Kitchen Sink Realism / Kitchen Sink School

Kitchen Sink School or Kitchen Sink Realism refers to a group of British artists active in the 1950s whose oeuvre was devoted to ordinary people in scenes of everyday life. The term, which is not meant as a compliment, goes back to the critic David Sylvester and the article he wrote in 1954 in the December issue of Encounter magazine and refers to a painting by John Bratby (1928-1992) showing a kitchen sink. The unadorned depiction of the everyday lives of ordinary people carries the implication of social, if not political, commentary, often placing the Kitchen Sink School in the category of social realism. The Kitchen Sink painters reached their zenith in 1956 when the Beaux Arts Quartet was selected to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale.

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