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Austin Osman Spare (December 30, 1886 - May 15, 1956) was an English artist and magician.

History


He was the son of a London policeman. As a child, he showed an affinity for art, and he briefly attended evening classes at Lambeth Art School. At the age of 13, he left school to become an apprentice to a stained glass maker, Powell's of Whitefriars Street. During his teen years, his fascination for the occult grew apace, heavily influencing the work he produced. In May 1904 one of his drawings was exhibited at the annual Royal Academy exhibition in London, generating a storm of publicity for the young artist.

In October 1907 Spare exhibited his drawings at the Bruton Gallery in London. Critics likened his work to that of Aubrey Beardsley, but Spare's images were full of grotesque, sexualized human figures and magical symbols. These elements appealed to avant-garde London intellectuals, and brought him to the attention of Aleister Crowley. Spare became a Probationer of Crowley's order Argenteum Astrum ("Of the Silver Star") in July 1909, but was not initiated as a member, although he contributed four small drawings to Crowley's publication The Equinox. Crowley later characterized Spare as a "Black Brother", meaning that he did not approve of the goals of Spare's magical philosophy. His magical motto was YihoveaumMagical Diaries of Aleister Crowley, page 237.

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Austin Osman Spare - Biography and the people he encountered.

Austin Osman Spare - Offers material on Spare's art, books and life.

Austin Osman Spare - A biographical sketch of interest, if only for the total lack of mention regarding Spare's esoteric leanings.

Austin Osman Spare - A collection of writings by and on Spare. Includes links to his artwork.

Austin Osman Spare - A biographical sketch.

Austin Osman Spare - The following items are from the collection of Coil, the premier occult band founded by John Balance and Peter Christopherson.
Meta Description: [ painting fine art supply sculpture abstract education modern gallery photography ]

Austin Osman Spare - Austin Osman Spare's unique method of reading the Tarot.
Meta Description: [ Austin Osman Spare's unique method of reading the Tarot Zos Speaks! ]

Austin Osman Spare and the Zos Kia Cultus - An excerpt from this writing of Spare's.

Austin Osman Spare Archive - Contains various texts written by Spare. Scanned personal sketch books are also present.
Meta Description: [ A digital tribute to ZOS, containing three complete books, including all the illustrations, plus a number of color illustrations. ]

404 Austin Osman Spare Biography by Lishtar - Detailed biography which includes sources for further research.

Austin Osman Spare's Obituary - A tribute to Spare by Kenneth Grant.

Encyclopedia: Austin Osman Spare - Brief biographical sketch of Spare.

404 Kenneth Grant - Introduction to the Book of Pleasure - Grant gives a biographical sketch of Spare and an introduction to one of Spare's books.

Nurse With Wound - Words - A few writings of and essays on Spare as an influence on the band Nurse with Wound.

The Austin Osman Spare Collection - Original Artwork by Austin Osman Spare from the collection of Mr. Frank Letchford.
Meta Description: [ painting fine art supply sculpture abstract education modern gallery photography ]

Zos Kia - A brief biographical sketch of Spare.
Meta Description: [ Enter the nightside of Magick and the repository of an Occult tradition. ]

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the 50th anniversary of the death of Austin Osman Spare. This piece is about his method of atavistic resurgence ...
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