Frank Brangwyn
Encyclopedia
Sir Frank William Brangwyn RA
RWS
RBA
(12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was an Anglo-Welsh artist, painter, water colourist, virtuoso engraver and illustrator, and progressive designer.
, Belgium
, where his father had moved after winning a competition organised by the Belgian Guild of St Thomas and St Luke to design a parish church. His forenames were registered as Guillaume François. In 1874 the family moved back to the United Kingdom. He married Lucy Ray in 1896. She died childless in 1924.
He leased Temple Lodge, 51 Queen Street, Hammersmith from 1900 to 1937/38 and bought The Jointure, Ditchling
, Sussex in 1918. He was knighted in 1941. He died on 11 June 1956 at his home in Sussex
.
In 1936 Brangwyn presented Bruges with over 400 works, now in the Arents House Museum. In return the King of Belgium made Brangwyn Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold II
, and Bruges made him Citoyen d'Honneur de Bruges (only the third time the award had been given).
, but he was largely an autodidact without a formal artistic education. When, at the age of seventeen, one of his paintings was accepted at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
, he was strengthened in his conviction to become an artist.
Initially he painted traditional subjects about the sea and life on the seas. His canvas, Funeral At Sea (1890) won a medal of the 3rd class at the 1891 Paris Salon. The limited palette in this painting is typical of his Newlyn
period (although he was not officially a Newlyn artist).
By the late 19th century Orientalism
had become a favoured theme for many painters. Soon Brangwyn was attracted by the light and the bright colours of these southern countries. He travelled to Istanbul
and the Black Sea
, by working as a deck hand for his passage. He made many paintings and drawings, particularly of Spain
, Morocco
, Egypt
, Turkey
. This resulted in a marked lightening of his palette, a change which did not initially find critical favor. He continued his travels to different parts of Africa
and also to South Africa
.
In 1895 the Parisian art dealer
Siegfried Bing commissioned Brangwyn to decorate the exterior of his Galerie L'Art Nouveau, and encouraged Brangwyn into new avenues: mural
s, tapestry
and carpet designs, posters and designs for stained glass
to be produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany
. For his austere but decorative designs he was recognized by continental
and US critics as a prominent artist, while British
critics were puzzled as how to evaluate him.
In 1908 Brangwyn was commissioned to paint the apse of St Aidan's Church, Leeds
, but after it was realised that the air pollution would damage the paint it was agreed he should work in glass mosaic
. The mosaic (using Rust's vitreous mosaic) was completed in 1916: it covers the whole apse and shows the life of St Aidan
.
Other commissions included murals for the Great Hall of the Worshipful Company of Skinners
, London
(1901–1909), the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
, San Francisco, 1915 (now in the Herbst Theatre
, Veteran's Building Auditorium, San Francisco), a Lunette for Cuyahoga County Courthouse
, Cleveland, Ohio
(1911–1915), the Manitoba Legislative Building
, Winnipeg
(1918–1921), the Chapel, Christ's Hospital
School, Horsham
(1912–1923), and the Missouri State Capitol
, Jefferson City
(1915–1925).]
Although Brangwyn produced over 80 poster designs during the First World War, he was not an official war artist
. His grim poster of a Tommy bayoneting an enemy soldier (“Put Strength in the Final Blow: Buy War Bonds”) caused deep offence in both Britain and Germany. The Kaiser himself is said to have put a price on Brangwyn’s head after seeing the image.
Brangwyn is best known for the British Empire Panels (1925–1932), 16 very large works covering 3000 sq ft (278.7 m²) originally intended for the Royal Gallery at the House of Lords
at Westminster, but refused because they were "too colourful and lively" for the location. They are now housed in the Brangwyn Hall
, Swansea
.
Along with Diego Rivera
and Josep Maria Sert, he was chosen by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
to decorate the concourse of the RCA Building
in New York City
(1930–34) with mural
s. A sequence of large murals on canvas (originally from Horton House
, Northamptonshire
) is held by the Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Dunedin
, New Zealand
. He was also chosen to decorate the 1st class dining room of the Canadian Pacific
liner, RMS Empress of Britain
(1930–1931)].
Brangwyn was an artistic jack-of-all-trades
. As well as painting
s and drawing
s, he produced designs for stained glass
, furniture
, ceramic
s, table glassware
, building
s and interiors
, was a lithographer
and woodcut
ter and was an illustrator
of books. In 1952 Clifford Musgrave estimated that Brangwyn had produced over 12,000 works. Brangwyn's mural commissions would cover over 22000 sq ft (2,043.9 m²) of canvas, he painted over 1,000 oils, over 660 mixed media works (watercolours, gouache
), over 500 etching
s, about 400 wood engraving
s and woodcuts, 280 lithographs, 40 architectural and interior designs, 230 designs for furniture, and 20 stained glass panels and windows.
Towards the end of his life, Brangwyn donated many of his own and other artworks to museums and galleries of Britain and Europe. In 1944, he recovered and secured designs by Frederic Shields
for the Chapel of the Ascension built by Herbert Horne
which was destroyed in 1940 during the London Blitz. In 1950 one of his last works was to provide the illustrations for Sixty Years of Yachts by Herbert Julyan, a good friend.
, pointing out that Brangwyn's bold, vigorous, outward-looking art was suited to the expansive spirit of late-Victorian British society but inconsistent with the inward-looking, less confident, and intellectually effete ethos prevalent in the post World War I period.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
RWS
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
RBA
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.-History:...
(12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was an Anglo-Welsh artist, painter, water colourist, virtuoso engraver and illustrator, and progressive designer.
Biography
He was born in BrugesBruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, where his father had moved after winning a competition organised by the Belgian Guild of St Thomas and St Luke to design a parish church. His forenames were registered as Guillaume François. In 1874 the family moved back to the United Kingdom. He married Lucy Ray in 1896. She died childless in 1924.
He leased Temple Lodge, 51 Queen Street, Hammersmith from 1900 to 1937/38 and bought The Jointure, Ditchling
Ditchling
Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling....
, Sussex in 1918. He was knighted in 1941. He died on 11 June 1956 at his home in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.
In 1936 Brangwyn presented Bruges with over 400 works, now in the Arents House Museum. In return the King of Belgium made Brangwyn Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold II
Order of Leopold II
The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Léopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as king of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium, incorporated into the Belgian awards system...
, and Bruges made him Citoyen d'Honneur de Bruges (only the third time the award had been given).
Work
Frank Brangwyn received some artistic training, probably from his father, and later from Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo and in the workshops of William MorrisWilliam Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, but he was largely an autodidact without a formal artistic education. When, at the age of seventeen, one of his paintings was accepted at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Royal Academy summer exhibition
The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the summer months of June, July, and August...
, he was strengthened in his conviction to become an artist.
Initially he painted traditional subjects about the sea and life on the seas. His canvas, Funeral At Sea (1890) won a medal of the 3rd class at the 1891 Paris Salon. The limited palette in this painting is typical of his Newlyn
Newlyn
Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...
period (although he was not officially a Newlyn artist).
By the late 19th century Orientalism
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
had become a favoured theme for many painters. Soon Brangwyn was attracted by the light and the bright colours of these southern countries. He travelled to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, by working as a deck hand for his passage. He made many paintings and drawings, particularly of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. This resulted in a marked lightening of his palette, a change which did not initially find critical favor. He continued his travels to different parts of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and also to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
In 1895 the Parisian art dealer
Art dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers' professional associations serve to set high standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions and shows.-Role:...
Siegfried Bing commissioned Brangwyn to decorate the exterior of his Galerie L'Art Nouveau, and encouraged Brangwyn into new avenues: mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s, tapestry
Tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...
and carpet designs, posters and designs for stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
to be produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
. For his austere but decorative designs he was recognized by continental
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and US critics as a prominent artist, while British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
critics were puzzled as how to evaluate him.
In 1908 Brangwyn was commissioned to paint the apse of St Aidan's Church, Leeds
St Aidan's Church, Leeds
St Aidan's Church in Harehills, Leeds, West Yorkshire is a Church of England parish church built in 1894. It is a large Victorian basilica-type red-brick building which is Grade II* listed. A church hall is adjacent. The architects were Johnson and Crawford Hick of Newcastle. The apse is...
, but after it was realised that the air pollution would damage the paint it was agreed he should work in glass mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
. The mosaic (using Rust's vitreous mosaic) was completed in 1916: it covers the whole apse and shows the life of St Aidan
Aidan of Lindisfarne
Known as Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Aidan the Apostle of Northumbria , was the founder and first bishop of the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in England. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. Aidan is the Anglicised form of the original Old...
.
Other commissions included murals for the Great Hall of the Worshipful Company of Skinners
Worshipful Company of Skinners
The Worshipful Company of Skinners is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was originally an association of those engaged in the trade of skins and furs...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(1901–1909), the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
, San Francisco, 1915 (now in the Herbst Theatre
Herbst Theatre
The Herbst Theatre is an auditorium in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in Civic Center in San Francisco, United States. The 928-seat hall hosts programs as diverse as City Arts & Lectures, SF Jazz, and San Francisco Performances....
, Veteran's Building Auditorium, San Francisco), a Lunette for Cuyahoga County Courthouse
Cuyahoga County Courthouse
The Cuyahoga County Courthouse stretches along Lakeside Boulevard at the north end of the Cleveland Mall in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The building was listed on the National Register along with the mall district in 1975. Other notable buildings of the Group Plan are the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S...
, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
(1911–1915), the Manitoba Legislative Building
Manitoba Legislative Building
The Manitoba Legislative Building is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, in central Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was originally named the Manitoba Parliament Building, not Legislative. The neoclassical building was completed in 1920 and stands seventy-seven meters tall...
, Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
(1918–1921), the Chapel, Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
School, Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
(1912–1923), and the Missouri State Capitol
Missouri State Capitol
The Missouri State Capitol is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Housing the Missouri General Assembly, it is located in the state capital of Jefferson City at 201 West Capitol Avenue. The domed building was designed by the New York architectural firm of Tracy and Swartwout and completed in 1917...
, Jefferson City
Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Cole County. Located in Callaway and Cole counties, it is the principal city of the Jefferson City metropolitan area, which encompasses the entirety of both counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,079...
(1915–1925).]
Although Brangwyn produced over 80 poster designs during the First World War, he was not an official war artist
War artist
A war artist depicts some aspect of war through art; this might be a pictorial record or it might commemorate how "war shapes lives." War artists have explored a visual and sensory dimension of war which is often absent in written histories or other accounts of warfare.- Definition and context:A...
. His grim poster of a Tommy bayoneting an enemy soldier (“Put Strength in the Final Blow: Buy War Bonds”) caused deep offence in both Britain and Germany. The Kaiser himself is said to have put a price on Brangwyn’s head after seeing the image.
Brangwyn is best known for the British Empire Panels (1925–1932), 16 very large works covering 3000 sq ft (278.7 m²) originally intended for the Royal Gallery at the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
at Westminster, but refused because they were "too colourful and lively" for the location. They are now housed in the Brangwyn Hall
Brangwyn Hall
The Brangwyn Hall is a concert venue in Swansea. It is named after the artist Frank Brangwyn, whose famous "panels", originally intended for the House of Lords, are displayed there....
, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
.
Along with Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
and Josep Maria Sert, he was chosen by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
to decorate the concourse of the RCA Building
GE Building
The GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the midtown Manhattan section of New York City. Known as the RCA Building until 1988, it is most famous for housing the headquarters of the television network NBC...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(1930–34) with mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s. A sequence of large murals on canvas (originally from Horton House
Horton, Northamptonshire
Horton is named from the Old English meaning "muddy farmstead" and lies in the English county of Northamptonshire. It was originally an estate village, serving the now demolished Horton House and it is close to its neighbouring village Hackleton...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
) is held by the Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Dunedin Public Art Gallery
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...
Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He was also chosen to decorate the 1st class dining room of the Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
liner, RMS Empress of Britain
RMS Empress of Britain (1931)
The RMS Empress of Britain was an ocean liner built between 1928 and 1931 by John Brown shipyard in Scotland and owned by Canadian Pacific Steamship Company. This ship — second of three CP vessels named Empress of Britain — provided scheduled trans-Atlantic passenger service from spring to autumn...
(1930–1931)].
Brangwyn was an artistic jack-of-all-trades
Jack of all trades, master of none
"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one....
. As well as painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s and drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
s, he produced designs for stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
s, table glassware
Tableware
Tableware is the dishes or dishware , dinnerware , or china used for setting a table, serving food, and for dining. Tableware can be meant to include flatware and glassware...
, building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s and interiors
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
, was a lithographer
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
and woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
ter and was an illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
of books. In 1952 Clifford Musgrave estimated that Brangwyn had produced over 12,000 works. Brangwyn's mural commissions would cover over 22000 sq ft (2,043.9 m²) of canvas, he painted over 1,000 oils, over 660 mixed media works (watercolours, gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
), over 500 etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
s, about 400 wood engraving
Wood engraving
Wood engraving is a technique in printmaking where the "matrix" worked by the artist is a block of wood. It is a variety of woodcut and so a relief printing technique, where ink is applied to the face of the block and printed by using relatively low pressure. A normal engraving, like an etching,...
s and woodcuts, 280 lithographs, 40 architectural and interior designs, 230 designs for furniture, and 20 stained glass panels and windows.
Towards the end of his life, Brangwyn donated many of his own and other artworks to museums and galleries of Britain and Europe. In 1944, he recovered and secured designs by Frederic Shields
Frederic Shields
Frederic James Shields , was a British artist, illustrator and designer closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites through Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown.-Early years:...
for the Chapel of the Ascension built by Herbert Horne
Herbert Horne
Herbert Percy Horne was an English poet, architect, typographer and designer, art historian and antiquarian. He was an associate of the Rhymer's Club in London...
which was destroyed in 1940 during the London Blitz. In 1950 one of his last works was to provide the illustrations for Sixty Years of Yachts by Herbert Julyan, a good friend.
Interpretations
The art writer Marius Gombrich has linked the decline of interest in Brangwyn's works to the decline of the British EmpireBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, pointing out that Brangwyn's bold, vigorous, outward-looking art was suited to the expansive spirit of late-Victorian British society but inconsistent with the inward-looking, less confident, and intellectually effete ethos prevalent in the post World War I period.
Works
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa: Frank Brangwyn
- Tate: Frank Brangwyn
- http://slv.vic.gov.au State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
General
- Meic StephensMeic StephensMeic Stephens is a Welsh author and literary journalist. Stephens studied at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, the University College of North Wales, Bangor, and at the University of Rennes in France. From 1967 until 1990 Stephens was Literature Director of the Welsh Arts Council...
(Editor): The New Companion to the Literature of Wales (University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1998) ISBN 0-7083-1383-3
Specific
- Alford, Roger & Horner, Libby (Ed.s), Brangwyn in his Studio. The Diary of Frank Alford, Guildford: R Alford, 2004
- Brangwyn, Rodney, Brangwyn, London: William Kimber, 1978
- Cava, Paul (Ed.), Frank Brangwyn Photographs: Nude and Figure Studies, 2001, Paul Cava Fine Art, Bala Cynwyd, PA
- Cole, Diana de Vere, Brangwyn in Perspective: the life and work of Sir Frank Brangwyn 1867-1956, The One Roof Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-9535824-3-3
- Bunt, Cyril, The Water-Colours of Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, Leigh-on-Sea, Frank Lewis, 1958
- Furst, Herbert, The Decorative Art of Frank Brangwyn, London: John Lane, The Bodley Head Ltd, 1924
- Galloway, Vincent, The Oils and Murals of Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, Leigh-on-Sea, Frank Lewis, 1962
- Gaunt, William, The Etchings of Frank Brangwyn RA, London: The Studio Limited, 1926
- Horner, Libby, A Humble Offering to the People of Walthamstow. Being a short history of the William Morris Gallery and Brangwyn Gift, Stanford: L Horner, 2008
- Horner, Libby, Christ's Hospital Murals, Stanford: L Horner, 2008
- Horner, Libby & Naylor, Gillian (Ed.s), Frank Brangwyn 1867-1956, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Groeningemuseum/Arents House, 2007. http://www.jeremymillspublishing.co.uk/shop2/item.php?i=g1fb&s=2
- Frank Brangwyn, A Mission to Decorate Life[Text by Libby Horner]
- Sparrow, Walter Shaw, The Spirit of the Age, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1905
- Sparrow, Walter Shaw, Frank Brangwyn and his Work, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co, 1915
- Sparrow, Walter Shaw, Prints and drawings by Frank Brangwyn, London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1919
- Windsor, Alan, Brangwyn, Sir Frank William (1867–1956), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32046
External links
- The Brangwyn Bazaar. The definitive Brangwyn website, biography, bibliography, where to see works, illustrated.
- Brangwyn in Perspective (Brief biography plus gallery of Brangwyn's work)
- History of the Brangwyn Panels
- Frank Brangwyn Self Portrait
- Arents House (museum), Bruges
- biography page with samples by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. of JVJ Publishing
- War art by Brangwyn
- http://www.paulcava.com/BRANGWYN/paulcavafinearta.html (Brangwyn's photographic studies)
