'Our Little Gang' - by James King (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Through text and full-color illustrations, uncovers the lives and times of the unruly Vorticists, whose innovative abstract artworks shattered early twentieth-century conventions.

The Vorticists, a rebellious cohort of young artists in early twentieth-century England, defied the conventions of the art world with their distinctive abstract creations. Despite the brevity of their existence, from 1911 to 1914, their startling innovations left an indelible mark on English art history. In this book James King explores the personalities and lives of these colorful individuals, capturing the tumultuous environment in which they thrived. The narrative presents biographies of the group's members, such as Jessica Dismorr, Wyndham Lewis, William Roberts, Helen Saunders, and Edward Wadsworth--"our little gang," as Ezra Pound called them--highlighting personal conflicts and providing a concise, highly readable history of the movement. This book is ideal for art enthusiasts, historians, and anyone intrigued by avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century.

Review Quotes

"King is forever focusing our gaze on what matters most: looking back at their efforts to free themselves from the constraints of the stodgy artistic past, and to make vibrant abstract work that occupied a future they sincerely wanted build, and we can still marvel at the sheer romantic scope of their heartfelt intention to live out a palpable utopian dream."-- "Embodied Meanings: "

"[A] comprehensive history of vorticism, a short-lived avant-garde art movement formed in England in 1913. . . . Drawing on archival materials, the author scrupulously . . . captures the volatile sociopolitical moment that birthed vorticism and eventually killed it. Art history scholars will find much to appreciate."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"The 'gang' were seven highly talented, self-assured artists with a desire to set Britain's parochial art scene on fire. . . . This book is notable for its inclusion of Dismorr and Saunders, the two female members who have been overlooked until now. Both made a valuable contribution to a movement that threw a firework into the heart of the British establishment, exposing an environment hostile to artistic innovation. The 'Vorticist effect' reverberated long after the group's collapse, setting a precedent for future radicalism."-- "Christie's (Best Art Books of 2025)"

"As well as conveying the radical extremism of the Vorticists' revolt in art, King vividly shows just how idiosyncratic they were as feisty personalities."--Richard Cork, author of "Encounters with Artists"

"In 'Our Little Gang' King casts appealing new light on Vorticism, the early twentieth-century avant-garde British art movement organized by painter and polemicist Wyndham Lewis. King explores the Vorticists' commonalities and friendships, their individual differences from Lewis, their multiple rivalries, their grudges and their aesthetic disagreements. King's lively historiography--and his attention to the importance of the often overlooked female Vorticists--offers a fresh approach to the movement that should interest all aficionados of modernist art."--Scott W. Klein, professor of English, Wake Forest University, and coeditor of "Vorticism: New Perspectives"

"'Our Little Gang' The Lives of the Vorticists by King traces the history of the Vorticists, a group of young artists, including Jessica Dismorr, Wyndham Lewis, and Ezra Pound, who defied conventions with their abstract art in the early twentieth century."-- "Publishers Weekly (Spring 2025 Fiction & Nonfiction Preview: Art, Architecture & Photography)"

About the Author

James King is professor emeritus of English at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His previous books include Paul Nash: Designer and Illustrator.