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Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Proposal details for St John's Smith Square (1953)
Watercolour 74 x 46 cm Signed in red crayon lower right. Details from Louis Osman's proposal for the post-war, post-bombing redevelopment of St John's church on Smith Square. Osman had envisioned an interior with a ceiling painted by Picasso; sadly, this project was never executed. The church was bombed in 1941 and gutted by fire; subsequently, the church was a ruin open to the sky for over 20 years. It was saved by Lady Parker of Waddington, who formed the Friends of St John's in 1962 to raise money and restore the church to its former glory - a reconstruction in the style of the church's original architect, Thomas Archer. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. This is likely a portfolio piece from his time studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and is as such a piece of architectural history as well as a beautiful Osman design. Osman was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group) by the Bartlett, and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: generally very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Louis Osman FRIBA (1914 - 1996)
Proposal for St John's Smith Square (1953)
Watercolour 62 x 37 cm Signed in red crayon lower right. Louis Osman's proposal for the post-war, post-bombing redevelopment of St John's church on Smith Square. Osman had envisioned an interior with a ceiling painted by Picasso; sadly, this project was never executed. The church was bombed in 1941 and gutted by fire; subsequently, the church was a ruin open to the sky for over 20 years. It was saved by Lady Parker of Waddington, who formed the Friends of St John's in 1962 to raise money and restore the church to its former glory - a reconstruction in the style of the church's original architect, Thomas Archer. Osman was as much an artist as an architect. This is likely a portfolio piece from his time studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and is as such a piece of architectural history as well as a beautiful Osman design. Osman was awarded a First Class degree and the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA (for the best result in his year group) by the Bartlett, and then went on to the Slade School of Art. He subsequently trained with Sir Albert Richardson - we also have several Richardson works in our collection. After the war, Osman busied himself as an architect. His work included contributions to Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeter, Ely, and Lichfield Cathedrals, Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his folly: the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, now a National Trust property. At Canons Ashby he established a workshop and had a team of silversmiths and goldsmiths working for him. In 1976 he made the gold enamelled coffin that holds the copy of the Magna Carta on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Condition: generally very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Fahye Design Consultants for Cunard
Queen Elizabeth 2 - Staircase G
Gouache and lettraset 59 x 83 cm A fabulously mid-century design for a staircase in the QE2, a luxury ocean liner operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Glamorous passengers in black tie mingle on the staircase landing before dinner. Fahye's gouache designs illustrate the mid-century modern aesthetic of the golden age of ocean travel. The Queen Elizabeth 2 was designed in Cunard's offices in Liverpool and Southampton and built in Clydebank, Scotland. She was retired in 2018 and is now a floating hotel in Dubai. Condition: very good; mounted to foamboard. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Fahye Design Consultants for Cunard
Queen Elizabeth 2 - Midships Lobby
Gouache and lettraset 59 x 83 cm A fabulously mid-century design for a lobby in the QE2, a luxury ocean liner operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Glamorous passengers in black tie mingle in the lobby before dinner. A sunken conversation pit marks the mid-century interior style of the ship. The Queen Elizabeth 2 was designed in Cunard's offices in Liverpool and Southampton and built in Clydebank, Scotland. She was retired in 2018 and is now a floating hotel in Dubai. Condition: very good; mounted to foamboard. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)
Greek Roman Detail
Pencil 51 x 72 cm A mid-century design for a column in the neoclassical style. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: very good; mounted to board. Slight even age toning to paper. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist. -
S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)
Design for Modernist Seaside House
Watercolour 27 x 40 cm Signed lower left and inscribed to reverse. Clapham's designs for a modernist war memorial to be erected in a training area at an army base. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist. -
S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)
Puslinch House
Pencil 55 x 77 cm An architectural drawing of Puslinch House, a fine Christopher Wren-style Georgian mansion in Devon. The estate was owned by the Poslylinch, Mohun, and Upton families before being taken over by the Yonge family in 1718, following the marriage of John Yonge and Mary Upton. The Queen Anne House mansion was built on the occasion of their wedding and an earlier mediaeval house still exists in the grounds as a country cottage. During the war, the house was used as a voluntary hospital for wounded officers. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: generally good; a little spotting, backed to board by artist and signed to board lower right. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist. -
S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)
St Paul's Cathedral
Watercolour 51 x 68 cm Signed lower right. This architectural watercolour is a panegyric to the English Baroque grandeur of St Paul's Cathedral. Three small figures climb the steps, emphasising the size and magnificence of the architecture around them. St Paul's was built between 1675 and 1711 by Sir Christopher Wren. The foundation stone was laid in 1675 when Wren was 43 years old, and the building works were completed 35 years later by Wren's son. Its construction was part of a major rebuilding programme in the city after the Great Fire of London. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: generally very good; a couple of spots. Mounted to board by artist and signed to board. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist. -
S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)
Puslinch House
Watercolour 49 x 70 cm A beautifully-coloured watercolour of Puslinch House, a fine Christopher Wren-style Georgian mansion in Devon. The estate was owned by the Poslylinch, Mohun, and Upton families before being taken over by the Yonge family in 1718, following the marriage of John Yonge and Mary Upton. The Queen Anne House mansion was built on the occasion of their wedding and an earlier mediaeval house still exists in the grounds as a country cottage. During the war, the house was used as a voluntary hospital for wounded officers. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: generally very good; a little faint spotting to top right corner. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist. -
S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960)
A Modernist Church
Pencil 29 x 43 cm A design for an octagonal church in the modernist mid-century style. Clapham was an architect based in Stockwell in London. Condition: generally very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by the artist. -
Out of stock
Gerald Mac Spink (flourished 1920 - 1940)
Kelham Hall Chapel II
Watercolour 29 x 24 cm Signed 'G Spink' lower left. A depiction of the magnificent chapel at Kelham Hall, a sumptuous Gothic Revival Victorian country house designed by George Gilbert Scott. The artist highlights the soaring, cavernous proportions of the chapel and the delicate beauty of its focal point: a raised crucifix which also acts as an altar screen. There have been three halls at Kelham over the centuries, all built by the Manners Sutton family, whose links with Nottinghamshire go back to the 12th century. The first Kelham Hall was built shortly after the end of the Civil War for Robert Sutton, 1st Lord Lexington. It was destroyed by fire in 1728 and rebuilt for Bridget, the Duchess of Rutland, the daughter of the 2nd Lord Lexington. Bridget Sutton had married John Manners, the 3rd Duke of Rutland. Today's Kelham Hall was built by the revered Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott after the second Hall was destroyed by fire in 1857. Between 1903 and 1973 the hall was used an Anglican theological college for the Society of the Sacred Mission, which built the domed chapel in 1928. The Hall is now a sought-after wedding venue. Spink was a skilled artist, illustrator, and designer who produced a series of posters in the inter-war period for companies including the London Underground, Southern Railways, LNER, Hawker Engineering, and British Steel. He won a prize in 1933 from the Imperial Institute for his poster artwork. He also worked as an aeronautical engineer in Kingston-on-Thames for Hawker Engineering; his greatest achievement was the creation of the 'Squanderbug', a 500cc racing car which he built in 1947, and which races even to this day. Provenance: the artist's estate. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other architectural views. -
Henry Winstanley (1644 - 1703)
Rycote House, Oxfordshire
Engraving 19 x 44 cm Rycote House, Oxfordshire, was a Tudor (and later Georgian) country house. The house was built in the 16th century, and in 1920, after a period of decline, the extensive stables were converted into the present Rycote House. Condition: generally very good; some age toning. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other architectural drawings. -
Meadows-Frost (possibly Sir John Meadows Frost [1856 - 1935])
Charterhouse School Chapel
Watercolour 37 x 31 cm Signed 'Meadows-Frost' and dated. A watercolour of Charterhouse's magnificent gothic chapel. Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the chapel was consecrated in 1927 as a memorial to nearly 700 Carthusians who died in the Great War. It is the largest war memorial in England. Sir John Meadows Frost was the Mayor of Chester from 1913 to 1918. The following record, likely referring to Sir John's eldest son, also appears in the Charterhouse Register of 1872-1910; this watercolour was executed in 1894. It is likely that one of the family painted it, and any more information as to which individual it was would be gratefully received: "Frost, John Meadows, t). 22 April, 1885: i g. of John Meadows Frost, of Chester; (Girdlestoneites); Left C.Q. 1903. Ch. Ch., Oxf.; B.A. — In firm of Messrs. F. A. Frost & Sons (Millers). tn. 1 910, Olivia, I "U. of Henry Shelmerdine, of Southport. J. M. Frost, Esq., junr., Holmfield, Westminster Park, Chester." Another son, Thomas Laurence Frost, was educated at Charterhouse between between 1901 and 1907, spending 3 years with the Charterhouse Cadet Corps, followed by Clare College, Cambridge. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Crest Mill, Castleton, Rochdale, Lancashire (1906)
Watercolour 56 x 96 cm Crest Mill in Castleton, Rochdale, was built in 1906. It was designed by Sir Philip Sidney Stott, the English architect, civil engineer and surveyor. Crest Mill was demolished long ago. The mill engines were sent to the United States, but the ship carrying them sank in the Atlantic. Scott's mill chimneys all had two distinctive bands towards the top. Stott was born in Chadderton, Lancashire, and joined the family firm of architects upon leaving school. In 1883, he set up his own business, P. S. Stott, specialising in the design of cotton mills - he designed 22 mills in Oldham and 55 elsewhere in the county, plus many more in Europe, India and the Far East, amounting to 124 in total. He became a baronet in 1920, and was elected a Fellow of the Society of Architects and a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was a significant figure in Lancashire mills, being responsible for 40% of the spindles laid down in Oldham between 1887 and 1914, and 44% of the increase in Lancashire's spinning capacity between 1887 and 1925. He retired a wealthy man having accumulated shares in the mills he designed. Condition: generally very good; some slight staining marks to mount, and possible faint time staining in areas. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more architectural perspectives. -
Edmund J Thring (1906 - 1985)
Design for St Nicholas House, High Street, Bristol
Gouache 46 x 54 cm Signed lower left and inscribed 'Alec F French & Partners, Architects, Bristol' (home to the Commercial Union Group and remodelled in 1959 by Alec French and partners). An architectural drawing of St Nicholas House, a 1930s Art Deco building on the corner of St Nicholas Street and High Street in the heart of Bristol. It was originally built as a banking headquarters, and is recognisable for its curved facade. Today St Nicholas House is a co-working space owned by The Office Group; the interiors have been remodelled in an Art Deco-inspired style, in honour of the building's architectural origins. Edmund J Thring was an architectural perspectivist who produced over 2,500 perspectives in his lifetime. He spent much of the Second WorId War in the Photographic Reconnaissance Interpretation Unit at RAF Nuneham Park, interpreting aerial photographs and making models. In 'A History of Architectural Model Making in Britain', David Lund notes that Thring was the chief instructor for the hundred or so recruits in the model-making department. He was described as ‘a sweetly patient man with a merciless eye and inflexible standards of quality’ who pushed his recruits hard. The team made over four hundred models for the D-Day invasion, and a thousand further models over the rest of the war. Pilots bombing German warships in Norwegian fjords found maps almost useless, so carried cardboard models of the topography in their cockpits. Thring also served with the Observer Corps, scanning the English Channel from the Sussex coast. Following the war, he began taking commissions for architectural perspectives (there were plenty of these available on account of the extensive postwar rebuilding works). We are grateful to the artist’s daughter for providing this information. Condition: generally very good, mounted to board, old time-staining to very margins under mount area. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for our other architectural drawings.
