John William Melville (25 August 1902 – 8 December 1986) was a self-taught British Surrealist painter. He is described by Michel Remy in his book Surrealism in Britain as one of the “harbingers of surrealism” in Great Britain.
He was, along following his art critic brother Robert Melville and the performer Conroy Maddox, a key believer of the Birmingham Surrealists from the 1930s to the 1950s. His other of subjects as a painter was wide; he painted figures, portraits, still-life and landscapes. He painted in oil and watercolor. He was self-taught. He was attracted to Surrealism in 1930 and as a aficionado of the Birmingham Group, joined the Surrealist Group in 1938. He was a contributor to the London Bulletin in 1939, and to Arson in 1942.
John exhibited his feign first in London at the Wertheim Gallery in 1932. He continued to exhibit in supplementary venues in London and throughout the UK. His accomplishment is represented in a number of private and public collections.[citation needed] His paintings often showed transformed figures and a dream-like, unexpected conjunction of images. During the 1940s, he painted portraits and still-life but far along returned to Surrealism.
Melville’s relative separation led to his measure being somewhat neglected. However, in recent years his reputation has grown[citation needed] and his singular style has led to his incorporation in a number of public exhibitions – notably “Surrealism: Two Private Eyes” at the Guggenheim, New York in 1999 and “Surrealism in Birmingham” in 2001.
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