DOI Heft:
No. 16 (July, 1894)
DOI Artikel:A studio of design: an interview with Mr. Arthur Silver
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17190#0133
A
A Studio of Design
STUDIO OF DESIGN. AN IN- " By a11 means' that is the obiect for which 1
TERVIEW WITH MR. ARTHUR
SILVER.
work, and the motive which it is the object of the
a one-colour design the " silver studio
At the first glance one saw that the
material a designer accumulated round him was
as typical as that gathered together by a pictorial
artist. Photographs after Botticelli and other old
masters, panels of lustrous enamels and gesso-
work, scraps of fine fabrics, and books of Japanese
drawings, with large schemes of original patterns
in every stage of progress, hung on the walls of the
large studio which occupies the lower floor of a
house given up wholly to pattern-planning.
" I came here," I said, " to discuss commercial
design, and to hear your opinion on the matter."
" I distinctly object to the phrase commercial
design," replied Mr. Silver, " if by that term you
mean drawing to order, for payment, in accordance
with any whim of the manufacturer. If by it,
however, you imply the production of schemes
that are practical in their form and colour, and
adapted peculiarly to the material for which they
are planned, then the adjective conveys no in-
dignity."
" Let us call it practical design, then, as
opposed to merely theoretical fancies." studio system to develop. When I found, as
,, every successful designer must
needs discover sooner or later,
that one pair of hands could not
execute the orders which fell to
my share, I attempted to bring
together a body of men and
establish a studio which would'
be capable of supplying designs
for the whole field of fabrics and
other materials used in the
decoration of the house."
" Had such a system been
worked before ? "
" No doubt many Continental
artists had found it answered
their purpose. Indeed, at that
time the large amount of com-
missions sent abroad aroused in
me an intense desire to discover
whether such an establishment
could not be worked in England
to counteract this habit and lead
to the employment of British
designs. In proof of its success,
I may say that now commissions
are coming to England from the
a ceiling paper the " silver " studio Continent."
117
A Studio of Design
STUDIO OF DESIGN. AN IN- " By a11 means' that is the obiect for which 1
TERVIEW WITH MR. ARTHUR
SILVER.
work, and the motive which it is the object of the
a one-colour design the " silver studio
At the first glance one saw that the
material a designer accumulated round him was
as typical as that gathered together by a pictorial
artist. Photographs after Botticelli and other old
masters, panels of lustrous enamels and gesso-
work, scraps of fine fabrics, and books of Japanese
drawings, with large schemes of original patterns
in every stage of progress, hung on the walls of the
large studio which occupies the lower floor of a
house given up wholly to pattern-planning.
" I came here," I said, " to discuss commercial
design, and to hear your opinion on the matter."
" I distinctly object to the phrase commercial
design," replied Mr. Silver, " if by that term you
mean drawing to order, for payment, in accordance
with any whim of the manufacturer. If by it,
however, you imply the production of schemes
that are practical in their form and colour, and
adapted peculiarly to the material for which they
are planned, then the adjective conveys no in-
dignity."
" Let us call it practical design, then, as
opposed to merely theoretical fancies." studio system to develop. When I found, as
,, every successful designer must
needs discover sooner or later,
that one pair of hands could not
execute the orders which fell to
my share, I attempted to bring
together a body of men and
establish a studio which would'
be capable of supplying designs
for the whole field of fabrics and
other materials used in the
decoration of the house."
" Had such a system been
worked before ? "
" No doubt many Continental
artists had found it answered
their purpose. Indeed, at that
time the large amount of com-
missions sent abroad aroused in
me an intense desire to discover
whether such an establishment
could not be worked in England
to counteract this habit and lead
to the employment of British
designs. In proof of its success,
I may say that now commissions
are coming to England from the
a ceiling paper the " silver " studio Continent."
117