Rothenstein, Sir William

Rothenstein, Sir William (1872–1945). British painter, graphic artist, writer, and teacher, born in Bradford. In 1888–9 he studied at the Slade School in London and in 1889–93 at the Académie Julian in Paris. There he became a close friend of Whistler and was encouraged by Degas. His best works are generally considered to be his early Whistlerian paintings such as The Doll's House (Tate Gallery, London, 1899), which shows Augustus John and Rothenstein's wife as characters in a tense scene evoking Ibsen's play A Doll's House. From about 1898, however, he specialized in portraits of the famous and those who later became famous. In the latter part of his career he was much more renowned as a teacher than as a painter. His outlook was conservative (he regarded pure abstraction as ‘a cardinal heresy') and as principal of the Royal College of Art, 1920–35, he exercised an influence second only to that of Henry Tonks at the Slade School. Rothenstein's publications include various collections of his portrait drawings and lithographs and three volumes of memoirs—Men and Memories (2 vols., 1931–2) and Since Fifty (1939). His brother Albert Rothenstein (1881–1953) was a painter (see CAMDEN TOWN GROUP), designer, and prolific book illustrator. In 1914 he changed his surname to Rutherston because anti-German feeling made ‘Rothenstein’ a handicap.

William's son, Sir John Rothenstein (1901–1992), was a distinguished art historian. He was director of the Tate Gallery, 1938–64, and the author of numerous books on art, mainly on 20th-century British painting. His best-known publication is the three-volume series Modern English Painters (1952, 1956, 1973; new edition of the whole work, 1984). This contains stimulating essays on some sixty leading British painters from Sickert to Hockney, almost all of whom Rothenstein knew personally. His other books include British Art Since 1900: An Anthology (1962) and monographs on Edward Burra (1973), Augustus John (1962), John Nash (1984), Paul Nash (1961), and Matthew Smith (1962).

Another son, Michael Rothenstein (1908–1993), was a painter, graphic artist, and writer, best known as a printmaker. He worked in a variety of techniques, in both abstract and figurative styles, and liked to experiment with materials. His books include Frontiers of Printmaking (1966). John Rothenstein wrote of his brother that ‘Recognition of his highly varied achievements have been far more marked abroad than at home … The many awards Michael has won include the Gold Medal at the 1970 Buenos Aires Print Biennale and the Grand Prix at the Norwegian Print Biennale, 1976.’