Lot 22
ERIC GILL A.R.A. (BRITISH 1882-1940)
THE PISCINA FROM THE CHAPEL OF ST. JOSEPH AND ST. DOMINIC, DITCHLING, 1921
Auction: MODERN MADE | Lots 1 - 422 | Fri 01 May at 10am
Description
Hornton stone
Dimensions
50.2cm x 22.8cm x 30.5cm (19 ¾in x 9in x 12in)
Provenance
Removed from the Chapel on demolition, c.1989; Purchased by gallerist Gillian Jason.
Footnote
The present capitals and piscina were originally owned by the gallerist Gillian Jason who had acquired the elements directly from the Guild at the time of the Chapel’s demolition in the 1980s.
They are catalogued in a Fine Art Society exhibition catalogue as Workshop of Eric Gill. However, subsequent research has clarified their authorship. An entry in the Hove Museum catalogue attributes the carving of these elements to Gill himself.
Definitive confirmation is provided by Gill’s original diary, held at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The relevant entries record the carving of the piscina on 24 February and the capital on 28 February, thereby confirming that these works were executed by Gill.
Literature:
Eric Gill Diary, 24 February 1921, ‘Work on Piscina and Shelf for the Chapel all day’ being one of numerous entries relating to his working on the Chapel;
Hove Museum and Art Gallery, Eric Gill and the Guild of St. Joseph and St. Dominic, 25 November 1990-17 February 1991;
(1921) “work on the Chapel and on Gills Workshop continued through the winter months… Much of the rest of the stone cutting fell to Gill himself, and his diary shows racing to keep pace with the builder, cutting stone shelves, the Piscina, then the capitals day by day as the building neared completion”.
Exhibited:
Gillian Jason Gallery, London, The Lost Idyll: Sculpture and Carving by Members of the Guild of St. Joseph and St. Dominic at Ditchling Sussex, 1913-1924, September - October 1989;
Fine Art Society, London, Carving in Britain from 1910 to Now, November 2012 - January 2013.