Michael Staley: On the Life, Work and Legacy of Austin Osman Spare

10 January 2017: London

Michael Staley looks at the life and magick of Austin Osman Spare, Magical Artist, and gives an introduction to his life, work and legacy.

The Castle Farringdon
34-35 Cowcross Street
London EC1M 6DB

Talk starts at 8, be there from 7. £3

Austin Spare was born in London in 1886 – just five minutes’ walk from this Farringdon venue. Spare’s occult preoccupations were at the core of his art.

At one time highly regarded as a fine artist, he fell from favour after the First World War and retreated to South London. Here he lived in poverty but continued to produce beautiful and innovative art across a diversity of styles until his death in 1956.

Since then, interest in Spare, as both artist and occultist, has grown and his art is increasingly sought after, commanding ever-higher prices at auction. This illustrated talk looks at Spare’s life and work, his occult interests and the recent growing interest in him, with many examples of his work across the years and through different styles.

Michael Staley has been interested in the occult all his life, and has taken a particular interest in Spare for several decades.

Working through Starfire Publishing, in 2010 they published ‘Two Grimoires’ (two handmade books dating from 1905 and 1906), and are shortly planning to publish a series of sketchbooks by Spare from the 1950s.