Ralph Beyer
Encyclopedia
Ralph Alexander Beyer was a German letter-cutter, sculptor and teacher. He was most noted for his work on Basil Spence
's new Coventry Cathedral
where Beyer carved his masterpiece Tablets of the Words.
before moving to Dresden
in 1928. Due to the threat of arrest under the National Socialists the family moved to Crete
in 1932 followed by Lichtenstein
and Switzerland
before going to stay with the German architect Erich Mendelsohn
in England
in 1937 and later in London and Cholesbury
, Buckinghamshire
with his mother's cousin and pioneering child psychotherapist, Margaret Lowenfeld
. Ralph's Jewish mother, Margarete returned to Germany and during the Second World War was incarcerated in Auschwitz where she died in 1945. At the outbreak of war Ralph was sent to an internment camp in Liverpool and later on joined the Pioneer Corps in France
and the British intelligence services as a translator.
When Beyer came to England in 1937 he became apprenticed to the sculptor and typeface designer Eric Gill
near High Wycombe
, and went on to study at the Central School of Arts & Crafts
and the Chelsea School of Art. He was taught there by the sculptor Henry Moore
. During Beyer's internment he befriended the historian
and architect
Nicholas Pevsner assisting him on the writing of his books and in turn was greatly influenced by Pevsner's ideas on modern art.
After the War he worked as a mason and undertook numerous small commissions and taught briefly at St Christopher School, Letchworth
, before being introduced in 1956 by Pevsner to Basil Spence
who was looking for an artist to carry out lettering work on the interior of the new Coventry Cathedral
. His unique typography
style, known as "Felt" was in effect a customised corporate font for the new cathedral, appearing on hymnbooks, brasses and signs. However, it was the eight panels of Tablets of the Words, eight sandstone panels incised with quotations from the Bible
and associated symbols which are most prominent, mounted on nave walls. This work, carried out in-situ while the cathedral was still under construction is noted as "the most significant work of British public lettering of the 20th century." Beyer's next major commission was to carve a memorial stone and lettering at the park in Indiana
, USA created in memory to the German theologian Paul Tillich
who he had first met as a boy in Potstam.
In 1960 he was teaching at Sidcup School of Art where he remained until its closure in 1963, after which he transferred to the new Ravensbourne College of Art and Design. He also taught typography
from 1968 to 1986 at the University of Reading
and from 1983 to 1994 letter-cutting at the City and Guilds of London Art School
.
London in February 2008.
Basil Spence
Sir Basil Urwin Spence, OM, OBE, RA was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Modernist/Brutalist style.-Training:Spence was born in Bombay, India, the son of Urwin...
's new Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....
where Beyer carved his masterpiece Tablets of the Words.
Early life
Ralph Beyer was born in Berlin in 1921. His father Oskar was a well known art historian. During his early childhood his family lived with relatives on an island near PotsdamPotsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
before moving to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
in 1928. Due to the threat of arrest under the National Socialists the family moved to Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
in 1932 followed by Lichtenstein
Lichtenstein
Lichtenstein is surname of:*Aharon Lichtenstein, noted Orthodox rabbi*Alfred Lichtenstein , an American philatelist*Alfred Lichtenstein , a German writer*Bill Lichtenstein, journalist and producer...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
before going to stay with the German architect Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn was a Jewish German architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinemas.-Early life:...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1937 and later in London and Cholesbury
Cholesbury
Cholesbury is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, on the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, about east of Wendover, north of Chesham and from Berkhamsted....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
with his mother's cousin and pioneering child psychotherapist, Margaret Lowenfeld
Margaret Lowenfeld
Margaret Frances Jane Lowenfeld was a British-born pioneer of child psychology and psychotherapy, a medical researcher in paediatric medicine, and an author of several publications and academic papers on the analysis of child development and play...
. Ralph's Jewish mother, Margarete returned to Germany and during the Second World War was incarcerated in Auschwitz where she died in 1945. At the outbreak of war Ralph was sent to an internment camp in Liverpool and later on joined the Pioneer Corps in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the British intelligence services as a translator.
Career
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill was a British sculptor, typeface designer, stonecutter and printmaker, who was associated with the Arts and Crafts movement...
near High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, and went on to study at the Central School of Arts & Crafts
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
and the Chelsea School of Art. He was taught there by the sculptor Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
. During Beyer's internment he befriended the historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Nicholas Pevsner assisting him on the writing of his books and in turn was greatly influenced by Pevsner's ideas on modern art.
After the War he worked as a mason and undertook numerous small commissions and taught briefly at St Christopher School, Letchworth
St Christopher School, Letchworth
St Christopher School is a boarding and day co-educational independent school located in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire. Established in 1915 shortly after Ebenezer Howard founded Letchworth Garden City, the school is a long-time proponent of progressive education...
, before being introduced in 1956 by Pevsner to Basil Spence
Basil Spence
Sir Basil Urwin Spence, OM, OBE, RA was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Modernist/Brutalist style.-Training:Spence was born in Bombay, India, the son of Urwin...
who was looking for an artist to carry out lettering work on the interior of the new Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....
. His unique typography
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
style, known as "Felt" was in effect a customised corporate font for the new cathedral, appearing on hymnbooks, brasses and signs. However, it was the eight panels of Tablets of the Words, eight sandstone panels incised with quotations from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and associated symbols which are most prominent, mounted on nave walls. This work, carried out in-situ while the cathedral was still under construction is noted as "the most significant work of British public lettering of the 20th century." Beyer's next major commission was to carve a memorial stone and lettering at the park in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, USA created in memory to the German theologian Paul Tillich
Paul Tillich
Paul Johannes Tillich was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was one of the most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century...
who he had first met as a boy in Potstam.
In 1960 he was teaching at Sidcup School of Art where he remained until its closure in 1963, after which he transferred to the new Ravensbourne College of Art and Design. He also taught typography
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
from 1968 to 1986 at the University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
and from 1983 to 1994 letter-cutting at the City and Guilds of London Art School
City and Guilds of London Art School
The City and Guilds of London Art School is an art college in London, England, United Kingdom. It is one of the country's longest established art colleges, and offers courses ranging from Foundation, through B.A. degree, Postgraduate Diploma and M.A...
.
Personal life
Beyer was first married to Ann Poole in 1940 with whom he had a son and three daughters. In 1960 he married his second wife, Hilary Reynolds and had two children, both daughters. He died in TeddingtonTeddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
London in February 2008.
Works by Ralph Beyer
- Tablets of the Words - Coventry Cathedral - 1956-62
- Inscription - St Pauls Church, Bow CommonBow CommonBow Common is a small area near Bow in the borough of Tower Hamlets, London.- External links :*...
, London - 1960 - Memorial - Paul Tilich Park New Harmony, Indiana - 1966
- Inscription - Haddington Church, East LothianEast LothianEast Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
- 1974 - Inscription Henry Moore Reclining Figure - Dartington HallDartington HallThe Dartington Hall Trust, near Totnes, Devon, United Kingdom is a charity specialising in the arts, social justice and sustainability.The Trust currently runs 16 charitable programmes, including The Dartington International Summer School and Schumacher Environmental College...
, DevonDevonDevon 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...
- - Memorial - Edith SitwellEdith SitwellDame Edith Louisa Sitwell DBE was a British poet and critic.-Background:Edith Sitwell was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, the oldest child and only daughter of Sir George Sitwell, 4th Baronet, of Renishaw Hall; he was an expert on genealogy and landscaping...
- St Mary's, Weedon LoisWeedon LoisWeedon Lois is a village in the English county of Northamptonshire due west of the town of Towcester.It is part of South Northamptonshire district and forms a civil parish with neighbouring Weston....
, NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire 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,...
- - Inscription - Royal Foundation of St. Katharine, Tower of LondonTower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
- - Inscription - Kita Child Care Centre Berlin-Kreuzberg - 1985