Biography
The gallery, which became noted for its somewhat avant-garde shows, was opened in 1923 by Frederick Lessore (1879-1951), a portrait sculptor and brother-in-law of Walter Sickert. In January 1927, the 7&5 Society held an exhibition there, and later that year Christopher Wood shared his first exhibition there with Ben Nicholson, which was followed by an exhibition of Barbara Hepworth's work in 1928.
When Lessore died in 1951, the running of the gallery was taken over by his wife, the artist Helen Lessore (1907-1994). Under her guidance and management many of the progressive and controversial artists of the 1950’s and 1960’s showed there. These included the so-called Kitchen Sink School of John Bratby, Jack Smith and Derrick Greaves, and the loosely called School of London which included Francis Bacon, Raymond Mason, Frank Auerbach, Euan Uglow, Craigie Aitchison, Michael Andrews and Leon Kossoff. The gallery which was located at 1 Bruton Place in London's West End, closed in 1995 after the death of Helen Lessore.
