Those that have encountered Austin Osman Spare's work will recognise him by various epithets, each more intriguing and extraordinary than the last: the successor of Aubrey Beardsley and British Symbolism; the pre-cursor to and “inventor” of Surrealism; the associate of Aleister Crowley and author of hugely influential grimoires on occult theory.
This latter facet of his career (Spare is considered extremely influential among modern occultists for his work developing sigilisation and ritual magic), has somewhat eclipsed and marginalised his artwork. Though he has always had the power to intrigue, the quality and originality of his work is often overlooked in favour of a focus on the more sensational and macabre aspects of his output.
Comparisons to Beardsley were well-founded, as Spare also had an incredible facility for sinuous, organic linework and, as in the work offered here, an often monochromatic and illustrative presentation. Thematically too, his work could be classified as belonging to the Symbolist and Art Nouveau manner which too had their roots in mystical, sexual, and at times grotesque motifs.
Having been the youngest artist ever to exhibit in the Royal Academy aged just 17, his early shows were greeted by good reviews; his audience finding his work as pleasingly scandalous and technically well-executed as Beardsley’s before him.
Unlike Beardsley, however, Spare was born in London into the working class, and never transcended into the upper echelons of society. Initially received as the new enfant terrible of the West End, the war years intervened and Spare would spend most of his life in dank South London basement flats, living an esoteric existence - both literally and figuratively.
Of course his deep engagement with the occult cannot be separated from his art as they were to a large degree intertwined. And it was from this well of interest that startling originality and singularity was to stem. His deep interest in and desire to explore and harness the subconscious led to his developing automatic drawing and writing techniques. When European artists like Dali and Breton began making ripples across the Channel for similar innovations, Spare was held up as a proto-Surrealist and his work subsequently enjoyed renewed interest throughout the 1930s.
Throughout Spare’s life and since his death, he has been the subject of similar periodic re-discoveries. The 1970s brought a renewed interest in British art nouveau, and indeed in the occult, prompting exhibitions of Spare’s work. In 2011 a show of his work at the Cuming Museum in South London proved so popular that they had to instigate timed visitor slots.
The market too, reflects a current appreciation for this talented, obscure and fascinating artist, with prices beginning to climb.
