Gregory, Eric

Gregory, Eric (1887–1959). British collector, patron, and philanthropist. He had a successful career in printing and publishing, becoming chairman of the firm of Lund Humphries in his native Bradford, and he began collecting in the 1920s, favouring work by contemporary British artists, especially sculptors. Among them was his fellow Yorkshireman Henry Moore, whom he met in 1923 and who later became a close friend. Gregory was also an early patron of Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, and Graham Sutherland. In 1943 he established Gregory Fellowships at Leeds University to be held by painters, sculptors, composers, or poets for two years (sometimes extended to three). In view of the particular support he gave to sculpture, it was appropriate that the first holders of the sculpture fellowship went on to have distinguished careers: Reg Butler was the first in 1950–3, followed by Kenneth Armitage in 1953–5, and Hubert Dalwood in 1955–8. One of the aims of the fellowships was to reduce the overcentralization of the arts in London, but Gregory was also active there; most notably he helped to found the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1947 and held the post of treasurer for the rest of his life.