Victor Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on December 3, 1908. He was educated at Harrow but did not receive an academic instruction in art. He did, however, study with Maurice Clarke, an artist known for his work with aquacolors. In his youth he began to exhibit talent and interest in art and began to study French Impressionism. When his father died, in 1927, he moved to London with his mother. There he took a position at the Public Health Department of London County in County Hall, Westminster where he worked until 1938. From 1927 to 1932 he continued to paint during his free time and rented a studio on Devonshire Street, near the Central School of Arts and Crafts. He was accepted at the Central School and while there, met and studied under A. S. Hartwick, a persian illustrator in the 1880s and personal friend of Van Gogh. Through his studies, Pasmore came to study the arts of cubism and abstract works.
In 1932 a studio space in Finsbury Park showed his works in Pasmore's first solo show at the Association's Cooling Gallery. The London Artists' Association, a subsidiary of the Bloomsbury group, came to see his pieces, which is how he initially became a known artist. From 1934 to 1936 he worked with the group “Objective Abstractions”, which focused on abstract painters near Tachisme. He exhibited with them at the Zwemmer Gallery, and promoted by the London Artists' Association.
In 1936/37 he moved from a period when he was working with abstract themes, to a period heavely based on the Spanish Civil War. He also left the group “Objective Abstractions” and transfered his studio to Howland Road. With Claude Rogers he opened a painting school at 12 Fitzroy Street with the help of a group of artistic collectors. In 1938 Kenneth Clark, the new director at London's National Gallery, emerged as an important promoter of contemporary art. Clark followed an acquired many of Pasmore's works and placed them in a permenant collection, in his office.
From 1939 to 1942 he exhibited at the Wildenstein Gallery. During the bombardament of London in 1941 he abbandoned his home and went to stay with a friend in the countryside. He again started painting and worked based off of his previous studies of Impressionism and classical art. In 1943 he moved to Hammersmith Terrace, near Thames. Most of his work during this period consisted of series about lakes and rivers. He was also nominated to be a professor at the Camberswell School of Arts and signed with the Redfern Gallery. In 1946 he first saw the works of Picasso during a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 1947 and 1948 he again moved to St. German Place, Blackheath. He began to create works reflecting his rejection of the representation of the visual and decided to retry to work with pure abstract elements.
He left the Camberswell School of Art for the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Some of his works were put on display at exhibit in London in May 1948, and at the personal Redfern Gallery from November to December. In 1950 Pasmore visited St. Ives, Cornwall, after being invited by Ben Nicholson. There he united with the Penwith Society who provided him with necessary support for his abstract works. He also participated at the 2nd Congress Intellectual for Peace in London. In Shieffield he met Picasso, the principle delegate to the Roland Penrose's House.
In 1951 he began work on a mural for the central bus station in Kingstone, Surray, which became a realization of a bas-rilief of the poetic creative of Nicholson. During the year he also created a ceramic mural entitled "Spiral Abstract" for the Regatta Restaurant in a space in South Bank, the main event of the Festival of Britain. From 1951 to 1952 he organized his first post-war exhibit of paintings and sculptures in Great Britain. He also joined an art show in Rome with the Gruppo Origine. He worked for a group in London called “Piattaforma” for abstract art. In 1954 he became teacher for the Department of Painting, School of Fine Art, King's College, University of Durham.
In 1955 he became Consulting Director of the Urban and Architectural Design for the Southwest area of Peterlee New Town in Durham County. He had an exhibit of works from 1926 to 1954 at the Art Council Gallery in Cambridge and created a large mural for the lobby of the Stevenson Building, King's College, University of Durham. In 1956 he constructed an architectural piece for the exhibit “This is Tomorrow” at the Whitechapel Art Gallery. He also took part in a grand exhibition called “Masters of British Painting 1800-1950”, which traveled to American cities including New York, St. Louis and San Francisco. He also worked for an association with Richard Hamilton, which constructed abstract paintings for ambiance and were shown at the Hatton Gallery, University of Durham. In 1958 he participated in the Art Council of Great Britain's “Three Modern Masters of British Painting: Pasmore, Matthew smith and Francis Bacon”. In 1959 Pasmore won the CBE. He participated in the 5th International Art Exhibition in Tokyo in an exhibit called “Art Since 1945”, Documenta II, Kassel.
In April of 1964, he exhibited at Galleria Lorenzelli of Milan, Italy in a collection entitled “44 Protagonisti della visualità strutturata” (44 Protagonists of the visual structure). Again in October of 1964 he had a solo art show at the same gallery. In October he returned to Milano's Galleria Lorenzelli in an exhibit entitled “Maestri inglesi” (English Masters). In 1966 he bought a home and a studio in Malta where he would spend long periods. He also took part in “Stile e Grido” from February to March at the Galleria Lorenzelli.
In 1967 he painted the piece "Metamorphosis," a mural for University of Manchester's Institute of Science and Technology. The same year he had his first exhibit at Malborough-Gerson in New York. In 1968 he exhibited at the Ulster Museum in Belfast and Trinity College in Dublin. Other showing took place at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester University and Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University. In 1969 the University of Surrey gave him an honorary degree in Literature. In 1970 he designed "Pavilion" in Peterlee, which became a special structure that symbolized the unity of architecture, painting and sculpture. The same year he exhibited at the Malta Society in La Valletta and a solo show at Galleria Lorenzelli of Bergamo.
In 1973 he took part in collective called “Nove maestri della pittura contemporanea” (Nine masters of Contemporary Painting) at Galleria Lorenzelli of Bergamo and Villiers Pty, in Paddington (Australia). In 1974 he exhibited at the Museo bi Belle Arti of La Valletta and in March in a collective at the Galleria Lorenzelli of Milano.
In 1982 he was honored as Companion of Honour and help exhibits which took place at: 2RC, Rome and Milano, Galerie Corinthia, Klagenfurt and other exhibits at Panova Gallery in Toronto and Lorenzelli Arte in Milano.
Victor Pasmore died in 1998. From April to May a collection of his works was organized at Lorenzelli Arte under the title “Corrispondenze”. In December Lorenzelli Arte organized a grand exhibit in homage to him and his 66 exhibitions from 1962 to 1984. In 1999 Malborough Gallery organized a personal dedication to Victor Pasmore in tribute to his memory. During 2004 exhibits were also held in his honor. The works of Victor Pasmore are today in many very important museums and private collections worldwide.