Founded in 1938 by William Coldstream, the School of Painting at 316 Euston Road was a conscious reaction to the domination of abstraction in British avant-garde circles. The School sought to teach the importance of observation and rigorous accuracy, applying it to traditional subjects such as the figure, landscape and still-life. Its style was defined by Coldstream’s own aesthetic, in which the closely measured framework of under-drawing is left clearly visible under the translucent surface of the painting.

Teachers and members included Lawrence Gowing, Victor Pasmore, Claude Rogers, Rodrigo Moynihan and Graham Bell, but the School’s influence can also be seen in the work of later artists such as William Brooker and Euan Uglow.