Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)

A unique set of Eric Gill’s Procreant Hymn, printed on chine appliqué  paper

£3,750

SKU: 10450
Chine appliqué on tinted paper. Chine applique, engravings posthumously printed from the original plates in a limited edition of five sets

Size:
Height – 11cm
Width – 8.6cm

8 in stock

DESCRIPTION

Provenance:
The Artist’s Estate
Presentation:
framed



 Chine appliqué (also called a chine collé) print is created by making an impression onto a thin sheet of China paper (in the case of the Gill prints  a hand coloured Japanese Kozo paper) which is  then  backed by a strong, thicker sheet (here a 300g German paper Hahnem√ºhle).

 

Procreant Hymn by E Powys Mathers was originally published by The Golden Cockerel Press in 1926 with five copper engravings ‘God Sending’ (P359), ‘Earth Waiting’ (P360),’ Earth Inviting’ P(361), ‘Dalliance’ (P362) and ‘Earth Receiving’ (P363) in an edition of 175. In addition 25 copies were provided with an extra suite of 4 alternative designs of a more erotic nature entitled ‘God Sending’ (P364), ‘Earth Inviting’ (P365), ‘Earth Wrestling’ (P366) and ‘Earth Receiving’ (P367). 

In addition to the impressions printed for the edition Gill issued a signed and numbered edition of 15 impressions of the ordinary engravings (P359 – P363) and 25 of the alternative designs (P365 – P367). Douglas Cleverdon used ‘Earth Waiting’ (P360) as one of the plates in The Engravings of Eric Gill published in 1929 in an edition of 490.

Eric Gill subsequently made an additional engraving Yahoo (P411) on the reverse of Earth Inviting (P360) which was not editioned and only a few impressions are known. Martyn Grimmer has now made the first edition of this engraving in an edition of 50 impressions.

 

Exhibited: Sanctuary, Artist-Gardeners, 1919-39, Garden Museum, London, 25th February – 5 April, 2020

Literature: Christopher Woodward, Sanctuary: Artist-Gardeners, 1919–1939, published by Liss Llewellyn, 2020

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THE ARTIST

Eric Gill
Eric
Gill
1882 - 1940

Sculptor, engraver, letter-carver and typographer, born in Brighton, Sussex, the son of a Congregationalist minister and always referred to as Eric Gill. He became articled to W.H. Carse, architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in London in 1900. Gill attended evening classes at Central School of Arts & Crafts who studied letter design under Edward Johnston, he also began to carve in stone. By 1904, he was making a living from letter engraving and in 1910 began making figure sculpture and held his first solo exhibition at the Chenil Gallery, London, 1911 and about this time made several visits to the little-known Leeds Art Club. He set up an artistic community or artists colony in Ditchling, Sussex and was converted to Roman Catholicism in 1913.

In 1924, he moved to Capel-y-ffin in Wales and over the next four years produced much of his greatest engraved work, mainly for Gibbing’s Golden Cockerel Press. He moved again to High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire in 1928 and though a controversial figure in that his sexual improprieties remained in conflict with his Catholic faith, Gill is nowadays regarded as one of the greatest craftsmen of the 20th century, a typographer and letter cutter of skill and a masterly wood engraver. Gill was appointed RDI in 1936 one of the Royal Society of Arts earliest recipients and was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.

Gill was a member of the Art Workers’ Guild, Society of Wood Engravers and contributed articles to various publications including Industrial Arts in 1936. Retrospective exhibition venues include Kettle’s Yard, 1979 and the Barbican Art Gallery, London, 1992-93 which also toured the UK. His prints are regularly exhibited at KHG, Marlborough, Wiltshire and previously at the Piccadilly Gallery. Examples of his work particularly his prints are in the collections of the V&A, BM, Brighton Art Gallery, Doncaster Art Gallery, Museums Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent Art Gallery and Hull University.

With thanks to artbiogs.co.uk

Whilst Eric Gill’s importance in the shaping of 20th century art and design history is beyond doubt, it is equally impossible to ignore the fact that his moral conduct – first bought to public attention in 1989 by the publication of his diaries – is not something that should be excused, or minimised.

The challenges posed by evaluating Eric Gill’s work offers an opportunity to address questions that are far reaching : can a work of art be separated from the person who created it and the period in which it was created? Liss Llewellyn welcome debate on how best to interpret and communicate sensitively and without sensationalism the issues that arise out of this; ultimately these are questions that apply to all artists and all artworks.

MORE PICTURES BY ARTIST

Forthcoming
Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
Rossall School War Memorial Altarpiece, 1927
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Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
The Prioress’s Tale, 1929
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Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
St Helena, 1922 (Physick 1963 )
Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
A unique set of Eric Gill’s Procreant Hymn, printed on chine appliqué  paper
£3,750
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Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
Naked Woman Holding Spray, 1930, from The Canterbury Tales, Physick 631
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Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
St John, 1934-36
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Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
Naked Man Dead, circa 1929
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Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
Standing Female Nude (from Twenty-five Nudes), c 1938
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Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
Seated Female Nude (from Twenty-five Nudes) (P951), c 1933
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Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
‘And’, Initial letters for The Four Gospels, Golden Cockeriel Press, 1931
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Eric Gill (1882 - 1940)
Hands