The ‘Death’ of the Life Room

Set against the backdrop of the 1950s this collection display highlights the challenges faced by the life room tradition from the mid-20th century.

The 1950s was a decade when the Whitworth not only became a university gallery but saw progressive art education reform taking place across Britain’s further and higher educational institutions. By the late 1950s, the life room came to represent an outdated and academic model that for some, was hindering innovation. Yet for others, drawing from the figure still had a place in the forward-thinking art school.