Product Description
Sydney Pitcher “St. Martin’s Cross Iona” Arts & Crafts photograph c. 1900
SYDNEY PITCHER F.R.P.S. (d. 1950) England
ARTHUR H. PITCHER (Framer)
“St. Martin’s Cross Iona” c.1900
Carbon process photograph, hand carved oak frame with beautiful wood grain detail.
Marks: S MARTINS CROSS IONA (carved incised mark)
Art Nouveau paper label (on back): Framed by Arthur H. Pitcher, College Court, Gloucester, Moulding No…..
Photograph: H: 9 1/2″ x W: 5″
Frame: H: 16 3/4″ x W: 8 5/8″ D: 5/8″
Sydney A. Pitcher FRPS (active 1904-1939) was a photographer with an interest in monument and church architecture. He is listed in the 1927 Kelly’s Directory of the County of Gloucester as a commercial photographer, publisher and picture frame maker, operating from 5 & 7 College Court, Gloucester. Pitcher was involved primarily in the photography of Gloucestershire churches, but also took pictures of churches and cathedrals in neighbouring counties, and of medieval sculptures at Winchester College. He collaborated on the publication of Rushforth’s series of volumes The stained glass of Great Malvern Priory Church , Gloucester, 1916-1927.
He joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1904, was admitted as an Associate member in 1925, and became a Fellow in 1928.
Sydney Pitcher “St. Martin’s Cross Iona” Arts & Crafts photograph c. 1900
SIR WILLIAM REYNOLD STEPHENS (1862–1943) London, UK
BRITISH ARTS & CRAFTS
Photo frame 1886
Bronze / copper lost wax casting with an elaborate stage set with a seeded figure and two capitals with mythological telamons, easel back
Marks: 18 December 1886, W Reynold Stephens London (signature and markings in the cast, bottom left front)
H: 6 5/8″ x W: 11 1/2″
Sculptor of decorative works, portraits and monumental figures, goldsmith and painter. Born 8 August 1862 in Detroit, U.S.A., of British parents; his father’s name was Stephens. Educated in England and Germany, then studied at the R.A. Schools and won prizes for sculpture and painting 1887. Assumed the additional name of Reynolds 1890. Exhibited at the R.A. 1886–1942, solely as a sculptor after 1894. Influenced to some extent by Alfred Gilbert and Pre-Raphaelite medievalism. Made many memorials, including those to Sir William Q. Orchardson, R.A., in St Paul’s, and to Archbishop Lord Davidson in the courtyard of Lambeth Palace. In 1904 he designed the chancel screen, reredos and other decorations for the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Great Warley, Essex. F.R.B.S. 1904, P.R.B.S. 1921–33, awarded R.B.S. gold medal 1928; knighted 1931. Died at Tunbridge Wells 23 February 1943.
George Washington Maher (1864-1926) USA
Rockledge side chair, 1911-1912.
Stained oak with the original leather upholstery and leather-covered tacks.
Provenance: Ernest L. & Grace King residence, Homer, Minnesota
H: 40 ¾” W: 18 ½” x D: 20 ¼”
(Gift to The Wolfsonian-FIU, Miami Beach, FL)
In 1912 George Washington Maher designed Rockledge, a summer residence near Homer, Minnesota, for E.L. King. Sited just beneath a cliff along the Mississippi River, Rockledge is considered the finest residence of Maher’s career and a perfect example of his motif-rhythm theory of architectural design.
Information and other examples from the Maher / Rockledge commission can be found in the following books and publications: The Art that is Life: The Arts and Crafts Movement in America, 1875-1920, ed. Wendy Kaplan, (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1987), pp. 396-400,The Ideal Home: The History of Twentieth Century American Craft, 1900-1920, Janet Kardon (New York: Abrams, 1993) cover illus. and p. 205; Geo. W. Maher Quarterly, Oct.-Dec., 1992, pp. 1, 16, 17; Arts, December, 1995, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minn. cover and back cover.
Examples of artworks from Rockledge are in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, NY, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Minnesota Historical Society, The Newark Museum, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Milwaukee Art Museum, The Wolfsonian, Miami Beach, FL, Dallas Museum of Art, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the St. Louis Art Museum.