Biography
Zwemmer Gallery was established as an annexe to the well-known art bookshop, opened in 1921 by Anton Zwemmer (1892-1971), and publishers of Charing Cross Road and was located in nearby Litchfield Street. It was first managed by Robert Wellington, with modest finances but a daring policy. In 1929 he was persuaded by Victor Pasmore to mount an exhibition of work by artists associated with the Central School of Art, and it was at a second exhibition in 1931 that Robert Medley and William Coldstream made their debuts.
One of the gallery's most interesting exhibitions Objective Abstractions was staged in 1934 and included work by Graham Bell, Rodrigo Moynihan, Ivor Hitchens, Victor Pasmore and Ceri Richards. In 1935 the gallery was the venue for the final exhibition of the 7&5 Society. This was the first all abstract exhibitions to be held in Britain and included works by John Piper and Winifred Nicholson. Five years later, in 1940, the gallery ran an exhibition under the title Surrealism Today. After WW2 they re-opened in 1947 and continued to encourage emerging artists, such as Harold Cheesman. In 1954 artist Michael Chase was appointed as a full-time gallery manager, a post he held until the gallery closed in 1968.
