DOI issue:
No. 61 (April, 1898)
DOI article:White, Gleeson: The work of Heywood Sumner, 1, sgraffito decorations
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18391#0180
The Work of Heywood Sumner
Co. Kildare (1890); The
Parish Church, Sunbury
(1892) ; a church at Crook-
ham, near Winchneld
(1893) ; St. Agatha's, Ports-
mouth, with a mosaic semi-
dome and walls in sgraffito
(1895); All Saints', Ennis-
more Gardens (1897); St.
Michael and All Angels,
Brereton, near Rugeley,
(1897); and St. Edmund's
School Chapel, Canterbury
(1897-98).
The prevailing impres-
sion which a great deal of
modern ecclesiastical decor-
ation yields is of make-be-
lieve. You feel that the artist
wished to be impressive
sgraffito decoration in llanvair church by heywood sumner but jg 0nly pedantically
arch?eologic ; and his audi-
ence is happy if they are
the whole is of unequal interest—considered wholly treated as learned folk who can appreciate his
as pattern—it gains a larger value, and escapes the research. Or he tries to be naive, to be inten-
terribly respectable level of too much modern tionally anachronistic, to do of set purpose what
ecclesiastical decoration. The panels illustrated, the old Dutch masters did ignorantly, to dress.
" O ye Mountains," " O ye Beasts and Cattle," " O Eastern people in mediaeval robes, and to copy
ye Servants," " O ye Whales and all that swim in the the missal image or the altar-piece of days when
Waters," even on the reduced scale, will show his Cook was not and Mudie circulated no illustrated
method of solving the problem. One feels sure he books of travel. They think the archaism
would not claim that it is
the only possible way, any
more than we should claim
it for him. To reach the
average intelligence of the
average person, it is not
unwise to select a little
child as the highest mean
average—a child without
guile, without pretence.
In planning his work so
that it tells a story which
an inmate of the nursery
can read as it runs, Mr.
Sumner seems to show not
merely his wit, but his
faith.
Here, before considering
his work in sgraffito as a
whole, we may summarise
his record so far. After
Llanvair,with its Benedict'te,
comes Claire Church, Neas, sgraffito decoration in llanvair church by heywood sumner
159
Co. Kildare (1890); The
Parish Church, Sunbury
(1892) ; a church at Crook-
ham, near Winchneld
(1893) ; St. Agatha's, Ports-
mouth, with a mosaic semi-
dome and walls in sgraffito
(1895); All Saints', Ennis-
more Gardens (1897); St.
Michael and All Angels,
Brereton, near Rugeley,
(1897); and St. Edmund's
School Chapel, Canterbury
(1897-98).
The prevailing impres-
sion which a great deal of
modern ecclesiastical decor-
ation yields is of make-be-
lieve. You feel that the artist
wished to be impressive
sgraffito decoration in llanvair church by heywood sumner but jg 0nly pedantically
arch?eologic ; and his audi-
ence is happy if they are
the whole is of unequal interest—considered wholly treated as learned folk who can appreciate his
as pattern—it gains a larger value, and escapes the research. Or he tries to be naive, to be inten-
terribly respectable level of too much modern tionally anachronistic, to do of set purpose what
ecclesiastical decoration. The panels illustrated, the old Dutch masters did ignorantly, to dress.
" O ye Mountains," " O ye Beasts and Cattle," " O Eastern people in mediaeval robes, and to copy
ye Servants," " O ye Whales and all that swim in the the missal image or the altar-piece of days when
Waters," even on the reduced scale, will show his Cook was not and Mudie circulated no illustrated
method of solving the problem. One feels sure he books of travel. They think the archaism
would not claim that it is
the only possible way, any
more than we should claim
it for him. To reach the
average intelligence of the
average person, it is not
unwise to select a little
child as the highest mean
average—a child without
guile, without pretence.
In planning his work so
that it tells a story which
an inmate of the nursery
can read as it runs, Mr.
Sumner seems to show not
merely his wit, but his
faith.
Here, before considering
his work in sgraffito as a
whole, we may summarise
his record so far. After
Llanvair,with its Benedict'te,
comes Claire Church, Neas, sgraffito decoration in llanvair church by heywood sumner
159