ERIC GILL - Monnow Valley Arts
Transcription
ERIC GILL - Monnow Valley Arts
ERIC GILL (1882–1940) The Sir Christopher Bland Collection of sculpture, engravings and illustrated books MONNOW VALLEY ARTS CENTRE 8 × 5.4 cm I L LU S T R AT I O N S Front cover: Christ Crowned, 1931, cat. no. 47(a) This page: above, The Soul and the Bridegroom, 1927, cat no. 39; top right, Woman with Balloons, 1926, cat. no. 50 centre, The Chinese Maidservant, 1929, cat. no. 41 Opposite page: Self Portrait 1927, cat. no. 40 Inside back cover: left, Divine Lovers I, 1922, cat. no. 12(a); right, Girl in the Bath I, 1922, cat. no. 13(a) Back cover: Nativity and Adoration of the Magi, 1922, cat. no. 2 “In 1977 I became Chairman of a small publicily-quoted printing group, Sir Joseph Causton & Sons. Several of our companies were still using hot metal and handtypesetting to print, amongst other things, the Stock Exchange Daily Official List and legal books for Sweet and Maxwell. I became interested in typography, and in Eric Gill as perhaps the greatest 20th-century designer of fine lettering, including Gill Sans and Perpetua. I started collecting his wood engravings, his great books, mostly those published by the Golden Cockerel Press and, when I could afford them, his sculptures. When I became Chairman of the BBC it was a particular pleasure to go every day to my office in Broadcasting House, enter the door under Gill’s Prospero and Ariel, see his Sower in the foyer and his reliefs above the side doors. While I was there I was able to rescue and have restored two of his maquettes, which had been banished to obscurity in White City. I hope they haven’t been re-banished following the various regime changes since my day.” S I R C H R I S T O P H E R B L A N D, May 2009 ERIC GILL (1882–1940) The Sir Christopher Bland Collection of sculpture, engravings and illustrated books E X H I B I T I O N D AT E S 25 July – 20 September 2009 The exhibition is supported by Patrons and Friends of Monnow Valley Arts. Please enquire about membership of these groups MONNOW VALLEY ARTS CENTRE Middle Hunt House, Walterstone, near Abergavenny HR2 0DY Tel: 01873 860529 Email: [email protected] www.monnowvalleyarts.org MMIX A RT H U R E R I C R OW TO N G I L L CHRONOLOGY 1882 1898 1899 1900 1902–4 1904 1905 1905–7 1906 1907 1910 1913 1914–18 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1924 2 Born Brighton, 22 February Day pupil at Chichester Technical and Arts School Learns decorative lettering Joins Edward Johnston’s lettering classes at Central School of Art and Design Works in the offices of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Shares lodgings with Edward Johnston in Lincoln’s Inn Marries Ethel (later Mary) Moore and lives in Battersea Teaches lettering for stonemasons at LCC Paddington Institute Birth of daughter Elizabeth Lives in Hammersmith Makes first wood engravings Birth of daughter Petra Moves to “Sopers”, Ditchling, Sussex Carves first figure in stone Birth of daughter Joanna Received into the Catholic Church Moves to “Hopkins Crank”, Ditchling Common Works on Stations of the Cross for Westminster Cathedral Hilary Pepler moves to Ditchling and sets up the St. Dominic’s Press Gordian Gill adopted Eric and Mary Gill, Hilary Pepler and Desmond Chute become novices in the Third Order of St. Dominic Founding member of the Society of Wood Engravers Craft Guild of St. Joseph and St. Dominic formed in Ditchling Moves to “The Monastery”, Capel-y-ffin. Joined by Donald Attwater, Joseph Cribb, Philip Hagreen, David Jones and René Hague Cat no. 23 1924 1925–7 1928 1929 1930 1933 1935 1937 1938 1940 1940 Starts work for the Golden Cockerel Press culminating in The Four Gospels, Gill’s masterpiece, in 1931 Designs typefaces for the Monotype Corporation; Perpetua 1925 and Gill Sans 1927 Moves to “Pigotts”, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire Commissioned to make sculptures for St James’s Park Underground Station Commissioned to make sculptures for the BBC, work undertaken 1931–34 Visits Palestine. Receives commission for carved panels for the Palestine Archaeological Museum, Jerusalem Awarded Honorary Associateship of R.I.B.A. Awarded Honorary Accociateship of Royal College of British Sculptors Elected A.R.A. Honorary Doctorate from Edinburgh University Writes autobiography between April and July Dies 17 November aged 58 Cat. no. 4 Cat no. 16 Cat. no. 11 3 SCULPTURE Eric Gill made his first carved letter inscriptions in 1901. Nearly 800 works are ascribed to him and his workshop in David Peace’s book Eric Gill The Inscriptions (The Herbert Press 1994). In addition to headstones and inscriptions mainly for new buildings and commemorations, Gill designed and made alphabets, heraldry, medals, seals, and postage stamps. Indeed any work involving lettering or a combination of lettering and relief sculpture could be undertaken. Gill made his first figurative direct carved sculpture in about 1910. Early work often incorporated inscriptions. Some were carved for his own pleasure and destined for exhibitions. As Gill’s fame spread he received numerous commissions. Judith Collins in Eric Gill The Sculpture records 300 works over a 30-year period from the personal and domestic to monumental works such as Prosper and Ariel on Broadcasting House, Mankind (Tate) and the Creation Relief for the League of Nations. 1. Madonna and Child I, 1912 Bronze, edition of 7 19 × 5.1 × 6.4 cm Collins 32, p. 79, ill 2. Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi, 1922 Portland stone relief with added colour 20.3 × 45.7 × 10.2 cm Collins 133, p. 133, ill Illustrated on back cover Photographs of nos. 1, 2 and 3 by courtesy of the Ditchling Museum Trust and Sara Morris 3. Second Model for Ariel Piping to the Children, 1932 Bath stone relief with added colour 30.5 × 55.9 × 8 cm Collins 213, p. 177, ill Illustrated on page 5 4. Crucifix – Regnavit A Ligno Deus, 1937 Bath stone relief 30.5 × 23.2 cm Collins 270, p. 208, ill Illustrated on page 3 1 4 3 5 E N G R AV I N G S Following Gill’s death his widow, Mary, gave a complete file copy of all Gill’s engravings to the Victoria and Albert Museum. John Physick at the V&A catalogued these engravings and published his survey in 1963. P numbers in this section refer to this list. In 1983 Christopher Skelton, Gill’s nephew, published The Engravings of Eric Gill, a full pictorial record of all Gill’s engravings. This book uses Physick’s numbering system and is the essential tool for anyone studying Gill’s work. Douglas Cleverdon, who had published the first major anthology of Gill’s engravings in 1929, contributed a personal memoir to the book and he wrote “Eric Gill’s total achievement was remarkable not only for the excellence of the works he created, but also for their sheer quantity. Apart from his writings – well over 300 books, pamphlets and articles – he carved over 100 figures or reliefs in stone.... He designed and either carved or supervised the carving of over 750 pieces of inscriptional lettering’... He designed half a dozen typefaces. He made the thousand or so engravings which are the subject of this book; and as a human being he lived a full life, in every sense.” From 1908 to 1914 Gill produced only 30 engravings, mainly experimental or for personal use. In 1915 he produced his first engravings for Hilary Pepler starting with The Devils’s Devices and then for most of the books and pamphlets produced by the St. Dominic’s Press until 1924, when he moved away from Ditchling. Gill’s first collaboration with the Golden Cockerel Press (recently acquired by Robert Gibbings) was to provide the illustrations to Sonnets and Verses by Enid Clay, Eric Gill’s sister. A stream of ever more ambitious illustrations for GCP books followed. Memorable are the illustrations for Procreant Hymn (1926), Troilus and Creseyde (1927), The Canterbury Tales (1927–30) and The Four Gospels (1930–1), for which Gill also designed the typeface. Other notable achievements are the engravings for Count Kessler’s Canticum Canticorum. In these Gill uses a new technique of lightening areas of black with a fine stipple. Kessler wrote to Gill in 1931 “I think it is one of the most beautiful series of illustrations produced in modern times.” In 1930 Gill started his own publishing house with his son-in-law, René Hague. Gill also designed a new typeface for Hague and Gill – Joanna. Of the blocks, the blocks cut for the St. Dominic’s Press remained the property of that press and those made for the Golden Cockerel Press were bought back by Gill and mainly gessoed or made into sculptural objects. However some of the blocks have found their way into private hands and this exhibition includes some of them. 5. Madonna and Child, 1914 Woodcut, P27 26 × 15.3 cm Not intended for printing, an incised pear wood plaque 6. Crucifix, 1917 Wood engraving in red ink, final state, P89, 13.5 × 8 cm Cleverdon edition of 1929 After a crucifix in a window of York Minster 7. Resurrection, 1917 Wood engraving, second state, P91, 13.8 × 8.8 cm Cleverdon edition of 1929 on Japan 5 6 8. Crucifix, 1919 Wood engraving in red ink, P151, 13 × 10 cm Cleverdon edition 1929 9. Lovers, 1920 Wood engraving, second state, P166, 3 × 2 cm Signed lower right EG, numbered lower left 15/25 10 6 7 10. The Thorn in the Flesh, 1921 Proof wood engraving, P184, 12 × 10.2 cm No published edition 11. On the Tiles, 1921 Proof wood engraving, P191, 8.2 × 7 cm No published edition Illustrated on page 3 8 9 7 12(a). Divine Lovers I, 1922 Woodblock, P193, 8.8 × 7.5 cm Illustrated on inside back cover 12(b). Divine Lovers I, 1922 Wood engraving, 2nd state, P193, 8.8 × 7.5 cm 13(a). Girl in the bath I, 1922 Woodblock, P194, 12 × 12 cm Portrait of Petra, the artist’s daughter Woodblock, P193, 8.8 × 7.5 cm Illustrated on inside back cover 13(b). Girl in the Bath I, 1922 Proof wood engraving, P194 10.3 × 10.3 cm 14. The Plait, 1922 Wood engraving, P195, 16.8 × 9.8 cm Portrait of Petra, the artist’s daughter 12(b) 13(b) 16. Hair Combing, 1922 Wood engraving, P208, 10.1 × 6.4 cm No published edition Portrait of Petra, the artist’s daughter Illustrated on page 3 15. Crucifix with Crown of Thorns, 1922 Wood engraving, printed from three blocks, P197, 20.2 × 7.7 cm No published edition 15 14 8 17. The Nuptials of God, 1922 19. Mother and Child, 1923 Wood engraving, P214, 17.5 × 11.5 cm Illustration for Volume VI, no 34, of The Game, St Dominic’s Press 1922 18. Girl in the Bath II, 1923 18 Wood engraving, P219, 14 × 8.3 cm Inscribed lower left: Fr Agnes – Xmas 1923 Signed lower right: Eric G 20. The Invisible Man, 1924 Wood engraving, P218, 10.8 × 10.8 cm Signed Eric G lower right Engraving on zinc, P273, 12.4 × 9.2 cm Edition of 25 21. Elizabeth Gill, 1924 Engraving on zinc, P279, 17.8 × 12.3 cm 17 19 21 20 9 22. Naked Girl with Cloak, 1924 Wood engraving, P282, 9.7 × 5.2 cm Signed Eric G lower right, numbered 2/25 lower left For Sonnets and Verses, Golden Cockerel Press 27. Madonna and Child, 1925 Intaglio wood engraving, P343, 9.3 × 6.2 cm Signed EG and numbered 7/15 28. Madonna and Child, 1925 Wood engraving, P343, 9.4 × 6.3 cm Signed EG and numbered 41/c After a design by Joanna Gill 23. Mother and Child, 1924 Wood engraving, P286, 8.3 × 8.5 cm Signed Eric G lower right, numbered 2/25 lower left For Sonnets and Verses, Golden Cockerel Press Illustrated on page 2 24 24. Lovers, 1924 Intaglio wood engraving, first state, P293, 7.7 × 3.3 cm Signed E.G. lower right, edition of 16 25 25. The Sofa, 1925 Intaglio wood engraving, P306, 11 × 6.8 cm Signed Eric G and numbered 18/50 26. The Convert, 1925 Wood engraving, P308, 9.4 × 6.3 cm Signed Eric G lower right and numbered 41/50 lower left 22 10 26 27 28 29. Earth Receiving, 1926 Proof copper engraving, apart from the edition of 15, P363, 11.2 × 8.8 cm An illustration for Procreant Hymn 30. Earth Receiving, 1926 29 30 Copper engraving, P367, 12.5 × 8.8 cm Signed lower right EG and numbered 7/25 Alternative design to P363, illustration for Procreant Hymn, Golden Cockerel Press 31. Crucifix, 1926 Copper engraving P376, 13.4 × 8.6 cm Signed Eric G lower right, numbered 6/10 lower left 32. Eve, 1926 Wood engraving, P380, 23.5 × 11.6 cm Cleverdon edition of 1929 33. Woman Bending, 1926 Wood engraving, second state, P388, 6.2 × 5 cm Signed lower right Eric G, numbered lower left 10/25 31 32 33 11 34. Divine Lovers, 1926 Intaglio wood engraving, P396, 10.2 × 7.5 cm Signed lower right and numbered 25/25 Our Bed is all of Flowers, 1927 Wood engraving, P495, 9 × 11 cm Three illustrations for The Song of the Soul, Francis Walterson, 1927 35. Divine Lovers, 1926 Intaglio wood engraving printed plano, P396, 10.5 × 7.9 cm Signed Eric G lower right and numbered lower left 8/12 36. Girl, and Man with Sword, 1926 Woodblock, P406, 13 × 4.3 cm Border for Troilus and Criseyde, top flower missing from block. Illustrated on page 14 37. Bread of these Stones, 1927 Copper engraving, P485, Signed EG lower right Inscribed Bread of these stones lower left An illustration for Art & Love, Douglas Cleverdon 1927 38. The Soul & The Bridegroom, 1927 Wood engraving, P496, 8 × 5 cm The Flight, 1927 Wood engraving, P493, 9.7 × 9.3 cm Illustrated 39. The Soul and the Bridegroom, 1927 Hand coloured wood engraving P496, 8 × 5.4 cm Illustration for The Song of the Soul Illustrated on inside front cover 35 34 40. Self Portrait, 1927 Wood engraving final state, P497, 18 × 13 cm Numbered 17/35 lower left and numbered 173 Lower right Posthumous edition Illustrated on title page 41. The Chinese Maidservant, 1929 Hand coloured wood engraving P577, 7 × 4 cm Illustrated on inside front cover 38 42. Leda Waiting, 1929 Wood engraving P616, 5 × 6.3 cm An illustration for Leda by Aldous Huxley 37 12 42 43. Leda Loved, 1929 Wood engraving, P617, 13.4 × 8.3 cm Second state, edition of 10 An illustration for Leda by Aldous Huxley 44. Sculpture no. 2, 1930 Wood engraving, P629, 13 × 6.5 cm Cleverdon edition 1929 45. Transiliens Colles, 1930 Wood engraving, P666, 14.5 × 6.8 cm Hortus Conclusis, 1930 Wood engraving, P667, 14.5 × 6.8 cm Dilecti Mei Pulsantis, 1930 43 Wood engraving, P668, 14.5 × 6.8 cm Ibi Dabo Tibi, 1930 Wood engraving P669, 14.5 × 6.8 cm In Domum Matris Meae, 1930 Wood engraving, P670, 14.5 × 6.8 cm Qui Pascitur Inter Lilia, 1930 Wood engraving, P664, 8 × 6.7 cm Inter Ubera Mea, 1930 Wood engraving, P662, 5.6 × 6.5 cm Fuge, Dilecti Mi, 1930 Wood engraving P663, 5.6 × 6.5 cm All proof wood engravings, illustrations for Canticum Canticorum, Cranach Press, 1931 44 45 13 46. Three Alphabets Sans-Serif, 1931 Wood engraving, P731, 8.2 × 7.6 cm Hague & Gill edition of 1934 An illustration for Essay on Typography by Eric Gill, 1931 47(a). Christ Crowned, 1931 Woodblock, P822, 21.8 × 20 cm Illustration for The Four Gospels Illustrated on front cover 50. A portfolio of 16 engravings in slipcase Woman with Balloons, 1926 Hand coloured wood engraving, sheet 19 × 14 cm Signed EricG lower right, numbered lower left 9/25 Illustrated on inside front cover And 15 others A personal portfolio of engravings put together by Eric Gill as a gift, possibly to his wife Mary. 46 47(b). Christ Crowned, 1931 36 Wood engraving, P822, 18.7 × 16.8 cm Signed Eric G and numbered 12/16 lower left Illustration for The Four Gospels 48. Mother and Stars and Moon, 1936 Wood engraving, P916, 9.3 × 5.8 cm Signed Eric G lower right, inscribed no. 5 lower left For: Quia Amore Langueo Faber & Faber 1937 49. A Hart 1939 Wood engraving, P988, 11.8 × 6.1 cm Signed Eric G and numbered 14/20 48 47(b) 14 49 I L L U S T R AT E D B O O K S The Engravings by Eric Gill by Christopher Skelton, Skelton Press 1983, contains a list of books containing illustrations by Gill, but the main source of information on Gill as both a writer and illustrator is Eric Gill A Bibliography by Evan Gill, originally published in 1953 by Cassel and Co and updated by D. Stephen Corey and Julia MacKenzie in 1991 and published by St. Paul Bibliographies. Mention has been made of many of the great books illustrated by Gill for the private press market. Following the depression of 1933, the market all but collapsed and Gill’s work for publishers declined. 51. The Game, 1916–1923 Vols 1-6 complete The Game was published by the St Dominic’s Press and was the polemic organ of the Catholic Craft Guild founded in Ditchling by Eric Gill and Hilary Pepler with the financial support of Desmond Chute. Edward Johnston was a contributor to the early editions which were published sporadically until 1923. Many of the editions contained engravings by Eric Gill, others contained engravings by Desmond Chute and David Jones. The last edition was volume 34, January 1923 which contained Gill’s engravings The Nuptials of Christ. Complete sets are rare, measurements vary but are approximately 19 × 13 cm. 52 52. Lectiones ad Matutinum, 1925 Published by the St Dominic’s Press with fifteen wood engraved illustrations by Eric Gill. One of 200 copies with board covers, although it is likely that only approximately 20 copies were issued. Size 31.4 × 25.2 cm 53. Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, 1926 Published by the Golden Cockerel Press with five wood engraved illustrations by Eric Gill. One of 250 copies, this one numbered 86, bound in white buckram. Size 26.5 × 20 cm. 53 51 15 54. Canticum Canticorum, 1931 Published by the Cranach Press with eleven wood engraved illustrations and eighteen initial letters by Eric Gill. One of 60 copies on imperial Japanese paper bound in red morocco out of a total edition of 268. This one number 7. Size 25.9 × 13.3 cm 55. The Four Gospels, 1931 Published by the Golden Cockerel Press with sixty-four wood engravings by Eric Gill. Published in an edition of 500, of which 12 were on vellum. This one numbered 343/500 and half bound in white pigskin and paper boards by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. Size 34 × 24 cm 54 55 16