DOI Heft:
No.9 (December, 1893)
DOI Artikel:The Birmingham Municipal School of Art, with many illustrations of its students' work, I
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17189#0107
The Birmingham Municipal School of Art
DESIGNED BY SIDNEY HEATH
sordid ugliness, or to lead them higher in the natural notions, but to discover the latent impulses of his
order of things.' Had a black-country manufacturing pupils. For example, seeing one day a student
centreproduced the labouring with scant success over a design upon
former result, or paper, he bade him leave his drawing and model
such a city as Ox- the subject in clay. The astonished pupil, who
ford the latter, we professed entire ignorance of the plastic art, obeyed,
should have at once found, to his surprise, the new material sympathetic,
been able to detect and prospered accordingly. Such a course is
the motive power, surely worthy the attention of all teachers of Art.
Birmingham is, As Mr. Taylor discerns with the critical insight
however, a town of of an expert the tendency of the untrained mind
some distinction to form, colour, line, or invention of pattern, so
set on a hill amid he endeavours to strengthen the naturally strong
charming country, points, and fit the worker with tools and materials
and is in no way an to suit his temperament; in other words, he obeys
unpicturesque place the favourite theory of mathematicians, and pro-
for a great business ceeds along the line of the least resistance. What-
centre. Its reputation, indeed, is for modernity ever vigour and individuality the School possesses
and shrewd' business endeavour, so possibly it is —and compared with others connected with South
the mental atmosphere which drives its Art students Kensington it shows more personality than any of
to the realm that never was, nor shall be, the king- them—it no doubt owes to this habit of its principal,
dom of fairyland and legend. The awards at South Kensington, recorded else-
Whether a lecture by Mr. Walter Crane or an where, show that despite its independent action it
exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite works, or some un- has gained a very large proportion of the annual
explained cause, determined the first experiments honours for work done on the old lines, besides
in this particular branch of Art, it was probably no scanty appreciation at the Exhibition of the
the aptitude displayed by the scholars that caused Arts and Crafts and other places where the aver-
its head-master to develop it on their chosen age Art student is not often represented,
lines. For as exhibited work by Mr. Taylor proves, For Birmingham, loyal as it may be to its centre,
he cannot be classed with the cockeyed-Primitives, does not obey blindly the routine of South Ken-
as their enemies love to style them. One would sington. There you will see drawings from the
place him with the School that bears the con- model, the antique and still-life, executed broadly
veniently flexible title "Naturalistic"; but personal with crayons on brown paper, the tedious stipple
observation of Mr. Taylor's teaching shows that upon white being only produced in sufficient quan-
his object is not to insist on his own preconceived tity to satisfy official requirements.
T,.
. Mayor &SRayor ess $B\rmin$\iam
(J\I^ man a^d^-i^awWPdTkeR S
to meeTtfte: (Se&cfoers °f"frze Bimin&li&ri
„ €lemm"t&ry£c"hools...
\% p.n CovviciCTjovse..
'_a.Netcrly aNSwer \s rgqvesTecl.
T\ec epTlon.
AN INVITATION CARD BY GEORGIE CAVE FRANCE
95
DESIGNED BY SIDNEY HEATH
sordid ugliness, or to lead them higher in the natural notions, but to discover the latent impulses of his
order of things.' Had a black-country manufacturing pupils. For example, seeing one day a student
centreproduced the labouring with scant success over a design upon
former result, or paper, he bade him leave his drawing and model
such a city as Ox- the subject in clay. The astonished pupil, who
ford the latter, we professed entire ignorance of the plastic art, obeyed,
should have at once found, to his surprise, the new material sympathetic,
been able to detect and prospered accordingly. Such a course is
the motive power, surely worthy the attention of all teachers of Art.
Birmingham is, As Mr. Taylor discerns with the critical insight
however, a town of of an expert the tendency of the untrained mind
some distinction to form, colour, line, or invention of pattern, so
set on a hill amid he endeavours to strengthen the naturally strong
charming country, points, and fit the worker with tools and materials
and is in no way an to suit his temperament; in other words, he obeys
unpicturesque place the favourite theory of mathematicians, and pro-
for a great business ceeds along the line of the least resistance. What-
centre. Its reputation, indeed, is for modernity ever vigour and individuality the School possesses
and shrewd' business endeavour, so possibly it is —and compared with others connected with South
the mental atmosphere which drives its Art students Kensington it shows more personality than any of
to the realm that never was, nor shall be, the king- them—it no doubt owes to this habit of its principal,
dom of fairyland and legend. The awards at South Kensington, recorded else-
Whether a lecture by Mr. Walter Crane or an where, show that despite its independent action it
exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite works, or some un- has gained a very large proportion of the annual
explained cause, determined the first experiments honours for work done on the old lines, besides
in this particular branch of Art, it was probably no scanty appreciation at the Exhibition of the
the aptitude displayed by the scholars that caused Arts and Crafts and other places where the aver-
its head-master to develop it on their chosen age Art student is not often represented,
lines. For as exhibited work by Mr. Taylor proves, For Birmingham, loyal as it may be to its centre,
he cannot be classed with the cockeyed-Primitives, does not obey blindly the routine of South Ken-
as their enemies love to style them. One would sington. There you will see drawings from the
place him with the School that bears the con- model, the antique and still-life, executed broadly
veniently flexible title "Naturalistic"; but personal with crayons on brown paper, the tedious stipple
observation of Mr. Taylor's teaching shows that upon white being only produced in sufficient quan-
his object is not to insist on his own preconceived tity to satisfy official requirements.
T,.
. Mayor &SRayor ess $B\rmin$\iam
(J\I^ man a^d^-i^awWPdTkeR S
to meeTtfte: (Se&cfoers °f"frze Bimin&li&ri
„ €lemm"t&ry£c"hools...
\% p.n CovviciCTjovse..
'_a.Netcrly aNSwer \s rgqvesTecl.
T\ec epTlon.
AN INVITATION CARD BY GEORGIE CAVE FRANCE
95