Artistic Couples: Charles Mahoney and Dorothy Bishop

As the fourth in our series of online exhibitions, Artistic Couples, we are delighted to present works for sale by Dorothy Bishop (1902-1984) & Charles Mahoney (1903-1968)

Mahoney and Bishop were part of a golden generation of students (many of whom also became teachers) at the Royal College of Art (RCA) during the interwar years. Alongside the RCA artists that everyone has heard of, such as Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, John Piper and others, there was another group of exceptional artists including Mahoney, Barnett Freedman and Evelyn Dunbar who today are less well known. The reason for this is not always discernible. RCA principal, John Rothenstein, recalled in his memoirs that the two RCA students that most stuck in his mind in terms of genius were Henry Moore and Charles Mahoney. Who knows what posterity has in store for these less well-known artists? Many were every bit as highly regarded as their contemporaries in their own day, but have since disappeared from view. For instance, when Mahoney worked alongside Bawden and Ravilious on the Morley College murals his work was both larger and took centre stage. And though Ravilious today is more famous than Barnett Freedman, it was the latter who enjoyed a higher profile in his lifetime.