James Bateman, RA, ARWS (1893-1959)

Bateman was born into a Westmorland farming family and English rural life is at the heart of his work which frequently features life on a farm and depictions of working aspects of the English countryside. Such works were highly popular in Royal Academy exhibitions during the 1930s where their somewhat nostalgic tone struck a chord with the uncertainty of the period. No fewer than three works by Bateman were acquired by the Chantrey Bequest for the Tate Gallery in 1928, 1935 and 1936, an almost unequalled number for an artist of this period. Bateman originally studied sculpture at Leeds School of Art, subsequently winning a scholarship to the Royal College of Art. An injury during active service in World War One made him turn to painting. He studied at the Slade and was a Rome Scholarship finalist in 1920, later teaching at Cheltenham and Hammersmith schools of art. He was a member of the New English Art Club, an associate of the Royal Watercolour Society and was elected as a full member of the Royal Academy in 1942.