Frank Coombs qualified as an architect and worked at the
Hampshire County Council. Coombs was responsible for the progressive turn of the
Storran Gallery. Originally selling woodcuts and greeting cards, when Coombs joined the gallery in 1935 he organized his first show, a show that completely changed the future of the business. When Story sold her share to Knollys, Knollys and Coombs started to exhibit works by
Pablo Picasso,
Amedeo Modigliani,
Maurice Utrillo,
Glyn Philpot (Philpot painted Coombs' portrait),
Claude Monet,
Pierre-Auguste Renoir,
Paul Gauguin,
Maurice de Vlaminck,
André Derain and
Amedeo Modigliani. Coombs was part of
The London Group. Coombs and Knollys befriended many clients like
Lady Ottoline Morrell,
Duncan Grant and
Graham Sutherland. ==Personal life==