DOI Heft:
No. 109 (April, 1902)
DOI Artikel:Some work by the students of the Liverpool School of Art
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19875#0185
Liverpool School of Art
houses, the necessity of being able to handle them
well will be felt at times by every designer of
original talent; and for this reason alone a thorough
mastery of their characteristics should form a
part of the curriculum of all art schools. This
knowledge, moreover, need not interfere at all with
a systematic encouragement of fresh ideas ; there
is no reason that it should be in the least hostile
to the growth of individualism in the students'
exercises in design. As the most original writers
have always been great readers—and frequently
great plagiarists, like Moliere—so the original
craftsmen of to day may achieve their ends and
yet be learned in the past history of design and
decoration.
But the fact best worth noting here is this : that
the art schools, with but few exceptions, are
progressing along the right lines, and some among
them are now doing for the arts and crafts what was
done for them during the Renaissance by the
design for a clock -by violet e. brunton
famous guilds, that is to say, they are forming
distinctive ways of handling, distinctive styles.
This is one reason why The Studio has so often
called attention to the students' work done in
Glasgow, Birmingham, and Liverpool. The efforts
thus made known are not always satisfactory ; some-
times, indeed, they are self-assertive and somewhat
eccentric; but they have, happily, a developing
character of their own, and young talents need
time in which to mature. Time, rather than the
pruning-knife of criticism, will cut away their wild
shoots.
In thinking of the Liverpool School of Art, and
of others like it, we cannot but wish that they
would carry their usefulness a step nearer to that
of the ancient guilds. They might easily form
themselves into self helping associations, keeping
in touch with their former pupils, meeting
regularly for the discussion of artistic sub-
jects ; and last, but not least, binding
themselves to give assistance to any
student or former pupil, who, through ill-
fortune, should need help. This good-
modelled design for a newel post by agnes d. stevens fellowship is met with in the statute of the
172
houses, the necessity of being able to handle them
well will be felt at times by every designer of
original talent; and for this reason alone a thorough
mastery of their characteristics should form a
part of the curriculum of all art schools. This
knowledge, moreover, need not interfere at all with
a systematic encouragement of fresh ideas ; there
is no reason that it should be in the least hostile
to the growth of individualism in the students'
exercises in design. As the most original writers
have always been great readers—and frequently
great plagiarists, like Moliere—so the original
craftsmen of to day may achieve their ends and
yet be learned in the past history of design and
decoration.
But the fact best worth noting here is this : that
the art schools, with but few exceptions, are
progressing along the right lines, and some among
them are now doing for the arts and crafts what was
done for them during the Renaissance by the
design for a clock -by violet e. brunton
famous guilds, that is to say, they are forming
distinctive ways of handling, distinctive styles.
This is one reason why The Studio has so often
called attention to the students' work done in
Glasgow, Birmingham, and Liverpool. The efforts
thus made known are not always satisfactory ; some-
times, indeed, they are self-assertive and somewhat
eccentric; but they have, happily, a developing
character of their own, and young talents need
time in which to mature. Time, rather than the
pruning-knife of criticism, will cut away their wild
shoots.
In thinking of the Liverpool School of Art, and
of others like it, we cannot but wish that they
would carry their usefulness a step nearer to that
of the ancient guilds. They might easily form
themselves into self helping associations, keeping
in touch with their former pupils, meeting
regularly for the discussion of artistic sub-
jects ; and last, but not least, binding
themselves to give assistance to any
student or former pupil, who, through ill-
fortune, should need help. This good-
modelled design for a newel post by agnes d. stevens fellowship is met with in the statute of the
172