Barrie Garnham: The lecturer who opened the eyes of hundreds of students, young and mature, to art as he saw it

Celebrated art historian Barrie Garnham, a former lecturer at Putney Art School and most recently at the Chelsea Arts Club, has died. The 71-year-old passed away at the Trinity Hospice in Clapham after a short battle with cancer. The funeral is being held today at Lambeth Crematorium in Tooting and here Millie Ellis pays tribute to Mr Garnham.
Barrie Garnham
Millie Ellis19 May 2020

Picasso said: “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” To his many friends, students and fans, Barrie Garnham did that and more.

If you encountered him at a lecture or evening class, you would first have been struck by his extraordinary appearance; wearing one of his characteristic hats, that covered his bald head yet still sported a ponytail, a single gold earring, retro clothes, an ornate brooch, belt with an extravagant buckles, and incredible footwear.

He cut quite a swathe.

What would have struck you next was his gift for mesmerising an audience.

Art Historian, Barrie Garnham was born in Clapham, South London in 1948 to a single mother, Kit Garnham, and he went to school in Clapham where he was mainly interested in Art and Languages. Afterwards, he went to University in London where he studied art and psychology. During this time he was a drummer in a garage band, and this love of music lasted his entire life.

After University, Barrie worked for a couple of years, in the library at The British Museum. In 1982 he started teaching at Putney Art School and held a post at City Lit, as Art History tutor for the Ceramics course in Visual Arts for thirty years. He was a brilliant linguist, conversant in six languages.

Most importantly, he opened the eyes of hundreds of students, young and mature, to art as he saw it: at London’s City Lit, Putney Art School, at Putney Hill, South Thames College, in Wandsworth College and Roehampton Art Club.

And taking his groups to talk in front of Turner, at Tate Britain, the Russian Revolution at the Royal Academy, or Fragonard, at The Wallace Collection, and the Abstract Expressionist’s at MOMA in New York; or Warhol, Modigliani, the Pre-Raphaelites - he could pack a lecture hall on any subject in art. In addition, he also travelled as a tour guide from 1986 - 2019 around cities of art in Europe and America. And he dazzled audiences in private houses. He was in love with his work, and his audience loved him in return.

“He didn’t just give you dry facts,” said one student.

“One learned everything– architecture, politics, history, music and literature. Over the years, we covered British art, French, Italian, Spanish US, German, Scandinavian, Russian, and so on.”

Another student from Putney School of Art said: “The sheer scope and breadth of his encyclopaedic wisdom were humbling.”

Barrie wore his wisdom lightly, he had no ego, seeing teaching as a quest for truth. To his followers – known, tongue in cheek, as the Garnham Groupies, he was a life-changer, a door opener - a veritable force majeure.

One great friend described him as a “rebel in cowboy boots” his son Thomas, as ‘Dr Who’.

Indeed the moniker, Time Lord, suits him perfectly, with his immense talent as an Art Historian, to seamlessly glide across periods. A true renaissance man, his aim, his purpose and his passion, invites his audiences to see and know the world differently.

His lectures were vivid and accessible, each one freshly minted and unique. No fan of bureaucracy, timesheets and lecture plans, he frequently overran. His lack of technical skills and his fondness for ‘désinvolture’ displayed a nonchalance towards new technology which inevitably led to ‘duels with the computer’. Happily, his son Thomas came to the rescue, putting together his slides and computer presentations.

Ardella Jones, one of his colleagues, says Barrie was, ‘an excellent lecturer, a funny, fabulously knowledgeable man who brought art alive for so many people’

In recent years he lectured informally at The Chelsea Arts Club, where he was an honorary member and, at the home of a long term student and friend, Christine Percy where, free of the constraints of a college, classes went on very late, with breaks for wine rather than coffee.

There was no syllabus, just a mix of his pet themes: Pop Art, Matisse, Edward Hopper, Paul Nash, Toulouse-Lautrec, Klimt, Henry Moore. Said one enthusiast: “How we all wished we had recorded them.”

Garnham had a voracious appetite for Life; Music from Beyoncé to Bartok, Cinema, food, beauty, the company of women, especially, his partner for 28 years, the artist and milliner, Maggie Arbeid.

A passionate cinephile, he leaves a vast library all meticulously catalogued in alphabetical order !

He also loved food, especially pork. Indeed, to honour his love of the animal, a large Pink Pig will be joining the crowd of mourners today at his funeral.

Barrie was a true Londoner. A funny, kind and generous man and an unforgettable teacher.

Some people change our lives and help us to see the world differently. Barrie was one of that rare breed.

He died at The Trinity Hospice in Clapham, after a short battle with Cancer and is survived by his partner Maggie, and his son, Thomas and granddaughter Naomi.

Barrie Garnham was born on 22nd October 1948 and died on 17th April 2020 of Cancer aged 71.

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