Studio: international art (17.1899)

The Work of W. Reynolds-Stephens

another year he hardened his heart and prepared
for the Academy a fresh illustration of his theories
about the necessity for an intimate connection
between a work of art and its setting, forming
at the same time a resolution that he would be
represented in the exhibition by nothing but the
complete expression of his ideas. What he chose
as a subject for the exercise of his ingenuity
was a piece of furniture designed for the display,
under proper conditions, of the small bronze
panel which he had exhibited in 1896. He con-
structed a stand of carved wood, a column with a
revolving top, and carrying a swing arrangement
which would admit of the relief being adjusted at
any angle that might allow it to be seen to advant-
age in a room with ordinary lighting. This stand,
with its enrichments in bronze and copper, was a
decorative object of very considerable beauty, as
well as an excellently devised piece of construction,
possessing in high degree the artistic quality of
fitness for its destined purpose; and fortunately its
right to consideration as a complete achievement
proved great enough to convince the Academy
authorities. The artist, however, has not this
Spring thrown any strain upon the prejudices of
the Council, for what he has contributed to the
show at Burlington House, a statuette of Sir
Launcelot and the Nestling, is not in any wayopposed
to the traditions of the place, although it is, at the
same time, a very worthy example of craftsmanship
and of remarkable quality as an exercise in the
technicalities of metal work-
ing.

To study the craftsman-
ship of Mr. Reynolds-
Stephens it is, however,
best to turn to his many
achievements that have
appeared in the Arts and
Crafts Exhibitions, and to
examine the specimens of
domestic and ecclesiastical
decoration which he has
provided in many places.

From these an even more
suggestive insight into his
variety of resource can be
obtained than from the list
of Academy works with
their contrasts of method
and subject. They show
him not only as an execut-
ant who has mastered the
most intimate details of his

profession and has the judgment to apply them
each in the right way, but they also reveal the
fertility of his mind and the wide range of his
imaginative faculties. In his love of symbolism and
the use he makes of explanatory emblems in his
designs is seen his love of poetic imagery, im-
pelling him to carry to completeness his mental
inventions with the same minute care that he
bestows upon the perfecting of the tangible object
to which his hand gives form.

No better instance of this combination of
qualities could be quoted than the mantelpiece
which he has created as a setting for his picture
Summer. Every part of this piece of work has
its particular appropriateness and explains some
part of his intention. The motive of the pic-
ture is suggested in the floral forms introduced
in the moulding of the mantelshelf, the roses
typify the light of summer, the poppies drowsy
heat, the sweet pea the fragrance of the air;
while below the details of the fireplace have their
special significance, emphasising the sacredness
of the hearth and pointing the meaning of the
motto adopted, “ Here build with human thoughts
a shrine.” The canopy over the grate is intro-
duced as a symbol of shelter, beneath which men
may meet for thoughtful conversation, the little
trees'each springing from a heart are emblems
of thought issuing from hearts cheered to open by
the warmth of the fire, and the standards support-
ing the canopy are formed in the shape of a St.

CUSHION IN APPLIQUE-WORK DESIGNED BY W. REYNOLDS-STEPHENS

EXECUTED BY MRS' REYNOLDS-STErHENS

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