A Memorial to Emily Jane Morley

I think I have neglected this entry for long enough and it's about time that I start putting more of my work out there for people to read (if they wish).

One of the long serving members of staff at BSA was the needlework teacher, Emily Jane Morley. Morley was born on 27 November 1860, and her family home was in Rokeby Road in Brockley.[1] She appears as the needlework teacher in the BSA adverts in the Woolwich Gazette, offering classes on Tuesday mornings between 10.30am and 12.30pm and Thursday afternoons from 3pm to 4.30pm.[2]

Unfortunately I am yet to find an example of her work although judging from the reports of student works she was a highly respected teacher. Examples of comments over the year include the following:

1914 - ‘Arranged in the upper studio of the new wing may be seen numerous exquisite pieces of Art Needlework done by the pupils of Miss E.J. Morley.’[3]

1921 – ‘In the needlework section, where the quality of work has always been excellent…’[4]

1923 – 6 October 1923 – students’ exhibition review

The 1921 prospectus described Art Needlework classes as follows (it was at this time a subject studied only by women) –

‘Students are taught the various Stitches etc., which belong to Embroidery, Drawn Thread and Lace Work, also the application to various articles of daily use and ladies’ apparel’.[5]

Morley lived at 11 Lee Park, very close to BSA, with her assistant and companion Lilian Booth. Emily Morley died on 10 June 1925 and whilst I have not yet found any illustrations of her works there is still a memorial in Blackheath that relates to her. Morley’s funeral was held on Monday 15 June 1925 at St Michael and All Angels in Blackheath and the internment at Nunhead Cemetery.[6] One of the principal mourners was her companion and assistant Lilian Booth. Morley was a very highly regarded member of the teaching staff at BSA, the school was closed on the day of her funeral as a measure of respect.[7] The principal, John Howard Hale, the secretary EP Lewis and the registrar Mrs Dowling represented the school as well as many students of BSA both past and present. The principal and committee of BSA presented a wreath in the ‘form of a chaplet’ and her colleagues and students presented a wreath in the form of a palette.[8]

Memorial to Emily Jane Morley carved by BSA students, St Michael's, Blackheath.
Source: Thanks to St Michael's Blackheath for allowing me to photograph and publish this image.

The memorial to her was to be unveiled on 16 June 1927 at 6pm in St Michael’s, Blackheath.[9] This wood carved epitaph was created by students at BSA. Woodworking students were taught by Mr F Parrott. From the descriptions provided in the contemporary prospectuses I believe that the students who produced the beautifully carved memorial were studying under Parrott as the lettering classes do not refer to the use of carving as part of the students’ learning.

I hope at some point to discover some needlework made by Morley but until then this memorial remains a tangible memory of her work at BSA.

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[1] She was baptised on 23 December 1860, and the family home was at 13 Rokeby Road, Brockley and her father Alfred was a stationer.

[2] ‘Government School of Art’, in Woolwich Gazette, Fri 10 Jun 1898, p. 4 and Fri 16 Mar 1900, p. 4.

[3] ‘Blackheath School of Art: Exhibition of Students’ Works’ in Blackheath Local Guide, 26 September 1914, p. 8.

[4] ‘Blackheath School of Art: Student Exhibition’ in Blackheath Local Guide, 21 October 1921, p. 37.

[5] Blackheath, Lee, Lewisham & Greenwich School of Arts and Crafts Prospectus, 1920 – 1921, p. 14. Morley taught classes during the day Tue 10am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 4.30pm, Thu 2.30pm to 4.30pm and Fri 10.30am to 12.30pm, and in the evening Mon 6.30pm to 8.30pm and Tues to Thu 7pm to 9pm.

[6] ‘Funeral of Miss Morley’, in Blackheath Local Guide, 25 June, p. 36.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Loc. cit. pp. 36 & 37.

[9] ‘St Michael’s, Blackheath Park’, in Blackheath Local Guide, 11 Jun 1927, p. 6. The unveiling was in conjunction with a day dedicated to missionary work in China undertaken by members of the congregation.

Would you have these two over to dinner?

 

Humour and wit in the art of Alfred de Sauty…

Alfred de Sauty, Coming Over, early 1930's.

I recently acquired this print by Alfred de Sauty entitled ‘Coming Over’ and it reminded me that I had been meaning to write a piece about his humorous side.

 These two are obviously on the way over to a neighbour’s house for dinner. Are they providing the food or is the way so treacherous that they need a gun to ensure that they make it there safely!? Either way it’s a witty comment on the nature of community in the wilds of the US. The print is dedicated to ‘Mr and Mrs RP Brown from A De Sauty’ – could the couple perhaps have inspired De Sauty? I guess it may never be possible to discover this, although it is fun to speculate.

 

Alfred de Sauty, The Proposal, 1930's.

Alfred de Sauty, Matrimony, 1930's.

Alfred de Sauty, Divorce, 1930's

Alfred de Sauty, The Proposal, Matrimony and Divorce, 1930's.

During lockdown I was emailed these three intriguing images which join to form a series. It’s s satirical comment on the nature of business deals. It may well relate to the cut throat nature of the way of doing business, a kind of brashness that De Sauty would not have experienced first-hand before he went to Chicago in Autumn 1923. I would date this work from the early to the mid-1920’s, not long after he moved across the Atlantic. It matches the style of works he produced whilst still in the UK.

De Sauty produced three prints entitled The Proposal, Matrimony and Divorce, and have only just got back to looking at them (where does the time go?). These three works are related to business deals in America under 'marriage' related titles. Looking closely at 'Divorce' the money sacks have $ signs on them which confirms to me it is most likely a comment on business deals in America.

 

Alfred de Sauty, Floreat Chicago, 1935 or earlier, Smithsonian Museum.

They are quite similar in style to his brilliant depictions of the growing metropolis of Chicago which date to the mid 1930’s – about 10 years after his arrival in the US.

Could the businessman be a self-portrait (or a portrait of someone in particular)? The figure holding the gun (a man in a woman's dress) might be representative of a forced marriage / business deal at gunpoint. The businessman appears to be giving up everything to get the deal (even though he is at gun point). Of course, the woman isn't what she seems to be for the rather unusual gunpoint proposal and is depicted wearing high heels as part of the deceit. In the other two (Matrimony and Divorce) he / she is now wearing boots; perhaps revealing their true character.

The businessman is chained to the man / woman holding his goods (designs?) under his arm in Matrimony. Once the sinister the figure has got what they wanted (bags of dollars) they then divorce / break the deal with the businessman by kicking him away.

This could well be a comment on him finishing work at RR Donnelly & Sons (Lakeside Press) in Chicago but cannot be sure as there is very little known about De Sauty's personal life.

 

 

Rockwell Kent & Alfred de Sauty, De Sauty's Bad Dream, My Yours be Better, 1931.
More can be found about it through Underhill Books - here

De Sauty also worked closely with Rockwell Kent - and there is a piece signed by both De Sauty and Kent which makes me think that he had a rather wicked sense of humour (see above). Kent illustrated Moby Dick and De Sauty worked with Kent at the Lakeside Press binding his illustrated books (esp. N by E in 1930). The drawing shows various characters riding on and attacking Moby Dick and is a new year’s wish for the year ending 1930 and beginning 1931. Are the characters on the whale a part of De Sauty’s nightmare? ‘The piece is inscribed ‘De Sauty’s Bad Dream May Yours be better in 1931.’

Certainly, the seemingly brash world of American business deals and contracts at this time must have been something completely different to De Sauty's experiences in London. It must have affected him and inspired these fantastic images.

 

Harold Nelson and depictions of Athena

Happy 150^th birthday to Harold Nelson who was born on this day – 22 May – in 1871.

It’s been a while since I have added something to the blog and thought that it was about time that I got around to doing so. Nelson was best known in his lifetime as a black and white illustrator and ex-libris designer for wealthy clients and organizations.

One of my questions about his working method was whether he re-used image or had a design book that potential patrons could choose what they would like for their personalized ex-libris. He did indeed re-use images which I will delve into further detail at a later date. I have decided on this occasion to focus on his images of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the arts, she was the counsel of Odysseus during his Odyssey. At the time of the French Revolution Athena began to stand for Freedom and Liberty.

Nelson depicted Athena a number of times through his career and must have been interested in depicting her as she had become seen as the Goddess of the Arts. I have included some examples below from sketches, design drawings and finally to ex libris bookplates.

This exquisite drawing features Athena in the centre flanked by water nymphs. I am not entirely sure whether this was later developed into a finished image.

 

Design drawing for the Strand Magazine. Here Athena, in armour ready for battle, is depicted to the right of the drawing. Below Athena is written ‘Fact’ an allusion that she stands for wisdom and knowledge. I am unsure whether this design was ever used in print.

 

A sketch for Athena (most likely to have made for an ex-libris design for a library or book collector), depicted holding a book and a spear. Behind her are the leaves of the olive tree.

 

This image of Athena with her sword and lantern was also used by Nelson for the National Union of Teachers. Athena is entwined in an olive tree, representative of the one that grew on the Acropolis. The scroll behind Athena has ‘Vince Fide’ (Conquer with Faith) inscribed on it.

Here is the above image used as the logo for The National Union of Teachers. The main discernible difference is the inscription on the scroll. As they are undated I am not entirely sure which came first.

 

 

This is such an appropriate representation of Athena for the Bedford College Library. Here she is within an olive tree with an owl on her right shoulder and a lantern in her left hand. Books, source of knowledge, are scattered at the bottom of the ex-libris.

 

This is a more serious stoic representation of Athena for a potential ex-libris patron as there is no name included in the design (it is included in Nelson’s 1929 volume of bookplates). Athena holds a shield and spear, standing in front of classical architecture (the Acropolis?) and an owl appears in an olive branch in front of the goddess.

 

As these images are all from my own collection, I am sure there must be other variations in existence from Nelson’s career. Hopefully I can add other images as I discover them. His works are quite accessible and a good way to get into black and white illustration in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain.

A constant across the seasons...

A constant across the seasons...

Over the past few years I have commuted to work through Greenwich Park. On the way to work I have often focused on an oak tree in the park which I found to be a stoic / monumental constant. I have always been meaning to do something with the photos I have taken of the tree and the effect changing of the changing of the seasons on it. The tree has always been an unchanging fixture with the environment around it in flux. This is everything from the sky, to the light around and the shadows cast by the tree and the colour of the grass. 

I was hoping to make this visual record as one image per month to produce a year of images albeit across a few years. What I found was there were some months like February where the atmospheric surrounds of the tree were simply stunning. I have limited myself to two images per month and also discovered that during the summer I wasn't as frequently photographing the park.

I must admit that this was finally prompted by the interesting exhibition Among the Trees which opened recently at the Hayward Gallery I wasn't entirely taken by all of the pieces in the show but it certainly made me think about trees and their place in the world.

Anyway here goes - hope you enjoy...

January 2018

January 2019

February 2019

February 2019

March 2018

March 2017

April 2019

April 2018

May 2018

May 2018

June 2017

July 2018

August 2018

September 2018

October 2019

November 2017

November 2017

December 2017

December 2017

A Tale of One and Another... 
A fictional meeting between the two Nick Caves

A discussion with a friend (a musician and fellow Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds fan) led me to write this piece. I now realize that the lines are too long for a song and it's probably more a poem of sorts. It's probably not that great but I certainly had great fun writing it and was surprised by how easy it was to get down on paper... I certainly won't give up my day job but may try to do some more writing like this in future!
Surely I have digressed and it's back to writing up my research on the Blackheath School of Art...
Here goes...

A tale of one and another... (part 1 – The Tale of two Nicks)

I thought I was but unique, a kind of a freak...

Instead I discovered I shared a name with another

One could say he might have been a brother!!!

ARRRGGGGHHHHH!

No way, no way

If only I could stay at one with myself without another sharing a part of me...

If only I could, if only I could...

I have always been subject to visions

Something that has always cut through my mind like incisions...

I can sit and procrastinate with pen in hand.

Sometimes with or without the assistance of my band

A song will appear as if delivered to me by divine inspiration.

Thankfully this process is rarely one of exasperation.

No way, no way

If only I could stay at one with myself without another sharing a part of me...

If only I could, if only I could...

Previously in the mirror all I would see was a tall streak with a slick of black hair

Now I can surely say that I don’t care

As whenever I can catch a glimpse of myself there is always an element of him looking back at me

Don’t you see, can’t  you see that I just cannot let this be...

ARRRGGGGHHHHH!

No way, no way

If only I could stay at one with myself without another sharing a part of me...

If only I could, if only I could...

Statue, statue now I just can’t  look at you

I know now that all do is gaze downwards and introspectively at my shoe

My life was once full of colour and movement

But I fear that there will never be a denouement

ARRRGGGGHHHHH!

No way, no way

If only I could stay at one with myself without another sharing a part of me...

If only I could, if only I could...

I have often been asked what it’s  like to be ‘a bad seed'

But that kind of behaviour was never a part of my creed

It was only when I turned the radio on and heard Henry Lee

I realised that the king of the bad seeds had taken my name from me!

Hang on, hang on, it could never have been me...

Now don’t you see, can’t you see???

ARRRGGGGHHHHH!

No way, no way

If only I could stay at one with myself without another stealing a part of me...

If only I could, if only I could....

That’s when that dark shadow began to loom over me

Nothing could bridge the terror of nothingness stretching across the sea

Unbearable as ever and not even in any small way clever

This matter needed to come to a head one way or another

It was him not me that I needed to smother!

ARRRGGGGHHHHH! (Repeat)

No way, no way

If only I could stay at one with myself without another destroying a part of me...

If only I could, I know that I should remain just me.......

A tale of one and another (part 2 – The Meeting)

We always thought that there was never a chance we would meet randomly

That would most likely be an anomaly...

I went out in a blizzard to MOMA to see a Matisse show[1]

In retrospect I wish I never did go…

(alt verse in green)

We always thought that there was never a chance we would meet randomly

That would most likely be an anomaly...

I went out in a blizzard to the Met to see an El Greco show

In retrospect I wish I never did go…

I went to collect my ticket, and the attendant said…

‘Nick Cave, what do you mean, there’s no chance it’s you instead…

He’s being toasted at the opening of his exhibition as we speak,

There’s no way you can have that identity sit, you are indeed to me, a freak…’

I reached into my overcoat pockets to provide proof

Before I could identify myself the guttural shout came;

‘Security remove this man; there’s no way he’s telling the truth!’

I roared in the faces of those assailants come to restrain me;

‘I won’t go, hell no, I cannot be in no man’s shadow!

Let me see this other who taketh my name,

Surely there is no reason that we cannot cast our eyes upon each other,

Definitely, there should be no shame!’

Eventually the strong-armed men and women acquiesced,

Whilst my chief assailant whispered in quietly into my ear and confessed…

‘Who the hell do you think you are trying to impersonate such a fantastic artist as Mr Cave,

You should not dare think to interfere with his triumphal moment and crowd his enclave!’

I bellowed back; ‘Leave me in peace, I just came to see Matisse!

Once I meet the one who shares my name

I can definitely move on without shame.’

(alt verse)
Eventually the strong-armed men and women acquiesced,

Whilst my chief assailant whispered in quietly into my ear and confessed…

‘Who the hell do you think you are trying to impersonate such a fantastic artist as Mr Cave,

You should not dare think to interfere with his triumphal moment and crowd his enclave!’

I bellowed back; ‘There ain’t no need for prosecco, I just wanna see El Greco’!

Once I meet the one who shares my name

I can definitely move on without shame.’

They ushered me through a number of long galleries,

Each one full of their own mysteries and iconographies,

Swirling stars, melting clocks and tigers in long grass,

All blending into one great expressionist masterclass.

(alt verse)
They ushered me through a number of long galleries,

Each one full of their own mysteries and iconographies,

Holy families, Christs on crosses, many mournful figures facing their losses,

I wanted to stop and stare,

Yet it all blended into in one beautiful, terrifying nightmare.

Where were they taking me, I can no longer see

Not even anything ahead of me

I looked across at each of my escorts,

Looking at their expressionless faces trying to read their thoughts…

Eventually I find my voice to ask; ‘Where are we going?’

It started as a whisper but by the end I was bellowing,

The response was swift and harsh; ‘You’re going to meet your maker!’

In their eyes I was nothing but a faker…

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth,

In no way was I an identity thief,

As we turned the corner there he was,

As elegant a man I have ever seen,

‘Mr Cave’, they gestured to the arty looking man…

‘This is the one who has been brazenly masquerading as you,

He must be one hell of a fan,

To travel here in a blizzard,

Wearing stylish, yet impractical shoes, made from the skin of a lizard!’

My mind quickly snapped into gear,

What was I going to do here?

I angrily pulled my arms free,

And moved towards him, he who shared his name with me,

Slow down, slow down, my mind was racing.

What should I do with this f***ed up situation I was facing…

I know what Stagger Lee would have done,

Not entirely sure that I still find that to be fun,

Should I grab his f***ing head and smash against the nearest wall?

It’s something that my brain does automatically recall,

I overwhelmingly felt suspicion that this would hasten my fall.

I looked him up and down,

Immediately I began to feel like a carnival clown,

There before me was the most angelic smile on his gentle face

At that moment it felt as if I was in the right place

His welcoming eyes met mine,

 And as he thrust his open right hand out towards my frame,

He said, ‘Pleased to meet you, I’m sure you know my name…’

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[1] Other options include: ‘go to Rothko’, ‘Take a seat to see Magritte’, ‘I don’t want no censor I’m here to see Ensor’ or ‘Hell no, hell no, I wanna see Delvaux’. Alternatively at the Met to see El Greco – 'I turned to look at the El Greco only to see him holding a glass of prosecco’.