Austin Osman Spare
A London-born artist and occultist who fused monstrous, sexual imagery with a radical personal magic system that rejected established orders.
1886–1956 (age 70)·English artist·Birthday: December 30·The Lost Generation
Biography
Austin Osman Spare emerged from the working-class streets of South London as a prodigious draughtsman, his intricate pen work earning him the title 'the youngest Royal Academy student' at seventeen. Yet he swiftly turned his back on the art establishment, repelled by its pretensions. His world was one of dimly lit pubs, tenement rooms, and a deeply personal cosmology. Spare's art, a haunting blend of Symbolist grace and visceral, often grotesque, physicality, served his magical pursuits. He developed 'sigilization,' a method of turning desires into abstract symbols to be implanted in the subconscious, and championed 'automatic' drawing and writing to bypass the conscious mind. Living in near-obscurity for decades, his legacy was resurrected by later countercultural movements, cementing him as a foundational, if deeply eccentric, pillar of modern occult thought.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Austin was born in 1886, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Austin Was Born
The biggest hits of 1886
Austin's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1886Born
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor
President: Grover Cleveland
1891Started school
President: Benjamin Harrison
1899Became a teenager
President: William McKinley
1902Could drive
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1904Could vote
New York City opens its first subway line
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1907Turned 21
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1916Turned 30
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1926Turned 40
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1936Turned 50
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1946Turned 60
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1956Turned 70
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
Key Achievements
- Exhibited at the Royal Academy at the age of seventeen, gaining immediate notoriety for his technical skill.
- Authored and illustrated seminal occult works such as 'The Book of Pleasure' which outlined his unique magical philosophy.
- Developed the magical technique of sigilization, which became a cornerstone of chaos magic in the late 20th century.
- Created a vast body of automatic drawings intended as portals to the unconscious mind.
Did You Know?
He was a conscientious objector during World War I and served as a medical orderly.
Spare claimed to have been taught magic by a witch named Mrs. Paterson, whom he met as a child.
He lived for many years in a small, cluttered flat in Brixton, London, surrounded by his art and cats.
His artistic style was notably influenced by his brief apprenticeship to a stained-glass maker.
““Belief is the death of intelligence.””
