ART & ARTISTS: Frank Brangwyn

Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Frank Brangwyn - part 6

Frank Brangwyn (b. Bruges, 13 May 1867: d. Ditchling, Sussex, 11 June 1956) was a British painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and designer, the son of a Welsh architect who specialised in church furnishings, and who was working in Belgium at the time of Frank’s birth. Between 1882–84 he served an apprenticeship with William Morris, and like his master he was active in a variety of fields. He was an Official War Artist during the First World War, and was considered one of the finest draughtsmen of the day; a skilful etcher and lithographer, who also made designs for a great range of objects (furniture, textiles, ceramics, glassware, and jewellery) however, he became best known for his murals. His most famous undertaking in this field was a series of large panels on the theme of the British empire, commissioned by the House of Lords.

All images © Estate of Sir Frank William Brangwyn.

This is part 6 of a 10-part series on the works of Frank Brangwyn:

1919 People viewing a Mastadon skeleton
black crayon on white paper 25 x 35.5 cm
Danum Gallery, Library and Museum, Doncaster, UK

1919 Ruins of War Series
Dixmude, Ruins
lithograph on cream wove paper 46.8 x 65.4 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1919 Ruins of War Series
Church of St. Martin, Ypres
lithograph on paper 45.5 x 66 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1919 Ruins of War Series
Canadians Entering Cambrai
lithograph on paper 43.8 x 66 cm (image)
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1919 Ruins of War Series
Arrass
ink on wove paper 47.2 x 61.5 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa

1919 The Statue
lithograph on paper 29 x 28 cm

1919 The Market Stall
oil on canvas 146 x 160 cm
Royal Academy of Arts, London

1919 Sister Ursula, Bruges
woodcut on paper 26.2 x 27.2 cm

c1919 Barge on the Canal de Damme, Bruges
colour woodcut print on paper 10.7 x 24.1 cm
V&A Museum, London

1920 The Beer Shop
etching on paper 53.5 x 38.2 cm
Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand

1920 Portrait of Count Albert de Belleroche
wood engraving on paper 38.7 x 43 cm (image)

1920 Billingsgate Fish Porters
etching on paper 38.1 x 51.9 cm (sheet)
Royal Museums, Greenwich, London

1920-21 The Entombment, study for a stained glass window
red, black and white chalk on wove paper 72 x 72 cm
Royal Academy of Arts, London

1920-21 The Entombment, study for a stained glass window
black and white chalk on buff wove paper c.71 x 84 cm
Royal Academy of Arts, London

1920-22 Jesus meets his Mother, drawing for a
Station of the Cross
charcoal, brown chalk and crayon on wove paper 75 x 109.5 cm
Royal Academy of Arts, London

c1920-24 Jesus falls for the second time
charcoal and red chalk on buff wove paper 74.7 x c.104.5 cm
Royal Academy of Arts, London

c1920 The Galleon
marquetry 72 x 75 cm

c1920 Italian town
marquetry panel inlaid woods in a carved frame 96 x 77.5 cm
V&A Museum, London

c1920 Female study
conte crayon on paper 50.8 x 38.1

c1920 Chainmakers
oil on canvas (size not given)
William Morris Gallery, London

early 1920s? The Deposition
charcoal and red chalk on wove paper 75.2 x 130 cm
Royal Academy of Arts, London

c1920s St. Veronica
black, white and brown chalk on blue wove paper
76.6 x 57.5 cm
Royal Academy of Arts, London

c1920s-30s Jesus falls below the Cross
black and red chalk on wove paper 73.5 x 102 cm
Royal Academy of Arts, London

1921 The Chairing of Edmund Burke in 1774

This painting is a small-scale sketch for an extremely large version painted as part of a decorative scheme of scenes from Bristol’s history for the Grand Council Chamber of the Old Council House, Bristol.

1921 The Chairing of Edmund Burke in 1774
oil on panel 54.3 x 44.8 cm
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, UK*

1921 The Bridge, Subiano
oil on canvas 64.5 x 80.5 cm
Birmingham Museums Trust, UK

1921 Ditchling (East Sussex)
etching on paper 39.3 x 51 cm
Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand

1921 Buttress of the Pont Neuf
etching on paper 90.2 x 56.4 cm
V&A Museum, London

1923 Via Dolorosa
etching on paper 37.8 x 35.3 cm

1923 Verger
sanguine study on paper 43,2 x 30.5 cm

1923 The Rabbis
etching on paper 32.7 x 43 cm

1923 St Martin’s Bridge, Toledo

Spanning the Tajo River, the St Martin’s bridge leads to the town of Toledo in central Spain. Frank Brangwyn was fascinated by the dramatic appeal of ancient Roman bridges and he etched many throughout Europe. This etching was shown at the ‘New Zealand South Seas Exhibition’, held in Dunedin in 1925/1926.

1923 St Martin’s Bridge, Toledo
etching on paper 65.5 x 75.7 cm
Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand

1923 Return from the Hunt
etching on paper 35.5 x 38 cm

1923 Arch of the Pont Neuf, Paris
etching on wove paper 55 x 33.8 cm (plate)

1924 Two old Beggars
lithograph on paper 36 x 28 cm

1924 Scotland East Coast Route: LNER Railway
colour lithograph poster 153 x 100 cm

1924 Porta Capua, Naples
etching, drypoint, plate-tone and spit-biting 15.1 x 14.7 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

1924 Ponte Rotto, Rome
etching on paper 53 x 71 cm

1924 Old bridge, Hankow
drypoint, plate-tone and spit-biting 17.4 x 14.9 cm (image)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

1924 La Porta Capua
etching, sandpaper ground on cream wove paper
44.2 x 34.3 cm
Queensland Art Galley of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia

1924 Gate of St Vincent, Avila
etching on paper 19.6 x 17.3 cm
Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand

1924 Enrico Canziani
oil on cardboard 50 x 63.5 cm
Birmingham Museums Trust, UK

c1924 Workmen
oil on board 53.4 x 70.5 cm

c1924 Study for the Empire
panels red chalk on soft white machine-wove paper
42.3 x 40 cm
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

c1924 Man Drilling Marble
ink on paper 24 x 33 cm

c1925 From my window at Ditchling
oil on board 66 x 73.6 cm
Jerwood Collection

1925-28 A Tank in Action

Brangwyn had Welsh parents and his work was much appreciated in Wales. This painting is one of several war scenes from the rejected first scheme for the Royal Gallery in Westminster Palace. These decorations were commissioned by Lord Iveagh as a memorial to peers and their relatives killed in the First World War. In 1927–1933 the artist painted a second scheme illustrating the British Empire which was also rejected and subsequently installed in the Brangwyn Hall, a Swansea Guildhall.