TABULATED BIOGRAPHY
| Date | Private Life | Public Life |
| 1867 | Guillaume Francois born 12 May at 10.30 am, Rue du Vieux Bourg, No 24, Bruges | |
| 1874 | Family returns to England, 19 Richmond Gardens, Shepherd's Bush, London | |
| 1877 | Family move to 30 Grange Gardens, Shepherd's Bush | |
| 1882 | Brangwyn meets Mackmurdo and is employed by William Morris at Queen Square, London | |
| 1883 | Stays at Admiral Owen pub, Sandwich, Kent | |
| 1884 | Shared flat, 55 Newman Street, London, with Ben Creswick | |
| 1885 | Living at 18 Shepherd's Bush Green, London. Probably visited Whitby. | A Bit on the Esk near Whitby (O6) accepted by RA |
| 1886 | Probably visited Sandwich again and also Mevagissey in Cornwall where he had an affair with Helen Kate Chesterfield (Ellen), James Barron Chesterfield Brangwyn being born 22 October 1886 in Mevagissey. He emigrated to Australia in 1909. | Waterlogged (O9) accepted by RA. Paints ceiling at Pownall Hall, Cheshire to Herbert Horne's design |
| 1887 | Living in 39a Queen's Square, Bloomsbury. Probably visited Rye, Yarmouth and Fowey. | Large watercolour Sunday (D4183) accepted by RA. |
| 1888 | Probably visited Mevagissey, Cornwall. Travelled to Morocco and Turkey | Bark Stripping (O16) accepted by RA |
| 1889 | Moves to 4 Wentworth Studios, Chelsea. Probably visited St Ives, Cornwall | 3 oils accepted by RA including When we were boys together (O39) |
| 1890 | Moves to 14 Trafalgar Studios, Chelsea and retains lease until 1894. Travels to Spain for 2 weeks in Spring. Travels to Turkey and Romania. Possibly visited Walberswick and Brighton, and Antwerp. | Paints Funeral at Sea (O54). Elected member of the Royal Society of British Artists. Starts producing illustrations for The Graphic magazine. |
| 1891 | Rents 4 Stratford Studios, Kensington and retains lease until 1899. Sails to South Africa with William Hunt (may have been late 1890), visited Madeira on return voyage and may have visited east Africa. May also have visited Spain and Italy. | First one-man exhibition in March at Royal Arcade Gallery, Old Bond Street, From the Scheldt to the Danube. Funeral at Sea awarded 3rd class medal at Paris Salon. |
| 1892 | Travels to Spain with Arthur Melville. | Exhibition of South African paintings opens in May at Larkin's Japanese Gallery, New Bond Street. Becomes member of Institute of Oil Painters |
| 1893 | Travels to Morocco with Dudley Hardy. | Buccaneers (O133) causes sensation at Paris Salon. Becomes corresponding member of Munich Secession. |
| 1894 | Probably visits Morocco with Dudley Hardy and Henry Ganz | At World's Colombian Exposition, Chicago, Convict Ship (O132) awarded gold medal and Pilots Puerto de los Pasajes (O126) awarded bronze medal and purchased for Art Institute of Chicago. |
| 1895 | Travels to Picardy with Phil May and wife. In Paris for Bing commission. | Trade on the Beach (O139) purchased by Luxembourg (Musee d'Orsay). Paints murals on exterior of Bing's Galeries l'Art Nouveau (M2449). Employs unknown assistant |
| 1896 | Travels to Spain with Alfred East. Marries Lucy Annie Ray on 28 January. Travels to Assisi and Venice alone. Takes Lucy to Longpre, France in autumn | Blood of the Grape (O159) accepted by RA (although skied). Designs Vine (T2817) carpet for Bing. |
| 1897 | Paints Dogana, Venice (O193), exhibited at RA. Awarded gold medal at Munich International Art Exhibition for Scoffers (O180) . St Simon Stylites 2 (O152) purchased by Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Venice at Biennale. Market at Bushire (O196) awarded silver medal at Paris World Fair. Becomes founder member of Vienna Secession. | |
| 1898 | Commissioned by Bing to produce designs for 6 stained glass panels to be made by Tiffany. Cartoon for one of these, Baptism of Christ (G2601), awarded medal at Paris Salon. | |
| 1899 | 2 stained glass panels exhibited at Grafton Galleries, May-July. | |
| 1900 | Leases Temple Lodge, 51 Queen Street, Hammersmith. Probably visited Southwold and Walberswick with Lucy | Commissioned to design interiors for E J Davis at 11 Lansdowne Road, Kensington (A2604). Commissioned to paint Royal Exchange mural, Modern Commerce(M1136), completed 1906. Gains silver medal at Paris Exhibition |
| 1902 | Commissioned to paint Skinners' Hall murals, completed 1909. Designed Billiard Room for Thurston & Co (A2608). Created Chevalier of the Legion of Honour | |
| 1903 | Visited Barnard Castle alone in September | Paints Queen Elizabeth Going Aboard the Golden Hind (O228) . One man exhibition in Amsterdam. Associate and Fellow of Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers |
| 1904 | Elizabeth Berry joins household and returns a few years later as Lizzie Peacock, a widow with a young son. She remains as Brangwyn's housekeeper until his death. Visited Alfred East in St Ives in January without Lucy. Probably went to Paris in July, returning 1 August. | Starts London School of Art (LSA) in Stratford Road, Kensington with J M Swan and C P Townsley. Elected Associate of Royal Academy and exhibits Departure of Sir James Lancaster for the East Indies, 1594 (Skinners Hall series, M1139)). Alvin Langdon Coburn (American) assists in studio and Arthur Sinclair Covey (American) works with Brangwyn until c1908. |
| 1905 | Probably stayed at Hotel de France, Hesdin, Pas de Calais | Designs British Rooms at Venice Biennale (A1337) for which awarded gold medal. Melons (O215) purchased for Gallerie Civica d'Arte Moderna, Venice. Designs verge for Leeds University (F2506), completed 1911. Takes LSA summer school to Nieuport, Belgium |
| 1906 | Visited Bruges in August and probably September, visited Ghent sometime in year. | Oil Santa Maria della Salute (O241) awarded gold medal at International Exhibition, Amsterdam. Etching Santa Maria through the Rigging (E777) awarded Grand Prix at Milan Exhibition. LSA summer school in Bruges. Designs interiors for Palazzo Rezzonico (A2605) , Venice (unexecuted). Paints Venetian Funeral (O239). Elected corresponding member of Society of Illustrators, USA and member of Asociacion de Artistas Espanoles |
| 1907 | Travels to Montreuil, France and is in Venice for about 3 weeks from 27 March without Lucy. Visits Winchelsea 2-9 October. | Designs British Rooms at Venice Biennale (A2606) and awarded gold medal for Santa Maria through the Rigging (E777) . Paints Blake's Return after the Capture of the Plate Ships (O250). Thirty of Brangwyn's etchings exhibited at Barcelona International Exhibition where they are awarded special diploma. |
| 1908 | Suffers from colitis, collapses from exhaustion, gives up teaching. Lucy breaks ankle in Furnes, Belgium. Probably travelled to St Ives, Cornwall with Alfred East in November (without Lucy) | LSA summer school in Bruges and Furnes. Return of the Messengers of the Promised Land (O263) accepted by RA. Paints Rajah's Birthday (O1) . Begins Lloyd's Register of Shipping panels (M2619), completed 1914. Begins murals for St Aidan's, Leeds (M1108), completed 1916. |
| 1909 | Travels to Kitson's house inTaormina, Sicily without Lucy. Visited Furnes 1909-1910, probably staying at Grand Hotel Rouge. | Designs dining room interior for Kitson (A2607) and makes sketches of 1908 Messina earthquake. Begins murals for Canadian Grand Trunk Railway offices (M2341), completed 1910. Three rooms devoted to Brangwyn's works at XXXIInd Secession Exhibition, Vienna, and Brangwyn awarded Grand Gold medal by Emperor of Austria. |
| 1910 | Lucy has fit in Paris in September. They stay at St Cirq la Popie, France with Douglas and Madeline Wells in October. | February, stays with Kitson in Taormina and paints frescoes in dining room. Messina works exhibited at FAS in November. One man exhibitions of Brangwyn's work in Rome (100 works) and Gross-Berliner Kunststausstellung. Awarded Diploma, 1st class at Exposition Universalle, Brussels and bronze medal at Chile Centenary International Art Exhibition. Member of General Fine Art Committee, Japan-British Exhibition, London. Elected member of Royal British Colonial Society of Artists. |
| 1911 | Lucy ill in April. Brangwyn and Lucy take holiday in Spain in May, then the Lot, France in autumn. | Helps design street decorations for Coronation of King George V. Commissioned to paint murals for Cuyahoga County Court House, Ohio (M1142), completed 1915. Created Chevalier of the Order of the Crown of Italy. Crown Prince of Sweden visits Temple Lodge. Assistant: probably Edward D Trumbull (American). |
| 1912 | Breaks a rib in January. Brangwyn and Lucy spend 2 weeks in Paris in spring. Brangwyn returns with severe cold, suffers from rheumatism and depression. Probably visited Parthenay in August and Airvault in September with Lucy. | Paints Il Palazzo dei Camerlenghi (O278), The Doge's Palace and Library (O279) and Mockers (O281). Commissioned to paint murals in chapel at Christ's Hospital, Horsham (M1109), completed 1923. Designs east window and 2 small chancel windows for St Mary the Virgin, Bucklebury (G2237). Exhibition of Brangwyn's etchings and lithographs held at Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris and another at Galerie Ernst Arnold, Dresden and Breslau. Awarded gold medal for Brass Shop (O247) at Berlin Salon. Assistant: Allen Tupper True until 1914 (American) |
| 1913 | Visits Meaux, France 1912-1913. Has influenza (probably April). | Designs British Room at Ghent International Exhibition (A2292) (includes Lloyd's Register murals M2619). Paints large oil for Carpenter's Company, London (O282). Becomes corresponding member of Prussian Royal Academy, member of Koniglichen Akademie der Kunste, Berlin and President of Royal Society of British Artists. |
| 1914 | Presents first gift to a Gallery, the Albertina, Vienna (see Brangwyn Gifts for details of his gifts to Galleries) | Paints large oil Exodus (O283) c1914. Designs murals for Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco (M1323). Etchings displayed at New york Public Library. Individual exhibition at XIth Venice Biennale. Elected Honorary member of Royal Scottish Academy. Assistant: John J A Murphy until 1922 (American) |
| 1915 | Stomach pains during summer | Starts work for Missouri State Capitol, Jefferson City (M1135), completed 1925. Gained Medal of Honour for 80 etchings at Panama-Pacific International Exposition. German poster magazine Das Plakat includes 7 page article on Brangwyn's posters. |
| 1916 | Paints murals for Horton House, Northampton (A1178). Poulterer's Shop (O305) exhibited at RA and purchased by Chantry Bequest for Tate Gallery. | |
| 1917 | Brangwyn and Lucy spend a month in Falmouth and in September stay at Coombe Wood, Ditchling. November they discover The Jointure, Ditchling for sale. | Designs Nativity window for St Mary the Virgin, Bucklebury (G2237). Becomes President of Senefelder Club. Italy makes Brangwyn a Commander of the Italian order of St Maurice and St Lazarus. Assistant: a Frenchman in November |
| 1918 | Brangwyns buy The Jointure in January and they spend most of their time in the house until 1920. Complains of illness February. | Starts lunette for Manitoba Legislative Building, Winnipeg (M1403), completed 1921. Starts designs for Kyoraku Art Museum, Tokyo for Kojiro Matsukata (A1827) (unexecuted). Elected to the Institute of France. |
| 1919 | Complains of stomach pains August | Brangwyn becomes RA. Creates Peace Pageant decorations. Produces Ruins of War (B1283) for Canadian War Memorials Fund. Created Commander of Order of Leopold. |
| 1920 | Household pets Jock (dog), Tiddles (rabbit) and a tortoise. In Ditchling 31 May-6 June and late August. | Paints Swans (O312) . Designs East window for United Reformed Church, Northampton (G1626). Paints Stations of the Cross (S3546) for Father Ryan's Leper Mission, South Africa, completed 1922. Starts work on Arras Stations of the Cross (S2545), ceased work on unfinished series in 1924. Resigns as RE. Created Officer of Legion of Honour and elected Associate of Academie Royale de Belgique. Assistant: Frank Alford to 1922. Peter C Helck (American) worked with Brangwyn for short period this year. |
| 1921 | Suffers from stomach complaints and heart flutters February to December. In Ditchling 24-30 March, 11-16 June, 26 July - September and some time in October. | Starts work on mosaic dome for Selfridge store (M2157) in Oxford Street (unexecuted). Tragedy of Dixmude, London exhibition organised with help of Brangyn to commemorate Dixmude as it was before the war. Associate of Royal Watercolour Society, President of Society of Graphic Art. Frank Lawson collaborated with Brangwyn at some time during this year. |
| 1922 | Ill in June | Assistant: Laurence Bradshaw to c1924 |
| 1923 | Seriously ill this year. | Council member of Pastel Society (incorporating the Pencil Society) |
| 1924 | Lucy dies at Temple Lodge from broncho pneumonia on 2 December, her sister Janet at her side. | Exhibition at Queen's Gate opened in May by Ramsay MacDonald PM. Creates backdrop for Pageant of Empire, Wembley. Name entered on Hammersmith's Roll of Honour. Member of jury on painting, VIIIth Olympiad, Paris |
| 1925 | Starts work on British Empire panels (M1145), completed 1932. Exhibition at Vose Galleries, Boston, USA. Elected Honorary Fellow of Incorporated Institute of British Decorators. Assistant: Edward Kenneth Center to 1939. Elijah Albert Cox, a Ditchling neighbour, collaborated on British Empire panels 1925-1932 | |
| 1926 | Designs Egyptian setting for Chelsea Arts ball. Elected member of Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts, Antwerp. Assistant: Dean Cornwell to 1928 or 1930. | |
| 1927 | Ill January and June - August. | Designs stained glass window for St Winifred's, Manaton, Devon (G1869). Assistant Scatalo returns to Italy |
| 1928 | Visits Venice in July. Suffers from bronchitis November. | Created Commander of Order of Oranje Nassau. Assistant: Reginald S Lewis to April 1929 or perhaps longer |
| 1929 | Vice-President of Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors. | |
| 1930 | Ill July | Pollard Exhibition (A2609) opens Oxford Street in October with furniture, carpets, lamps, crockery, glassware all designed by Brangwyn. Begins murals for RCA Building, Rockefeller Center, New York (M1110), completed 1934. Designs 3 dining room interiors for Canadian Pacific liner, S S Empress of Britain (A1822), completed 1931. Starts woodcut Stations of the Cross (S4163) with William de Belleroche, completed 1934. |
| 1931 | Designs Charity window for St Patrick's, Dublin (G2263). Awarded gold medal by Society of Manufacturers and Commerce. | |
| 1932 | Suffers severe attack of sciatica | Receives Albert Medal of Royal Society of Arts for 'services to decorative and commercial art'. University of Wales make Brangwyn an Honorary Doctor of Laws. President of Society of Graphic Art. |
| 1933 | Blood poisoning in March, complains of rheumatism | Designs exterior for Rowley Gallery (A1854), Kensington Church Street, London. British Empire panels displayed at Ideal Home Exhibition, Olympia. |
| 1934 | Roger (brown terrier mongrel) joins family. | Starts work on lithograph Stations of Cross (S4163) completed 1935, some printed on sycamore blocks. Designs for murals, Guildhall, Hull (M1360) (unexecuted). British Empire panels installed in Swansea Guildhall. Designs cover for Christmas edition of Radio Times (O322). |
| 1935 | Ill May and November, has X-ray in December. | Designs lunette for Odham's Press, London (M1878), completed 1936 |
| 1936 | Rheumatism and housemaid's knee in January, neuritis in hand in March, torn leg muscle June, bronchitis October. | Brangwyn Museum, Bruges (now Arents House) opened 29 July. Brangwyn ceated Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold II, Belgium and created Cittoyen d'Honneur de Bruges (only the third time the award had been given). |
| 1937 | Gives up lease on Temple Lodge this year or 1938. Complains of neuralgia in August | Starts Last Supper (M1179) for Marist College, Middlesborough, completed 1945. Designs stained glass window for St Andrew and St Peter, Elveden, Suffolk (G2602). |
| 1938 | Restores cottage in grounds of The Jointure. Builds gas-proof chamber in case of air raids. Has shingles in December | Designs small Crucifixion and five double lancets for St Andrei's monastery (G1866) outside Bruges. President of International Corporation of Arts |
| 1939 | Has about 30 refugee children in cottage in autumn. | |
| 1940 | Buys Dover's House, Chipping Campden (former home of the etcher Griggs). Restores old cottage. Feels sad and ill. | |
| 1941 | Travels to Chipping Campden for a week - this is the last time Brangwyn leaves Ditchling. | Starts drawings for a Life of St Francis (B1308), completed 1946 but unpublished. Knighted but does not go to Buckingham Palace to be officially dubbed. |
| 1944 | Bladder problems early in year. | |
| 1946 | Designs the Wine Press (T2987) and Last Supper (T2988) tapestries for the Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh (only Wine Press woven). Paints a Last Supper (M1825) and Transfiguration (M324) for St Joseph's, Stokesley. Assistant: William Stewart helped Brangwyn with various projects until the latter's death. | |
| 1947 | January has septic toe and septic fingers. | |
| 1948 | Produces 33 etchings for The Book of Job (B1305) . Probably President Society of Graphic Art. | |
| 1949 | Self portrait arrives at Uffizi Gallery, Florence, 49 years after requested. | |
| 1950 | The William Morris Gallery and Brangwyn Gift, Walthamstow is officially opened by Clement Atlee PM. | |
| 1952 | Brangwyn is first living artist to be accorded retrospective at RA (470 works). Becomes Honorary Member of The Royal Watercolour Society. | |
| 1956 | Dies at The Jointure on 11 June, cause of death being senile arteriosclerosis. Lizzie Peacock was at his side. Interred at St Mary's Cemetry, Kensal Green. Left £39,162 before tax. |