Editing Joshua Compston (section)

==Early life and career beginnings==
Compston was born in [[Putney]]. The son of a judge, he was educated at [[St Edward's School, Oxford]]. Encouraged by his parents, Compston became an enthusiastic collector of antiques and ephemera. In his adolescence, he developed a friendship with [[Peter Blake (artist)|Sir Peter Blake]], and would bring him gifts of found ephemera.<ref>{{cite news|title=Factual Nonsense: The Art And Death of Joshua Compston |date=14 August 2013 |work=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/art/5455/factual-nonsense-the-art-and-death-of-joshua-compston.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026145818/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/art/5455/factual-nonsense-the-art-and-death-of-joshua-compston.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 October 2013| location=London | first=Louisa | last=Buck}}</ref>

Compston studied Art Foundation at [[Camberwell School of Art]], followed by History of Art at the [[Courtauld Institute of Art]].<ref name="indy obit">{{cite news |title=Obituary: Joshua Compston |work=The Independent |date=15 March 1996 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-joshua-compston-1342089.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220617/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-joshua-compston-1342089.html |archive-date=17 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | first=David | last=Cohen| access-date=2013-01-01}}</ref> At Camberwell, Compston was the contemporary of [[Darren Coffield]], who later became his biographer.

At the Courtauld he soon became frustrated that the academic lecturing staff were taking insufficient interest in the work of living artists, and that as a result students were ignorant of major figures in 20th century art.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://eastwingbiennial.org/post/68266943037/darren-coffield-on-joshua-compston |title=Darren Coffield on Joshua Compston – East Wing Biennial |access-date=4 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118160831/http://eastwingbiennial.org/post/68266943037/darren-coffield-on-joshua-compston |archive-date=18 January 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Traditionally, students at the Courtauld had been taught in rooms hung with the masterworks from the history of art borrowed from the affiliated [[Courtauld Gallery]]. Taking advantage of a relocation of the school to new premises in Somerset House, and newly empty walls in seminar rooms, he leveraged the Courtauld into exhibiting the work of contemporary painters on long-term temporary loan as 'The East Wing Collection' – a practice which continues to this day as 'The East Wing Biennial'. Past exhibitors in the Collection/Biennial include [[Mel Bochner]], [[Damien Hirst]], [[Howard Hodgkin]], [[Michael Landy]], [[Del LaGrace Volcano]], [[Gilbert & George|Gilbert and George]], [[Genesis P-Orridge]] and [[Martha Rosler]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eastwingbiennial.org/about |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317141833/http://eastwingbiennial.org/about |archive-date=17 March 2014 |title=About – East Wing Biennial}}</ref> He graduated from the Courtauld in 1992. At this time, he was associated with the American gallerist [[Maureen Paley]].

Joshua Compston first worked in commercial galleries when he became David Taborn's agent, curating Taborn's show at Gallery 202, Notting Hill Gate in 1989.[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gallery_202_press_release.jpg]

Joshua Compston's initial exposure to pre YBA Shoreditch happened partly by accident, due to an infatuation with a daughter of writer [[Jocasta Innes]] and whose Spitalfields kitchen became a late night meeting point for Compston, [[Will Hodgkinson]] and many other creatives. This in turn led to renting a room at the next door house of Architect Sir [[Richard MacCormac]].