Sunday, May 16, 2021

24 Works, Today, May 12th. is Sir Frank William Brangwyn's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #130

Sir Frank William Brangwyn, R.A., R.W.S., P.R.B.A., R.E., H.R.S.A., (1867-1956)
Marco Polo's arrival in Venice
Oil on canvas
17½ x 62 in. (44.5 x 157.5 cm.)
Private collection

Sir Frank William Brangwyn RA RWS RBA (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was a Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, printmaker, illustrator, and designer.

He was born in Bruges, Belgium where his father, William Curtis Brangwyn, moved after winning a competition organised by the Belgian Guild of St Thomas and St Luke to design a parish church. His forenames were registered as Guillaume François. His father maintained a large workshop with several staff and worked on numerous civic projects as well as the parish church. 

SIR FRANK BRANGWYN R.A. (1867-1956)
Ships in a Venetian port
Watercolour
44 x 62 cm. (17 1/4 x 24 1/2 in.)
Private collection

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
A Venetian Scene, c. 1906
Oil on canvas
H 72 x W 98 cm
Buxton Museum & Art Gallery

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
A Venetian Funeral, c. 1906
Oil on canvas
H 228.6 x W 274.3 cm
Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds Museums and Galleries

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
Venice: Santa Maria, through Rigging
Oil on board
H 74.9 x W 100.3 cm
Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council)

Santa Maria della Salute, commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy.
 
It stands on the narrow finger of Punta della Dogana, between the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal, at the Bacino di San Marco, making the church visible when entering the Piazza San Marco from the water. The Salute is part of the parish of the Gesuati and is the most recent of the so-called plague-churches.
 
The dome of the Salute was an important addition to the Venice skyline and soon became emblematic of the city, inspiring artists like Canaletto, J. M. W. Turner, John Singer Sargent, and Francesco Guardi. More on Santa Maria della Salute

SIR FRANK BRANGWYN R.A. (1867-1956)
A Venetian Galleon with the Dogana
Oil on board mounted on canvas
63.5 x 76 cm. (25 x 30 in.)
Private collection

Dogana is a town and a civil parish (curazia), whose name means "Customs House"; it is located in the north-eastern corner of San Marino in the Serravalle municipality ("castello"). The town is the most populated settlement in the republic. More on the Dogana

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
Venice, c. 1897
Oil on canvas
height: 30in, width: 40in
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Venice was a favourite subject to which Frank Brangwyn returned many times throughout his career. One of his earliest views of the city, this painting represents the Dogana da Mar, the customs house established at the eastern tip of Dorsoduro, at the entrance to the Grand Canal. The painting focuses the bustle of working men and boats at the quay. The choice of view, which avoids the conventionally picturesque and puts the working men centre stage, is characteristic of Brangwyn’s art. The free, vigorous handling of paint imbues the scene with a sense of energy and movement. More on this painting

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
The Slave Market, c. 1872
Oil on canvas
H 103 x W 127 cm
Atkinson Art Gallery Collection

SIR FRANK BRANGWYN, R.A. (BRITISH, 1867-1956)
The slave market
Oil on canvas
41 x 44.5cm (16 1/8 x 17 1/2in).
Private collection

SIR FRANK BRANGWYN, R.A. (BRITISH, 1867-1956)
Gulnare of the Sea
Original sketch for the image in The Arabian Nights
Watercolour and tempera on millboard
 Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A mysterious lady is brought to the palace of a great sultan, but she utters not a word and does nothing but stare at the sea - all day, every day. As her story unfolds we are treated to a tale of sorcery, enchantment, magical transformations and adventure. With twists and turns in abundance, the story of Gulnar remains one of the enduringly entertaining tales from the Arabian Nights. More on Gulnare of the Sea

In 1874 the family moved back to the United Kingdom where William Curtis Brangwyn established a successful design practice. Frank Brangwyn attended Westminster City School but often played truant to spend time in his father's workshop or drawing in the South Kensington Museum. Through contacts made at the Museum he obtained an apprenticeship with William Morris for whom he worked first as a glazer before undertaking embroidery and wallpaper work.

Sir Frank Brangwyn RA RWS PRBA HRSA, 1867-1956
Queen Elizabeth Going aboard the “Golden Hind”
Tempera on panel
I have no further description, at this time

Golden Hind was a galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. She was originally known as Pelican, but Drake renamed her mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a golden hind (a female red deer). Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drake's world voyage. More on Golden Hind

SIR FRANK BRANGWYN R.A. (1867-1956)
Pirate ship
Gouache and pastel
63.5 x 43 cm. (25 x 17 in.)
Private collection

Sir Frank Brangwyn (British, 1867--1956)
The buccaneers , c. 1892
Oil on Canvas
205.7 x 231.1 cm. (81 x 91 in.)
Private collection

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
The Rescue, c. 1887
Oil on canvas
H 102 x W 127 cm
Warrington Museum & Art Gallery

This seascape depicts the view from the rigging of a sailing ship on a stormy sea. Men are holding onto the rigging, and one man is hanging from a winch on a rope. This work, painted when Brangwyn was around 20 years old, dates to the earliest phase of his work when he painted a number of traditional subjects about the sea and life on the seas. More on this painting

SIR FRANK BRANGWYN R.A. (1867-1956)
Capsized, c. 1893
Oil on board
56.5 x 77 cm. (22 1/4 x 30 1/4 in.)
Private collection

Sir Frank Brangwyn, R.A. 1867-1956
The Burial at Sea
Oil on canvas
154.9 x 233.7 cms | 60 3/4 x 92 ins
Glasgow Museums Resource Centre

SIR FRANK BRANGWYN, RA (BRITISH, 1867-1956)
The Sea of Marmara, c. 1890
Oil on canvas, laid to board
31.1 x 43.2cm (12 1/4 x 17in).
Private collection

The Sea of Marmara, also known in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis, is the inland sea, entirely within the borders of Turkey, that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European lands. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black Sea and the Dardanelles strait to the Aegean Sea. More on the Sea of Marmara

At the age of seventeen, one of Brangwyn's paintings was accepted and then sold to a shipowner, at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, which strengthened him in his conviction to become an artist. Brangwyn joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and began painting seascapes. He convinced the shipowner who had bought his Royal Academy picture to let him sail on a freighter to Istanbul. This trip provided Brangwyn with the material for several notable paintings. Whereas Burial at Sea (See above), which won a medal at the Paris Salon in 1891 was mostly composed in grey, The Golden Horn, Constantinople  (See below) was much brighter and full of colour. 

Sir Frank Brangwyn, R. A., 1867-1956
THE GOLDEN HORN, CONSTANTINOPLE
Oil on canvas
25 by 30 in., 63.5 by 76.2 cm
Private collection

Although Brangwyn held his first one-man show in London in 1891, he spent most of that year and 1890 at sea, visiting Spain several times as well as returning to Istanbul and travelling to South Africa and Zanzibar. In 1892 he visited northern Spain with the Scottish artist Arthur Melville, travelling from Saragossa along the Canal Imperial de Aragon on the barge, the Santa Maria. 

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
Market scene, Jaffa, c. 1890
Oil on panel
50.5 x 61cm (19 7/8 x 24in).
Private collection

The present lot is typical of Brangwyn's work of this period with a brave expanse of plain sandy ground foreground and the lively bustle of a covered market set against sun bleached city walls, the minaret or perhaps bell tower of St Peter's poking into a clear blue sky. The figures have Brangwyn's ease about them and the dots of brilliant red are part of the artist's signature. More on this painting

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
A street market scene
oil on board
34.3 x 43.2cm (13 1/2 x 17in)
Private collection

Soon Brangwyn was attracted by the light and the bright colours of these southern countries at a time when Orientalism was becoming a favoured theme for many painters. He made many paintings and drawings, particularly of Spain, Egypt, Turkey and Morocco, which he visited in 1893. This lightened his palette, a change that initially did not find critical favour but helped establish his international reputation. In 1895 the French government purchased his painting Market in Morocco.

SIR FRANK BRANGWYN R.A. (1867-1956)
The Roman Aquaduct at Segovia, Spain, c. 1914
Pencil, watercolour and pastel
54 x 55.5 cm. (21 1/4 x 21 7/8 in.)
Private collection

The Aqueduct of Segovia (Spanish: Acueducto de Segovia; more accurately, the aqueduct bridge) is a Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain. It is one of the best-preserved elevated Roman aqueducts and the foremost symbol of Segovia, as evidenced by its presence on the city's coat of arms. More on The Aqueduct of Segovia

In 1895, the Parisian art dealer Siegfried Bing commissioned Brangwyn to decorate the exterior of his Galerie L'Art Nouveau, and encouraged Brangwyn into new avenues: murals, tapestry, carpet designs, posters and designs for stained glass to be produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany. In 1896 he illustrated a six-volume reprint of Edward William Lane's translation of One Thousand and One Nights. 

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
Mater Dolorosa Belgica, c. 1915
Oil on canvas
H 159 x W 234 cm
William Morris Gallery

Painted in 1915, it conveys his deep concern for Belgium in the midst of war. The cathedral is on fire, smoke rising from its roof. On the left are a group of refugees, and on the right a row of soldiers marching on. In the centre of the composition the Virgin Mary holds the dead body of Christ. It is a symbol of both sorrow and hope of resurrection. More on this painting

Brangwyn poured his considerable energies into the war effort. He was driven by his personal loyalty to Belgium and a deep empathy for the fate of ordinary people. He designed 80 posters, which have become synonymous with First World War propaganda, as well as supporting refugee artists and contributing to fundraising exhibitions.

Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956)
Entry of the Welsh Troops into Jerusalem, c. 1920–1931
Oil on canvas
H 103.2 x W 143.5 cm
National Museum Wales, National Museum Cardiff

This work depicts the climax of the British campaign against the Turkish army in Palestine during the First World War, the capture of Jerusalem on 9 December 1917. The 53rd (Welsh) Division was one of the three British Divisions which bore the brunt of the fighting against the Turkish army, and this scene depicts their entry into the city through the Jaffa Gate. Begun in 1920, this painting was completed in 1931 for the War Memorial Committee of the National Museum of Wales. More on this painting

In 1917 he collaborated with the Japanese artist Urushibara Mokuchu on a series of woodblock prints. For his austere but decorative designs he was recognized by continental and American critics as a prominent artist, while British critics were puzzled as to how to evaluate him. Through his collecting Japanese works, he became friends with Kojiro Matsutaka the Japanese industrial magnate, who became his patron.

Sir Frank Brangwyn (British, 1867--1956)
The dancing girl
Watercolor
51 x 45 cm. (20.1 x 17.7 in.)
Private collection

Brangwyn had an affair with Ellen Kate Chesterfield, which produced a son, James Barron Chesterfield-Brangwyn, born 1885 in Mevagissey, Cornwall. James later emigrated to Australia in 1909, initially working on a farm in Townsville, Queensland and later moving to Brisbane. In 1896, Brangwyn married Lucy Ray, a nurse, who died in 1924. They had no children. He leased Temple Lodge, 51 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London from 1900 to 1937/38 and bought The Jointure, Ditchling, Sussex in 1918. More on Sir Frank William Brangwyn




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