his home on the banks of the Thames at Chiswick. Here he discovered a new, consciously lyrical style, influenced by Bonnard and the architectural structures of Vieira da Silva. Indigo Days closes with his marriage to the artist Mary Fedden and looks forward to the second creative phase of his career.
Julian Trevelyan was the only son of a 'charming eccentric' father, and nephew of the great social historian G.M. Trevelyan. His unconventional background led on to an intellectual and emotional openness which was to place him at the centre of avant garde art.
In Indigo Days he gives a highly entertaining account of what it was like to be a young radical artist in London and Paris in the 1930s. He moved to Paris in 1931 where he joined the celebrated etching school Atelier 17 run by S.W. Hayter and frequented by Miro, Max Ernst, Giacometti, Alexander Calder, Oskar Kokoschka and Picasso. In 1936, his work was chosen by Roland Penrose and Herbert Read for inclusion in their International Surrealist exhibition and he became a member of the English Surrealist Group. He joined Tom Harrisson's Mass Observation Movement in 1937 and worked for a period in Bolton, recording numerous scenes around the Potteries, an experience which was to have a profound effect on his painting.
During the second world war he served as a camouflage officer but left the Army in 1942 following a breakdown. Trevelyan returned to London and to Durham Wharf, his home on the banks of the Thames at Chiswick. Here he discovered a new, consciously lyrical style, influenced by Bonnard and the architectural structures of Vieira da Silva. Indigo Days closes with his marriage to the artist Mary Fedden and looks forward to the second creative phase of his career.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
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About the author
Julian Trevelyan
11 booksJulian Otto Trevelyan RA (1910 – 1988) was an English artist and poet. He was the only child to survive to adulthood of Robert Calverley Trevelyan and his wife Elizabeth van der Hoeven. His grandfather was the liberal politician Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and his uncle the historian George Macaulay Trevelyan; he is the great-uncle of his namesake, Julian Trevelyan the pianist.
He moved to Paris to become an artist, enrolling at Atelier Dix-Sept, Stanley William Hayter's engraving school, where he learned etching. He worked alongside artists including Max Ernst, Oskar Kokoschka, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso.
In 1935, Trevelyan bought Durham Wharf, beside the River Thames in Hammersmith, London. This became his home and studio for the rest of his life and was a source of artistic inspiration to him. He became a confirmed Surrealist and exhibited at the International Surrealist Exhibition, held at the New Burlington Galleries in London.
From 1950 to 1955, Trevelyan taught history of art and etching at the Chelsea School of Art. From 1955 - 63, he worked at the Royal College of Art and became Head of the Etching Department. Because of his enthusiasm in his work and the desire to share it with others, Trevelyan became a highly influential teacher, with students including David Hockney, Ron Kitaj and Norman Ackroyd. He was an important leader of modern print techniques and today is regarded as a silent driving force behind the etching revolution of the 1960s.
In 1969, he produced the Thames Suite, a collection of 12 views of the Thames from its upper reaches in Oxford and Henley-on-Thames down to the tidal stretches of London and the Estuary.
He moved to Paris to become an artist, enrolling at Atelier Dix-Sept, Stanley William Hayter's engraving school, where he learned etching. He worked alongside artists including Max Ernst, Oskar Kokoschka, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso.
In 1935, Trevelyan bought Durham Wharf, beside the River Thames in Hammersmith, London. This became his home and studio for the rest of his life and was a source of artistic inspiration to him. He became a confirmed Surrealist and exhibited at the International Surrealist Exhibition, held at the New Burlington Galleries in London.
From 1950 to 1955, Trevelyan taught history of art and etching at the Chelsea School of Art. From 1955 - 63, he worked at the Royal College of Art and became Head of the Etching Department. Because of his enthusiasm in his work and the desire to share it with others, Trevelyan became a highly influential teacher, with students including David Hockney, Ron Kitaj and Norman Ackroyd. He was an important leader of modern print techniques and today is regarded as a silent driving force behind the etching revolution of the 1960s.
In 1969, he produced the Thames Suite, a collection of 12 views of the Thames from its upper reaches in Oxford and Henley-on-Thames down to the tidal stretches of London and the Estuary.
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November 5, 2025
This was not a bad read, Trevelyan had a light touch and there was just one tedious passage recounting the author's time in the Middle East during WW2. There was an all too brief beautiful description of the Thames as experienced from his home, which was lovely. I would have liked to read more passages like that one rather than those naming artists with whom he socialised in Paris. I'm afraid most of what I read will be forgotten, still, I'm glad to have read it and been introduced to this artist's work.
Displaying 1 of 1 review