Ernest Gimson: Arts & Crafts Designer and Architect

by Annette Carruthers, Mary Greensted, Barley Roscoe

Overview

An authoritative and insightful study, surveying the life and work of “the greatest of the English artist-craftsmen”

This study of the renowned designer-maker Ernest Gimson (1864–1919) combines biography with analysis of his work as an architect and designer of furniture, metalwork, plaster decoration, embroidery, and more. It also examines Gimson’s significance within the Arts and Crafts Movement, tracing the full arc of his creative career, ideas, and legacy. Gimson worked in London in the 1880s, joining the circle around William Morris at the Art Workers’ Guild and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. He later moved to the Cotswolds, where he opened workshops and established a reputation for distinctive style and superb quality. Gimson’s work influences designers today and speaks directly to ongoing debates about the role of craft in the modern world; this book will be the standard reference for years to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300246261
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	11/26/2019
Pages:	372
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Annette Carruthers worked as a curator with the Gimson collections at Leicestershire and Cheltenham Museums. Mary Greensted has been curator and deputy director at Cheltenham Museum. Barley Roscoe is a freelance curator and writer and formerly director of the Holburne Museum and Crafts Study Centre in Bath.
 

Editorial Reviews

. . . explores how [Gimson] adapted his observations of nature into buildings and objects. . . . The book is lavishly illustrated with photos of surviving works alongside Mr. Gimson’s sketches.”—Eve Kahn, New York Times

“Excellent...Unearths work by Gimson that is not recorded even in the archives of the SPAB.”—Christopher Howse, Daily Telegraph

“An authoritative visual and factual compendium of this craftsman’s output.”—Antiques and the Arts Weekly

“One of the most inspiring modernist architects of the day . . . The authors’ research is meticulous and provides important details of Gimson’s early years.”—Jessica Douglas-Home, New Criterion

From the Publisher