DOI Heft:
No. 33 (December, 1895)
DOI Artikel:Baldry, Alfred Lys: On the work of J. Walter West
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17295#0157
The Work of J. Walter West
important canvas on which he had attempted the and in all sincerity he devoted himself with much
impossible with most commendable courage, but success to work of this type. Yet he has become,
without quite succeeding in making it convincing, in spite of this conviction that the faculty of design
His next stage seems likely to be a not unnatural was denied to him, a decorator, and one of more
divergence into purely subjectless and impersonal than ordinary capacity and resource. The know-
motives, into those studies in simple decoration for ledge of himself which he so oddly lacked was
which suggestions are to be found in abundance forced upon him by accident. As a freak, rather
all around, and than which no artist can desire than with any serious intention, he designed a
worthier material. title-page which was at the time reproduced in
the pages of this magazine. It showed
'^Wf.\.':\f ( | his black-and-white work is now of
''Jur/^a^m this order—designs for book-covers,
^vfc^wKm* ' *jCEn title-pages, decorative chapter-head-
V^^Kvn ■cTT^k'^^j ings, and for the many adornments
tyi'^S^".' ^y^l^^A' which are indispensable to the
4,' \ ' ^u^^-i-- ^^FvS^nII ^ )i modern book. He has even di-
^ 'y7V*&*£*e*' J gressed on several occasions into
'"v * ^^^^^^f^W ' pictorial advertisements, and has
U <^K\1' made many charming contributions
J wm jSjzlJ1* to the array of attractive illustration
(A /■ whh which the manufacturer and
\J \ retailer diversify the pages of the
/ \ magazines. He has, it is true, not
/ \ yet designed a poster, but that no
A irj^^^JL^A^ <vyju^fU*4* doubt will come.
To sum up: there is this one de-
ILLUSTRATION TO POEM " SHADOWLAND " BY J. WALTER WEST finJte fact Qf which prQof appears in
(By permission ofthe Editors of the" Pall Mall Magazine") aii tnat Mr. West attempts—that he
is by nature and training an artist.
He has already gone through most of these Everything he produces is marked by the same keen
stages in his black and white. He took up illus- sense of beauty, and by the same strong regard for
trations, as so many others have done, as a kind pure aesthetics. In his pictures, his drawings, his
of second string to painting, and treated it simply, slighter studies of figures, faces, flowers, and con-
literally, and in a spirit of pure narration. At first ventional forms, his notes of poses and jottings for
the idea of decorative drawing, of design in black future reference, he never fails to select what is
and white, seemed to him a delightful dream which most worthy of record, and never allows himself to
he would never realise because he lacked the be led away by any craving for mere eccentricity,
decorative instinct. For him, black and white He has by study acquired a facility of handling
meant story-telling merely, the clothing of some one and a mastery of technical details which enable
else's ideas in a kind of pen-and-ink hieroglyphs, him to clothe his observations and to give form to
144
important canvas on which he had attempted the and in all sincerity he devoted himself with much
impossible with most commendable courage, but success to work of this type. Yet he has become,
without quite succeeding in making it convincing, in spite of this conviction that the faculty of design
His next stage seems likely to be a not unnatural was denied to him, a decorator, and one of more
divergence into purely subjectless and impersonal than ordinary capacity and resource. The know-
motives, into those studies in simple decoration for ledge of himself which he so oddly lacked was
which suggestions are to be found in abundance forced upon him by accident. As a freak, rather
all around, and than which no artist can desire than with any serious intention, he designed a
worthier material. title-page which was at the time reproduced in
the pages of this magazine. It showed
'^Wf.\.':\f ( | his black-and-white work is now of
''Jur/^a^m this order—designs for book-covers,
^vfc^wKm* ' *jCEn title-pages, decorative chapter-head-
V^^Kvn ■cTT^k'^^j ings, and for the many adornments
tyi'^S^".' ^y^l^^A' which are indispensable to the
4,' \ ' ^u^^-i-- ^^FvS^nII ^ )i modern book. He has even di-
^ 'y7V*&*£*e*' J gressed on several occasions into
'"v * ^^^^^^f^W ' pictorial advertisements, and has
U <^K\1' made many charming contributions
J wm jSjzlJ1* to the array of attractive illustration
(A /■ whh which the manufacturer and
\J \ retailer diversify the pages of the
/ \ magazines. He has, it is true, not
/ \ yet designed a poster, but that no
A irj^^^JL^A^ <vyju^fU*4* doubt will come.
To sum up: there is this one de-
ILLUSTRATION TO POEM " SHADOWLAND " BY J. WALTER WEST finJte fact Qf which prQof appears in
(By permission ofthe Editors of the" Pall Mall Magazine") aii tnat Mr. West attempts—that he
is by nature and training an artist.
He has already gone through most of these Everything he produces is marked by the same keen
stages in his black and white. He took up illus- sense of beauty, and by the same strong regard for
trations, as so many others have done, as a kind pure aesthetics. In his pictures, his drawings, his
of second string to painting, and treated it simply, slighter studies of figures, faces, flowers, and con-
literally, and in a spirit of pure narration. At first ventional forms, his notes of poses and jottings for
the idea of decorative drawing, of design in black future reference, he never fails to select what is
and white, seemed to him a delightful dream which most worthy of record, and never allows himself to
he would never realise because he lacked the be led away by any craving for mere eccentricity,
decorative instinct. For him, black and white He has by study acquired a facility of handling
meant story-telling merely, the clothing of some one and a mastery of technical details which enable
else's ideas in a kind of pen-and-ink hieroglyphs, him to clothe his observations and to give form to
144