Louis Osman (1914 – 1996)
Proposal for Roborough Village, Devon
One pencil on tracing paper, other two reproductions with hand colouring
50 x 88 cm
Provenance: artist’s studio sale
Louis Osman (30 January 1914 – 11 April 1996) was an architect, artist, goldsmith, silversmith and medallist. Few people matched his creations as a goldsmith, and consequently he was chosen to make the crown for the Investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1968. Many of his other works are in public collections in the UK and worldwide.
After Hele’s school in Exeter he studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture – part of University College London – from 1931. Also attending the Slade, he left the Bartlett being awarded the top first, which brings with it the Donaldson Medal of the RIBA.
Following the war he was busy as an architect, works including for Westminster Abbey, and Lincoln, Exeterm, Ely and Lichfield Cathedrals. Staunton Harold Church in Ashby de la Zouch for the National Trust, and of course his own folly, the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire – which was given to the National Trust in 1981 when Osman was not able to keep the tenancy any longer.
These architectural sketches show Osman’s ambitious plans for Roborough Village in Devon, dating from 1965. Cited as ‘a huge, visionary scheme for Lord Roborough’s model village striding across Dartmoor’, in Osman’s obituary, this series of drawings highlights different facets of Osman’s vision. The first, with its neat colours, focusses on the placement of businesses and estate offices, while the third focusses on the geographical contours of the landscape and the logistics of his idea.
Condition: Generally very good; the odd handling marks etc. and a tiny tear to pencil drawing approx 3mm long
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