WELCOME to the definitive Frank Brangwyn site, providing information about one of England's most talented artists - a muralist, oil painter, watercolourist, draughtsman, etcher, lithographer, wood engraver and designer of interiors, furniture, carpets, ceramics and stained glass.
The tile logo is based on one of the stencil designs Brangwyn created for the exterior of Siegfried Bing's Galeries L'Art Nouveau, Paris, in 1895.
Brangwyn in his Temple Lodge studio, 1904,
photograph courtesy Liss Fine Art
UNIQUE! Libby has produced the first ever Catalogue Raisonne in the history of the world to be published as a DVD. This may sound a little over the top but critics are describing the work as a TRIUMPH! So I think we're allowed a little brag! For more information see Recommended Reading in BOOKS or Stained Glass in ART.
What you can find on this site:
Click on ART to find details of the Catalogue Raisonne project, sample signatures (including a brief note about fakes) and details of all the disciplines with which Brangwyn was involved - bookplates, Brangwyn Portfolio, murals, oils, works on paper, prints, decorative arts, stained glass, Stations of the Cross, war posters and works by other artists 'after' Brangwyn. Each sub section is as well illustrated as possible (without flouting copyright laws) and each illustration is accompanied by a detailed catalogue entry. BIOGRAPHY gives an overview of the man and a detailed tabulated biography, whilst myths debunks the wobbly stories which have developed over the years. BOOKS lists books illustrated by Brangwyn together with a list of recommened reading and where one can source the books. COLLECTIONS provides lists of collections worldwide, permanent displays, Brangwyn's gifts to museums and art galleries plus up to date information on exhibitions. The copyright owner is David Brangwyn who can be contacted by clicking COPYRIGHT, and the family tree expert is his wife Margaret whose email can be found on the same page. LINKS does just that - connects with related sites. Academic rigour is the basis of all the information provided, based on contemporary and primary sources. ENJOY!
Who started the site:
The site was started in 2000 by the art historian Libby Horner who is acknowledged as the world's leading authority on Brangwyn. She is compiling the Catalogue Raisonne of all Brangwyn's work, writes about, lectures on, researches, lives and breathes the artist, curated the most comprehensive exhibition ever held of the artist's work in 2006 (Leeds, Bruges and Swansea) and is consultant for the 2010 National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Brangwyn exhibition. If you need more detailed information, have any information to add or correct, anecdotes, lists of acquisitions, original works by Brangwyn or correspondence relating to the artist, please let her know - just click CONTACT. Libby also writes authentication reports on Brangwyn works for both auction houses and individual collectors (supplying title, date, full catalogue entry and her Catalogue number) - charges available on request.
Libby and Brangwyn (bust by Albert Toft, c1938, Z2145)
Why it is called the Brangwyn Bazaar:
In 1997 Eric Steven Raymond published a seminal article titled The Cathedral and the Bazaar, comparing the differing approaches of Microsoft and Linux to software. Without being presumptuous, I'd hope that this site is, like Linux, something of a forum where ideas can be exchanged and the product improved. There's a secondary connotation in that Brangwyn loved depicting Middle Eastern markets - bazaars.
The present site was rejigged in 2009. Latest update: 24/8/2010, Permanent displays in Collections