The work of Frederick Griggs RA, R.E original Printmaking & Printed Books was celebrated in the Mount House Gallery during January.
In many ways the work of Frederick Landseer Griggs (1876-1938) exemplifies the legacy of William Morris in fine art. In a similar manner, his work recalls and reimagines the glories of medieval England and a pre-industrial world. He was acclaimed as one of the finest etchers of his age, and his work carried forward the legacy of J.M.W Turner, William Blake and Samuel Palmer. He was the inspiration for twentieth century Neo-Romantic artists such as John Piper and Graham Sutherland.
The works gathered in the Mount House Gallery by Edward Twohig RE (CR 2017-), the Head of Art, constituted one of the most significant exhibitions in recent times of this artist whose great talents have long-since been recognised, but whose work is seen far too rarely. The process of acquiring this collection was a great achievement, and the impact made by the extraordinary craftsmanship and artistry shown by Griggs made a great impression on all those who witnessed this celebration. It was entirely fitting that it was dedicated to the wood engraver Simon Brett RE (CR 1971-89), a former member of the Art School team, whose work is part of the tradition which Griggs helped to nurture in the early years of the last century.
Singling out any works in this exhibition is a hard task when so many deserve mention. The visual games Griggs played in his depictions of the invented St Botolph’s Bridge, from both sides of the river, show how strong his imagination was, and how a theme could sustain his interest over many years. Griggs undertook ‘radical surgery’ with his etching plates, and the states of the impressions can vary markedly. For example, in the atmospheric Cockayne, a depiction of a street scene in pre-Great Fire London, the tower of St Paul’s Cathedral disappeared in a later edition and the weather and light changed too, as it so often does in works by Griggs. The Almonry, a scene showing a vast snow-covered abbey, invites the mind to wander in so many different directions, as do his visions of the fortress-like walls of Saras, with the oceans of rocks which swell around the subject. Owlpen Manor, perhaps his most famous work, is framed by monolithic topiary which are Surrealist in form. The Memory of Clavering, with its dramatic and mysterious raked lighting, invites speculation about what will happen in the next minutes as the symphony of shadows shift with the changing early morning light.
Remarkable but fleeting cultural events take place regularly at Marlborough in terms of drama, lectures, music and art. Griggs @ 150 was an occasion which the world hardly had time to notice, yet it was one of the outstanding exhibitions at Marlborough in recent times, and noteworthy by any standards.
Niall Hamilton
CR 1985 –
