CALIFORNIAARTCLUBNEWSLETTER

Sir Frank Brangwyn, R.A. The Great Innovator

by William Stout

t the peak of his fame two years of work for the celebrated Victoria and Albert Museum). Frank Brangwyn (1867- designer (1834- Brangwyn was also mentored by the A1956) was the artistic lion of 1896). Due to his Belgian upbring- highly influential connoisseur and his day. Although Brangwyn is con- ing Brangwyn already had a broad art dealer (1838- sidered by many to be one of the knowledge of Dutch and Flemish 1905), owner of the Paris gallery greatest artists Britain has ever pro- art. To complement what he had L’Art Nouveau and famed for duced, his robust life actually already studied, early Art Nouveau inspiring the “Bing Style” synony- began in . mous with Art Frank Brangwyn Nouveau. was born in Brangwyn on May proved to be a 12, 1867 as Guil- prodigy—his first laume François acceptance to Brangwyn, the exhibit a painting third son of a at the Royal Acad- Welsh mother, emy came at age Eleanor Griffiths, seventeen. At and English twenty-four he father, William won a gold medal Curtis Brangwyn. at the 1891 Paris His father, an Salon. At that ecclesiastical time, his paintings architect, muralist were primarily and designer of monochromatic, textiles and furni- referred to as his ture, manufac- “grey period.” tured church fur- However, Brang- niture in Bruges. wyn’s limited He was undoubt- palette was per- edly a major influ- haps a result of ence on young his limited funds. Frank’s formative This all changed years and The Departure of Lancaster for the East Indies, 1904 in 1888 after throughout the Sepia sketch for oil on canvas mural panel Brangwyn rest of his life. Collection of Skinners Hall, London boarded a The Brangwyn freighter and family returned to in designers Harold Steward Rathbone worked his way to and the 1875, and shortly thereafter Frank (1858-1929) and Arthur Heygate Black Sea. His travels through the entered the South Kensington Art Mackmurdo (1851-1942) encour- sun-drenched Middle East and the Schools. Bored with his formal art aged Brangwyn to copy the works influence of his travelling compan- education and eager to work as a of Raphael and Donatello in the ion, Scottish colourist Arthur professional, Brangwyn left school collection of the South Kensington Melville (1855-1904), dramatically at age twelve. At fifteen he began Museum (renamed in 1899 as the altered Brangwyn’s colour sense

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beds, panelling, electric lamps, chairs, door handles, screens, jewels and glassware. He even designed gravestones and the interior of The Empress of Britain, the ill-fated lux- ury ocean liner that was later torpe- doed in World War II. Brangwyn also worked for the English company Royal Doulton, makers of fine pottery and ceram- ics, designing vases, jugs, dinner services, ashtrays, biscuit tins, gob- lets, bowls, candle sticks, lamp stands and ashtrays. Brangwyn’s designs were considered daring and revolutionary; his colours and stylizations were in direct contrast to what had traditionally been pro- duced in Britain.

espite his early associa- Dtion with Art Nouveau, Brang- wyn never let his work be limited to that genre’s stylistic strictures. Brangwyn was nothing if not an independent artist, an experimenter and innovator. He followed his Twenty-two year-old Frank Brangwyn in Wentworth Studios, Chelsea, c. 1889 own powerful muse, producing work that crossed over into the forever. Russian-born French sive travels financially sustained Arts and Crafts Movement, as well Expressionist painter Wassily him and provided him with artistic as into the Vienna Secessionists’ Kandinsky (1866-1944) praised resources and inspiration for the domain where he was a correspon- Brangwyn’s sense of colour, noting rest of his life. dent member. Although he ulti- that Brangwyn was the first western His working association with mately came to represent British artist to use the red-blue combina- Siegfried Bing led Brangwyn to Modernism, initially in Europe long tion that was predominant in Ori- exhibit paintings at Bing’s first before being recognized as such in ental carpets. Painting adventures Salon de l’Art Nouveau in 1895. Britain, Brangwyn’s work was followed in South Africa (1891), The exhibition, promoting a pene- always his own. Spain (1892) and Morocco (1893), tration of art into everyday life, The critics were at a loss as to affirming Brangwyn’s talents in the caused an outrage. The salon’s how to pigeonhole this artistic Orientalist genre. Brangwyn’s bril- focus was not the traditional pres- titan. Brangwyn’s individuality and liant palette shocked and outraged entation of paintings by themselves; diversity worked to the detriment the British art establishment who instead it exposed the public to the of his posthumous reputation; he upheld the tradition that paintings concept of entire rooms being was not strongly linked to any should consist primarily of properly designed as art where every element “school” or movement of art, mak- subdued colour with only occa- of each room was in harmony with ing it difficult for future critics to sional accents of bright hues. its decorative and functional “make their name” by writing Brangwyn’s marriage to nurse details. about his work. Brangwyn’s artistic Lucy Annie Ray in 1896 did not At the Salon, Brangwyn also legacy most strongly emerged in the slow his wanderlust, but limited it exhibited his applied art in the form United States via the southern Cali- to nearby Spain, Italy, France and of carpets and . Through- fornia landscape artists such as Belgium. His sketches, notes and out his career he designed furniture, Franz Bischoff (1864-1929), Frank paintings derived from his exten- fireplaces, , tables, Tenney Johnson (1874-1939),

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Edgar Payne (1883-1947), and Belleroche: Brangwyn Talks and William Wendt (1865-1946), as Brangwyn’s Pilgrimage; both consist well as through the American illus- of numerous discussions and inter- trators of the early part of the views with the artist, capturing his twentieth century, known as the lively personality. One of Brang- CALIFORNIA ART CLUB “Golden Age of Illustration.” wyn’s students, James Daugherty NEWSLETTER Brangwyn’s work hugely influenced (1887-1974), wrote in his diary on the artists (1892- 20 October 1905 that he was begin- Summer 2006 1960), Mead Schaeffer (1898- ning to understand his teacher’s suc- 1980), Frank Earle Schoonover cess, and by contrast, the failure of (1877-1972), Saul Tepper (1899- other artists because of their inabil- Contents 1987) and many others. Some of ity to “clinch with the vital ques- Cornwell’s works have even been tions…[they] haven’t the courage Cover Sir Frank Brangwyn, misidentified as being by Brang- and intelligence to achieve them. ‘It R.A.: The Great wyn. In 1927, when Cornwell was is work!’ as the Boss says. Hard, Innovator awarded his commission to paint enterprising, intelligent work for the by William Stout the Los Angeles Public Library fun and glory of doing it.” He fur- murals, he put his successful illus- ther quotes Brangwyn’s urging, 7 Ryan Wurmser: tration career on hold for three “Training! Training! Training! In the Contemplating the years, journeying to England and thoroughness of it lies your salva- Everyday apprenticing himself under Brang- tion and training out of schools is by Miriam Nöske wyn to learn his new craft of mural better than training in school…. painting from the master, or “the Draw! Draw! Draw like hell!” 11 95th Annual Gold Boss,” as Brangwyn’s students Brangwyn’s favourite artistic Medal Exhibition referred to him. theme was the depiction of modern Continues Rich Brangwyn believed in self-disci- industrial life at the docks or in the Tradition of Excellence pline. Of the three biographies writ- factories, symbolizing the heroic and in Traditional Fine Art ten on him two are by William de noble facets of manual labour. This by Beverly Chang 12 CAC News Briefs

14 Donor Recognition

15 Museum/Gallery Exhibitions and Lectures

28 Membership News

28 Bulletin Board

29 New Members

30 In Memoriam

31 Collectors’ Circle Corner

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27 American Legacy Fine Arts, LLC

The Blacksmiths, c. 1905 Oil sketch for mural panel in the 1905 Venice International Exhibition

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Raja’s Birthday, 1908 Oil Collection of Leeds City Art Gallery subject matter resulted in his reputa- (1905), Eothen (1913), a particu- three hundred , many of tion as the most masculine of artists. larly fine Rubaiyat of Omar them gigantic in size. James Abbott His brawny drawings exhibit the Khayyam (1909) and the sumptu- McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was power and solidity of sculpture. ous yet simple The Girl and The furious that Brangwyn broke the Faun (1916). It is estimated that long hallowed size limit rules hatever artistic media the prolific artist produced over established for etchings with huge, WBrangwyn touched, he mas- 12,000 works during his lifetime. stunningly designed works— tered. Brangwyn was capable of The most popular art magazine Whistler was angry mainly because both large and small scale projects, of its time, The Studio, published he wished that he had thought of it ranging from murals, oil paintings, from 1893 to 1922, was important first! Brangwyn intended these watercolours, etchings, in championing the work of Brang- large etchings to hang as stand- and lithographs to bookplates and wyn. Scarcely an issue went by alone works of art. Once again, commercial posters. Brangwyn without some reproduction of his The Studio series of Famous Etch- illustrated numerous books, work. When The Studio began its ers books debuted with Brangwyn including a four volume Arabian Famous Water-Colour Painters series (he was one of only two artists to Nights (1896), Don Quixote of books, Frank Brangwyn was the be given two volumes). (1895), several heroic seafaring subject of their first volume. As a result of his acclaim and yarns, The Spirit of The Age Brangwyn produced well over accomplishments many official

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commissions came Brangwyn’s way. Perhaps the most famous and dra- matic of these were his murals, the best known of which are the British Empire Panels (1925-32), a work originally intended for the Houses of Parliament at Westminster, but now housed in Brangwyn Hall in . He also completed a series of panels for the chapel of Christ’s Hospital (1912-23) in Horsham. Other important mural commis- sions included the Worshipful Com- pany of Skinners (1902-09) in Lon- don and St. Aidan’s Church (1908- 16) in Leeds. Brangwyn’s interna- tional status gained him numerous commissions in North America including the murals in the Mani- toba Legislative Building (1918-21) in Winnipeg, Canada. In the United States Brangwyn painted the murals inside the dome of the Missouri State Capitol (1915-25) in Jefferson City, and in he cre- ated murals for the Pan Pacific International Exhibition (1915). In 1930, after being rejected by Picasso and Matisse, John D. Rock- efeller commissioned Frank Brang- wyn to create four murals for the interior of the Art Deco R.C.A. Building at Rockefeller Center. The project took Brangwyn four years to complete.

rangwyn startled the art Bestablishment when he began the lay-in for his first major mural com- Dean Cornwell (1892-1960) mission with ultramarine blue The Road to Damascus, c. 1926 instead of traditional umbers (a Study in oil for his 1926 book, The City of the Great King painting method that was later Note Brangwyn’s influence in this painting. adopted with great success by Max- field Parrish (1870-1966). Brang- him to be the art world’s fresh new American until the 1970s when most wyn’s outrageous method was ver- reigning genius. of the museum was given over to bally castigated by other artists and Most major art museums of the exhibiting local artisans’ arts and critics as he progressed on the proj- world exhibit Brangwyn’s work. The crafts. With this change the museum ect; they scoffed when queried Frank Brangwyn Museum in Bruges, now draws a significant number of regarding the mural’s outcome. But however, is somewhat disappointing visiting tourists. The few Brangwyn upon completion of the mural all if one is expecting to see a vast col- works exhibited on the first floor, doubts and criticism were cast aside lection of Brangwyn’s oeuvre. For however, are magnificent. Hopefully, as young Brangwyn’s bold mind and years it was only visited annually by with the growing resurgence of inter- brilliant hand ultimately revealed a dozen or so Brits and the odd est in Brangwyn’s work their com-

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CAC Executive Director Elaine Adams and Signature Artist John Asaro in front of Brangwyn’s murals. Oil on canvas mural panels for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco prehensive Brangwyn collection will In 1919 Brangwyn was elected Notes: again soon dominate the museum. to the Royal Academy and in 1941 A major exhibition, Frank Brang- The National Gallery of Zimbabwe he was knighted. Sir Frank Brang- wyn 1867-1956, opened at the has one of the largest collections of wyn passed away in Ditchling, Sus- Leeds City Art Gallery (April 6- Brangwyn’s work. One of Brang- sex on June 11, 1956. Although June 11, 2006); travelling next to wyn’s finest oil paintings, the large virtually forgotten in the annals of the Brangwyn Museum, now still life he painted for the Royal art history, the flame of his artistic known as the Arents House Academy upon his acceptance into torch still burns bright as his work Museum, in Bruges (July 7– that fellowship, is part of the continues to inspire new genera- September 17, 2006); followed by the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in permanent collection of the Brooks tions of artists. Swansea, Wales (October 1– Museum of Art in Memphis, December 31, 2006). A superb Tennessee. catalogue is available through www.bruceholdsworthbooks.com. The author William Stout is a Signature Member of the California Art Club and Managing Editor of its Newsletter.

California Art Club www.californiaartclub.org Summer 2006