Axis and authentic abstraction in 1930s England

This thesis questions the canon that has presented English modem art in the 1930s as non-figurative abstraction, represented by those English artists gathered under the collective constructivist ideals of Circle. It seeks to establish that before its publication, the abstract art review Axis (1935-37) provided the discursive space in which its English artists and writers evolved a belief that non-figurative abstraction was irreconcilable with English cultural attitudes towards artistic expression. This thesis refutes criticisms of regression and compromise levelled at Axis's regard for history and popular culture, and seeks to establish that the resistance of its cohort to the idealist programme of non-figurative abstraction signified their conviction that it was the only means of developing an authentic English modem art practice