Biography Frank Brangwyn

1 biography

1.1 life , career
1.2 mural commissions
1.3 world war one
1.4 british empire panels
1.5 later life

biography
early life , career

temple lodge, hammersmith, london

frank brangwyn born in bruges, belgium father, william curtis brangwyn, moved after winning competition organised belgian guild of st thomas , st luke design parish church. forenames registered guillaume françois. in bruges father maintained large workshop several staff , worked on numerous civic projects parish church. william curtis brangwyn born in buckinghamshire welsh family , married eleanor griffiths, brecon. in 1874 family moved united kingdom william curtis brangwyn established successful design practice. frank brangwyn attended westminster city school played traunt spend time in father s workshop or drawing in south kensington museum. through contacts made @ museum, among them arthur heygate mackmurdo, obtained apprenticeship william morris whom worked first glazer before undertaking embroidery , wallpaper work.

at age of seventeen, 1 of brangwyn paintings accepted, , sold shipowner, @ royal academy summer exhibition, strengthened him in conviction become artist. brangwyn joined royal navy volunteer reserve , began painting seascapes. convinced shipowner had bought royal academy picture let him sail on freighter istanbul. trip provided brangwyn material several notable paintings. whereas funeral @ sea, won medal @ paris salon in 1891 composed in grey, golden horn, constantinople brighter , full of colour. although brangwyn held first one-man show in london in 1891, spent of year , 1890 @ sea, visiting spain several times returning istanbul , travelling south africa , zanzibar. brangwyn attracted light , bright colours of these southern countries @ time when orientalism becoming favoured theme many painters. made many paintings , drawings, particularly of spain, egypt, turkey , morocco, visited in 1893. lightened palette, change did not find critical favor helped establish international reputation. in 1895 french government purchased painting market in morocco.

sheherezade telling stories (story of merchant arabian nights, vol. 1, 1896)

in 1895, parisian art dealer siegfried bing commissioned brangwyn decorate exterior of galerie l art nouveau, , encouraged brangwyn new avenues: murals, tapestry, carpet designs, posters , designs stained glass produced louis comfort tiffany. in 1896 illustrated 6 volume reprint of edward william lane s translation of 1 thousand , 1 nights. in 1917 collaborated japanese artist urushibara mokuchu on series of woodblock prints. austere decorative designs recognized continental , american critics prominent artist, while british critics puzzled how evaluate him.

brangwyn had affair ellen kate chesterfield, produced son, james barron chesterfield-brangwyn, born 1885 in mevagissey, cornwall. james later emigrated australia in 1909, working on farm in townsville, queensland , later moving brisbane. in 1896, brangwyn married lucy ray, nurse, died in 1924. had no children. leased temple lodge, 51 queen caroline street, hammersmith, london 1900 1937/38 , bought jointure, ditchling, sussex in 1918.

mural commissions

detail of mosaic frank brangwyn @ st aidan s church, leeds, showing st aidan followers



old houses (ghent). 1906. 55.5 × 60.5 cm. museu nacional d art de catalunya

in 1908 brangwyn commissioned paint apse of st aidan s church, leeds, after realised air pollution damage paint, agreed should work in glass mosaic. mosaic (using rust s vitreous mosaic) completed in 1916. covers whole apse, , shows life of st aidan.

other commissions included murals great hall of worshipful company of skinners in london (1901–1909), royal exchange, london (1906), panama-pacific international exposition, san francisco, 1915 (now in herbst theatre, veteran s building auditorium, san francisco), lunette cuyahoga county courthouse, cleveland, ohio (1911–1915), manitoba legislative building, winnipeg (1918–1921), chapel, christ s hospital school, horsham (1912–1923), , missouri state capitol, jefferson city (1915–1925).]

along diego rivera , josep maria sert, chosen john d. rockefeller, jr. decorate concourse of rca building in new york city (1930–34) murals. sequence of large murals on canvas (originally horton house, northamptonshire) held dunedin public art gallery, dunedin, new zealand , museum of new zealand te papa tongarewa in wellington. chosen decorate first class dining room of canadian pacific liner, rms empress of britain (1930–1931)].

world war one

world war poster fundraising event in support of welsh troops. (1915) lithograph. digitally restored.

although brangwyn produced more 80 poster designs during first world war, not official war artist. donated of these poster designs charities such red cross, belgian , allied aid league, royal national institute blind , l orphelinat des armees, american charity supporting french orphanage. grim poster of tommy bayoneting enemy soldier (put strength in final blow: buy war bonds) caused deep offence in both britain , germany. kaiser himself said have put price on brangwyn’s head after seeing image. in 1917 brangwyn produced 6 lithographs under title making sailors , 1 entitled freedom of seas ministry of information s britain s efforts , ideals portfolio of images exhibited in britain , abroad , sold prints raise money war effort. brangwyn chairman of english committee dixmude. dixmude, near ostend had been site of heavy fighting throughout war. aid reconstruction, brangwyn donated series of woodcuts town on theme of tragedy of dixmude. during war brangwyn created number of propaganda images highlighting atrocities committed against belgium , suffering endured country. among latter oil painting of 1915, mater dolorosa belgica.

the british empire panels

in 1926 brangwyn commissioned lord iveagh paint pair of large canvases royal gallery @ house of lords @ westminster commemorate peers , family members had been killed in war. brangwyn painted 2 battle scenes included life-size images of troops advancing battle alongside british tank. lords regarded panels grim , disturbing and, in 1928, refused accept them. instead commissioned brangwyn produce series celebrating beauty of british empire , dominions fill royal gallery. known british empire panels brangwyn spent further 5 years producing 16 large works cover 3,000 sq ft (280 m). however, after 5 of panels displayed in royal gallery approvial lords, peers refused accept them because colourful , lively location. in 1934 16 panels purchased swansea council , housed in brangwyn hall, swansea.

later life

british empire panels in brangywn hall, swansea

the rejection of panels lords caused lasting depression in brangwyn. became increasingly pessimistic , hypochondriac , began disposing of possessions during 1930s. brangwyn donated many of own , other artworks museums , galleries in britain , europe including british museum , william morris gallery. in 1936 presented bruges on 400 works, in arents house museum. in return bruges made him citoyen d honneur de bruges, third time award had been given. 2 battle scenes rejected house of lords donated national museum wales part of large group of gifts made museum between 1929 , 1935. brangwyn specified precisely in museum s main hall works hung , remain there today. in 1944, recovered , secured designs frederic shields chapel of ascension built herbert horne, destroyed in 1940 during london blitz. in 1950, 1 of last works provided illustrations book sixty years of yachts herbert julyan, friend.

in final years brangwyn lived recluse @ ditchling. brangwyn died on 11 june 1956 @ home in sussex. in 1952 clifford musgrave estimated brangwyn had produced on 12,000 works. brangwyn s mural commissions cover on 22,000 sq ft (2,000 m) of canvas, painted on 1,000 oils, on 660 mixed media works (watercolours, gouache), on 500 etchings, 400 wood engravings , woodcuts, 280 lithographs, 40 architectural , interior designs, 230 designs furniture, , 20 stained-glass panels , windows.