Frank Hoar
Encyclopedia
Harold Frank Hoar, FRIBA
(13 September 1907 – 3 October 1976), was a British architect, artist, academic and architectural historian. Hoar first came to public prominence when, at the age of 25, he won a competition to design the first terminal building at London's Gatwick Airport in the 1930s. His architectural career focused increasingly on town planning in the post war years, when he also became a well known public commentator on domestic architecture in that era of reconstruction. A senior lecturer at University College London
, Hoar was an expert on the Bavaria
n Baroque
and wrote histories of English and European architecture at a time when architectural modernism
decried the value of an historical approach to architecture. He was also an accomplished watercolour painter, his work on architectural themes having often been exhibited in the Royal Academy
in the 1950s and 1960s.
In a wide ranging career Hoar was probably best known as the cartoonist "Acanthus", where his work appeared in Punch
, the Sunday Telegraph
, The New Yorker
and The Builder magazine; and as "Hope" in the Sunday Express
. His cartoons reflected on the home front
during the Second World War
and were often accompanied by great architectural backdrops. As a cartoonist during the war, Hoar's political cartoons contemplated the long term direction of the war and of the perpetrators of its worst atrocities.
Educational Corps. The Hoars were an old Hampshire family, settled in Catherington from the reign of Henry VIII
and Lords of the Manor of Lovedean, near Catherington, in the 17th century. Harold Hoar's great grandfather, John Jeans, was the Professor of Nautical Astronomy at the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth. The Harry family descend in the male line from the Owens of Lllullo and, ultimately, from Hywel Dda
(d 950), King of Deheubarth in south-west Wales. Through that family, Hoar was a kinsman of Richard Nixon
, 37th President of the United States.
On the family's return to England, they settled in Devon
, where Hoar was educated at Plymouth College
. At the age of 15, he won a scholarship to the Bartlett School of Building
at University College London
(UCL), with which he was to be associated for the best part of his life. Studying under Sir Albert Richardson
, PRA
, Hoar qualified as an ARIBA
in 1931, and was awarded a diploma in Town Planning, having been awarded the Owen Jones
Student Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects
(RIBA) whilst an undergraduate. Hoar's interest in architectural history developed during his student years, where he was awarded the Roland Jones prize for the history of Medieval
architecture in his second year.
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Hoar's entry into the competition for the design of the first Gatwick Airport terminal building was as the leading member of a team of three architectural research students. In the early 1930s, at the beginning of the era of commercial flight, Morris Jackaman had had the idea of a circular terminal, which was well suited to the developing air traffic needs of the time, allowing sufficient aircraft to be positioned in close proximity to the terminal building. Hoar's design catered for these needs by surrounding the round terminal with five ramps, each of which connected to aircraft. The terminal was entered by a tunnel subway connected, in turn, to the railway station. Hoar's designs were commissioned in 1935 and the building still exists, affectionately known as "The Beehive
". A model of Hoar's design was included in the gallery of architectural history at the Victoria and Albert Museum
in 2004.
in Egypt
and North Africa during the Second World War
where he was mainly engaged on the design of bridges. During his period with the RE, a newspaper reported that he was being considered for an army secondment to the government of Nairobi
, where he would work on the re-development of the city, although this approach did not come to fruition.
After the War, Hoar joined the London County Council
's architectural department for a short period, before returning to private practice and academe. He was heavily involved in the national discussion and debate about the development and improvement of housing after the War. Aside from his involvement in the design of Council Housing with the LCC, Hoar was commissioned to design and write about the ideal new house in the opinion of the readers of the Sunday Express. His simple design incorporated what were beginning to be seen as household essentials: the fitted kitchen and bathroom, the utility room and the garage. Many of Hoar's cartoons as Acanthus reflected on the demands of pre-fabrication and the ideas behind redevelopment (see further below).
- a subject far out of favour with the modernism of the age. Hoar's doctorate was awarded on this subject and a number of his watercolours of the interiors of Bavarian churches were exhibited at the Royal Academy
's summer exhibition
; as were his watercolours of St Peter's
, Rome, a particular favourite. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
in the early 1940s.
The PhD
thesis on the Bavarian baroque set those churches in the context of the social and religious background of the Counter Reformation. Alongside Hoar's drawings, it was illustrated by the series of watercolours
he exbited at the RA. His great interest in architectural history, which manifested itself in his cartoons as much as his architectural and academic practice, led to the publication of his two books on the architectural history of England
and Europe
. Aimed at the lay reader and illustrated with drawings, plans and cross-sections
, these histories draw extensively on the cultural and historical background that gives meaning to the progression of architectural styles. In many ways, they can be seen as a reaction to the prevailing ethos of his era, which spurned the historical purpose in favour of wholly utilitarian approaches; Le Corbusier
, for example, famously quipped that the house was a 'machine for living in'. Hoar's hope was that:
Hoar's wish was, in many respects, to be granted after his death. The utilitarian, concrete architecture of the 1950s and 1960s has gradually fallen out of favour, coupled with a resurgence of traditional architectural design and a renewed appreciation of context and scale. (Compare, for example, the 1990s extension to Magdalen College Oxford with the college extensions of the post-war period.) The change in public attitudes has been assisted in no small measure by the poor living conditions suffered by so many tenants of tower blocks built in that era.
and as "Acanthus" in Punch
. He had started illustrating cartoons as "Acanthus" at the beginning of the War but soon began a series of political cartoons. As his brother, George, had become a prisoner of war
at the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, it was on security grounds that Hoar decided to publish these cartoons under the biline of "Hope". These cartoons offered a long term commentary on the progress and evils of the War itself. In one, Hitler, Mussolini
and Tōjō
glare at a shackled prisoner whose shadow reveals the noose that represents their ultimate fate. Other cartoons focus on the role of Stalin
and the impact of the alliance, represented in one cartoon as the Big Three
using the swastika
as a pivot to squash Hitler.
during the Second World War; his subjects included the Home Guard, the crumbling country houses
of the aristocracy and the prefabricated housing
built after the war. They are also of some historical interest, reflecting as they do the social mores of the day. Hoar's work was later published in The Builder, an architectural and building magazine and in Men Only
, then what might now be described as a lifestyle magazine. In the Sunday Telegraph
he published pocket cartoons in his later years.
Practicing for his entire career in the age of architectural modernism
(which he did not entirely spurn, his buildings being as influenced by the age as those of most architects of his generation), Hoar was fond of using his cartoons to lampoon what he saw as its excesses - especially where they threatened architectural heritage. In doing so, the breadth of his historical architectural knowledge was used to good effect. An example was his skit on a proposal by Frank Lloyd Wright
for a new building on the Grand Canal in Venice
, published in Punch in 1954, in which Hoar suggests a medley of architectural styles. His cartoons often reflected upon the chastened circumstances of English country houses requisitioned in the War and later left to their decline, a suitable theme for his architectural backgrounds.
In addition, he illustrated a number of books.
, a landowner, former President of the Chamber of Commerce
of Dublin and a member of the Irish Dáil, and granddaughter of Simon Mangan
of Dunboyne Castle
, HM Lieutenant
of County Meath
, and Margaret (née) Larkin, a first cousin of Brig Gen Paul Kenna
, VC
. Rosamund was a concert pianist who trained at the Paris Conservatoire
and was well known for her performances on Radio Eireann
in its earliest years.
They had four children:
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
(13 September 1907 – 3 October 1976), was a British architect, artist, academic and architectural historian. Hoar first came to public prominence when, at the age of 25, he won a competition to design the first terminal building at London's Gatwick Airport in the 1930s. His architectural career focused increasingly on town planning in the post war years, when he also became a well known public commentator on domestic architecture in that era of reconstruction. A senior lecturer at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, Hoar was an expert on the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
and wrote histories of English and European architecture at a time when architectural modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
decried the value of an historical approach to architecture. He was also an accomplished watercolour painter, his work on architectural themes having often been exhibited in the Royal Academy
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...
in the 1950s and 1960s.
In a wide ranging career Hoar was probably best known as the cartoonist "Acanthus", where his work appeared in Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
, the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and The Builder magazine; and as "Hope" in the Sunday Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
. His cartoons reflected on the home front
Home front during World War II
The home front covers the activities of the civilians in a nation at war. World War II was a total war; homeland production became even more invaluable to both the Allied and Axis powers. Life on the home front during World War II was a significant part of the war effort for all participants and...
during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and were often accompanied by great architectural backdrops. As a cartoonist during the war, Hoar's political cartoons contemplated the long term direction of the war and of the perpetrators of its worst atrocities.
Background
Hoar was born in Burma, then a part of the Indian Empire, to Harold Hoar and Frances (née) Harry, where his father was stationed with the ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Educational Corps. The Hoars were an old Hampshire family, settled in Catherington from the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
and Lords of the Manor of Lovedean, near Catherington, in the 17th century. Harold Hoar's great grandfather, John Jeans, was the Professor of Nautical Astronomy at the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth. The Harry family descend in the male line from the Owens of Lllullo and, ultimately, from Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda , was the well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales, who eventually came to rule Wales from Prestatyn to Pembroke. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, through his father Cadell, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell...
(d 950), King of Deheubarth in south-west Wales. Through that family, Hoar was a kinsman of Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, 37th President of the United States.
On the family's return to England, they settled in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, where Hoar was educated at Plymouth College
Plymouth College
Plymouth College is a co-educational independent school in Plymouth, Devon, England, for day and boarding pupils from the ages of 11 to 18...
. At the age of 15, he won a scholarship to the Bartlett School of Building
The Bartlett
The Bartlett is the Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London. University College London created the first chair of architecture in 1841, and the school is named after the original benefactor, Sir Herbert Bartlett.-External links:*...
at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(UCL), with which he was to be associated for the best part of his life. Studying under Sir Albert Richardson
Albert Richardson
Sir Albert Edward Richardson K.C.V.O., F.R.I.B.A, F.S.A., was a leading English architect, teacher and writer about architecture during the first half of the 20th century...
, PRA
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...
, Hoar qualified as an ARIBA
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
in 1931, and was awarded a diploma in Town Planning, having been awarded the Owen Jones
Owen Jones (architect)
Owen Jones was a London-born architect and designer of Welsh descent. He was a versatile architect and designer, and one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century...
Student Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
(RIBA) whilst an undergraduate. Hoar's interest in architectural history developed during his student years, where he was awarded the Roland Jones prize for the history of Medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
architecture in his second year.
Gatwick Airport
Beehive (Gatwick Airport)
The Beehive is the original terminal building at Gatwick Airport, England. Opened in 1936, it became obsolete in the 1950s as the airport expanded. In 2008, it was converted into serviced offices, having served as the headquarters of franchised airline GB Airways for some years before that...
". A model of Hoar's design was included in the gallery of architectural history at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in 2004.
War Years and post-war Reconstruction
Following this success, Hoar built an architectural practice in which he was often engaged to design civic buildings, especially in the 1940s and '50s. He was commissioned into the Royal EngineersRoyal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
in 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...
and North Africa during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
where he was mainly engaged on the design of bridges. During his period with the RE, a newspaper reported that he was being considered for an army secondment to the government of Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, where he would work on the re-development of the city, although this approach did not come to fruition.
After the War, Hoar joined the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
's architectural department for a short period, before returning to private practice and academe. He was heavily involved in the national discussion and debate about the development and improvement of housing after the War. Aside from his involvement in the design of Council Housing with the LCC, Hoar was commissioned to design and write about the ideal new house in the opinion of the readers of the Sunday Express. His simple design incorporated what were beginning to be seen as household essentials: the fitted kitchen and bathroom, the utility room and the garage. Many of Hoar's cartoons as Acanthus reflected on the demands of pre-fabrication and the ideas behind redevelopment (see further below).
Academic career
Hoar later combined his private architectural and town planning practice with academic positions at UCL, where he was a senior lecturer at the Bartlett School. In a time of architectural asperity, he was well known for his lectures on the Bavarian BaroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
- a subject far out of favour with the modernism of the age. Hoar's doctorate was awarded on this subject and a number of his watercolours of the interiors of Bavarian churches were exhibited at the Royal Academy
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...
's 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...
; as were his watercolours of St Peter's
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
, Rome, a particular favourite. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
in the early 1940s.
The PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
thesis on the Bavarian baroque set those churches in the context of the social and religious background of the Counter Reformation. Alongside Hoar's drawings, it was illustrated by the series of watercolours
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
he exbited at the RA. His great interest in architectural history, which manifested itself in his cartoons as much as his architectural and academic practice, led to the publication of his two books on the architectural history of England
History of England
The history of England concerns the study of the human past in one of Europe's oldest and most influential national territories. What is now England, a country within the United Kingdom, was inhabited by Neanderthals 230,000 years ago. Continuous human habitation dates to around 12,000 years ago,...
and Europe
History of Europe
History of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting the European continent since it was first populated in prehistoric times to present, with the first human settlement between 45,000 and 25,000 BC.-Overview:...
. Aimed at the lay reader and illustrated with drawings, plans and cross-sections
Cross section (geometry)
In geometry, a cross-section is the intersection of a figure in 2-dimensional space with a line, or of a body in 3-dimensional space with a plane, etc...
, these histories draw extensively on the cultural and historical background that gives meaning to the progression of architectural styles. In many ways, they can be seen as a reaction to the prevailing ethos of his era, which spurned the historical purpose in favour of wholly utilitarian approaches; Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, for example, famously quipped that the house was a 'machine for living in'. Hoar's hope was that:
Hoar's wish was, in many respects, to be granted after his death. The utilitarian, concrete architecture of the 1950s and 1960s has gradually fallen out of favour, coupled with a resurgence of traditional architectural design and a renewed appreciation of context and scale. (Compare, for example, the 1990s extension to Magdalen College Oxford with the college extensions of the post-war period.) The change in public attitudes has been assisted in no small measure by the poor living conditions suffered by so many tenants of tower blocks built in that era.
Political cartoons
Hoar was perhaps best known for his cartoons, as "Hope" in the Sunday ExpressDaily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and as "Acanthus" in Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
. He had started illustrating cartoons as "Acanthus" at the beginning of the War but soon began a series of political cartoons. As his brother, George, had become a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
at the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, it was on security grounds that Hoar decided to publish these cartoons under the biline of "Hope". These cartoons offered a long term commentary on the progress and evils of the War itself. In one, Hitler, Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and Tōjō
Hideki Tōjō
Hideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...
glare at a shackled prisoner whose shadow reveals the noose that represents their ultimate fate. Other cartoons focus on the role of Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and the impact of the alliance, represented in one cartoon as the Big Three
Allied leaders of World War II
The Allied leaders of World War II listed below comprise the important political and military figures who fought for or supported the Allies during World War II...
using the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
as a pivot to squash Hitler.
"Acanthus"
Hoar's cartoons as "Acanthus" combined amusing social commentary with architectural themes and backgrounds. The early cartoons provide a great insight into the Home FrontHome front
Home front is the informal term commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system of their military....
during the Second World War; his subjects included the Home Guard, the crumbling country houses
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
of the aristocracy and the prefabricated housing
Prefabricated buildings
Prefabricated building is a type of building that consists of several factory-built components or units that are assembled on-site to complete the unit.- Prefabricated Housing :"Prefabricated" may refer to buildings built in components Prefabricated building is a type of building that consists of...
built after the war. They are also of some historical interest, reflecting as they do the social mores of the day. Hoar's work was later published in The Builder, an architectural and building magazine and in Men Only
Men Only
Men Only is a British soft-core pornographic magazine published by Paul Raymond since 1971. However, the title goes back to 1935 when it was founded by C. Arthur Pearson Ltd as a pocket magazine . It set out its editorial stall in the first issue:'We don't want women readers. We won't have women...
, then what might now be described as a lifestyle magazine. In the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
he published pocket cartoons in his later years.
Practicing for his entire career in the age of architectural modernism
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
(which he did not entirely spurn, his buildings being as influenced by the age as those of most architects of his generation), Hoar was fond of using his cartoons to lampoon what he saw as its excesses - especially where they threatened architectural heritage. In doing so, the breadth of his historical architectural knowledge was used to good effect. An example was his skit on a proposal by Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
for a new building on the Grand Canal in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, published in Punch in 1954, in which Hoar suggests a medley of architectural styles. His cartoons often reflected upon the chastened circumstances of English country houses requisitioned in the War and later left to their decline, a suitable theme for his architectural backgrounds.
Books
- Pen and Ink Drawings (The Studio Publications, 1955)
- Ancestral Manners (The Builder, Ltd, 1961), a satire on the English country house.
- An Introduction to English Architecture (Evans Brothers, 1963)
- European Architecture, From Earliest Times to the Present Day (Evans Bros, 1967)
In addition, he illustrated a number of books.
Family
Hoar married, in 1940, Rosamund Leonard (1909–1983), the daughter of Patrick LeonardPatrick Leonard (Irish politician)
Patrick Leonard was an Irish politician, businessman and landowner. He owned three farms near Dublin and was involved in moving cattle between the west of Ireland and Dublin. In 1915 he was elected President of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce...
, a landowner, former President of the Chamber of Commerce
Dublin Chamber of Commerce
Dublin Chamber of Commerce is one of the oldest such organisations in Europe and traces its origins back to the Autumn of 1695 when the Dublin shipping company of Ferris, Twiggs and Cash sent their vessel Ouzel Galley on an important trading journey to the near-Eastern Seas. With provisions, a crew...
of Dublin and a member of the Irish Dáil, and granddaughter of Simon Mangan
Simon Mangan
Simon Mangan was a landowner and HM Lieutenant of Meath from 1894 to 1906. A JP, he was also in business with his son-in-law Patrick Leonard in moving cattle between the west and east of Ireland....
of Dunboyne Castle
Dunboyne
Dunboyne is a town in County Meath in Ireland. For the most part, it is a dormitory town for the city of Dublin.-Location:Dunboyne is centred on the crossroads formed by the R156 regional road and the old Maynooth Road ....
, HM Lieutenant
Lord Lieutenant of Meath
This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of County Meath, Ireland. The office was created on 23 August 1831.* Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley 28 October 1831 – 11 February 1835...
of County Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
, and Margaret (née) Larkin, a first cousin of Brig Gen Paul Kenna
Paul Aloysius Kenna
Brigadier General Paul Aloysius Kenna VC DSO was an English born British Army officer of Irish descent and recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that could be awarded to British and British Empire forces.-Background:He was...
, VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. Rosamund was a concert pianist who trained at the Paris Conservatoire
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
and was well known for her performances on Radio Eireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
in its earliest years.
They had four children:
- Peter Frank (b 1941), married Julia Legg:
- Christopher;
- Tamara;
- Valerie (b 1944), married Adrian Beatty:
- Jonathan, m Kay Dickson;
- Caroline, m Matthew Stevenson:
- Joshua;
- Hannah Louise;
- Gerald;
- Sarah.
- John Leonard (b 1947), married Jacqueline Tindal, d of Group Captain Nicolas Tindal-Carill-WorsleyNicolas Tindal-Carill-WorsleyGroup Captain Nicolas Tindal-Carill-Worsley RAF , son of Cmdr Ralph Tindal-Carill-Worsley, RN, was a bomber pilot during the Second War and helped plan and execute the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III, where he was imprisoned between 1940 and 1945.-Great Escape:His particular responsibility...
:
- John Leonard (b 1947), married Jacqueline Tindal, d of Group Captain Nicolas Tindal-Carill-Worsley
- Francis;
- Thomas, m Laura, g-dtr of Maj Gen Eric Dorman-O'GowanEric Dorman-SmithEric Edward Dorman-Smith , later de-Anglicised to Eric Edward Dorman O'Gowan, was a British Army soldier who served with distinction in World War I, and then seems to have become something of a bête noire to the British military establishment because of his lively mind, and unorthodox...
:- Patrick Charles John
- Edmund;
- William;
- Jack;
- Nicolas;
- Joseph.
- Diana (b 1952), married Harry Russell:
- Julian;
- Anthony;
- Emily;
- Dominic.
Sources
- Bryant, Mark (2000) Dictionary of Twentieth-Century British Cartoonists and Caricaturists, p 112 (Ashgate, Aldershot).
- Obituary in The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 7 October 1976 - Blow, Christopher (2005) Transport Terminals and Modal Interchanges: Planning and Design
- Wright, Lawrence (1983) Perspective in Perspective
- Punch, 1942–1976
- Sunday Express
- Sunday Telegraph
- Sunday Correspondent
- The Builder
- Men Only