DOI Heft:
No. 336 (March 1921)
DOI Artikel:Constable, W. G.: A painter of birds: C. W. Simpson, R.I., R.B.A.
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21392#0111
A PAINTER OF BIRDS
BLACK BACKED GULLS." BY
CHARLES W. SIMPSON, E.I., R.B.A.
that his work was transcript; but he
was content to take his material more
or less as he found it on the ground, and
make his design fit his facts rather than
the other way round. Recently, how-
ever, study of Japanese and Chinese art
stimulated the desire to use natural
forms as the basis of conscious and
deliberate design. To this end Mr.
Simpson has directed his latest work.
Several examples are here reproduced,
and a representative exhibition has
recently been held at the Laing Art
Gallery, Newcastle-on-Tyne, where one of
his paintings has been acquired for the
permanent collection. a 0 a
This work of Mr. Simpson's deserves
the most careful study. Throughout, the
greatest attention has been paid by the artist
to the rhythm and balance of line and mass.
Spontaneous and unpremeditated though
these pictures may appear, close ex-
amination shows how carefully every
detail has been considered in relation to
the general design. Take, for example,
in Silver Morning the way in which the
gulls are placed in relation to the sunlit
water, and the darker mass of the boat
and its reflection. But there is no
obvious mark of conscious arrangement,
which as a rule only secures design at
the expense of vitality. As the result
of long study, the artist has been able to
weld his materials—birds, water, ship-
ping—into a harmonious and balanced
pattern, without losing their structure and
essential character. There may still be
room for further investigation of problems
of colour and atmosphere; but Mr.
Simpson has gone so far that there is
little doubt he will go further. At present
he is almost without a rival in the par-
ticular field he has chosen to explore.
The work of Joseph Crawhall was slighter
in conception and execution, and was less
influenced by conscious design. Perhaps
the most interesting comparison is with
the Swedish painter, Bruno Liljefors, to
whom Mr. Simpson is very close in aim
and method. The development of the
two artists has been quite independent,
but their achievements are alike grounded
in the love and study of animal life, and
the use of a Western technique for a
treatment of design inspired by Eastern
Art. W. G. Constable.
95
BLACK BACKED GULLS." BY
CHARLES W. SIMPSON, E.I., R.B.A.
that his work was transcript; but he
was content to take his material more
or less as he found it on the ground, and
make his design fit his facts rather than
the other way round. Recently, how-
ever, study of Japanese and Chinese art
stimulated the desire to use natural
forms as the basis of conscious and
deliberate design. To this end Mr.
Simpson has directed his latest work.
Several examples are here reproduced,
and a representative exhibition has
recently been held at the Laing Art
Gallery, Newcastle-on-Tyne, where one of
his paintings has been acquired for the
permanent collection. a 0 a
This work of Mr. Simpson's deserves
the most careful study. Throughout, the
greatest attention has been paid by the artist
to the rhythm and balance of line and mass.
Spontaneous and unpremeditated though
these pictures may appear, close ex-
amination shows how carefully every
detail has been considered in relation to
the general design. Take, for example,
in Silver Morning the way in which the
gulls are placed in relation to the sunlit
water, and the darker mass of the boat
and its reflection. But there is no
obvious mark of conscious arrangement,
which as a rule only secures design at
the expense of vitality. As the result
of long study, the artist has been able to
weld his materials—birds, water, ship-
ping—into a harmonious and balanced
pattern, without losing their structure and
essential character. There may still be
room for further investigation of problems
of colour and atmosphere; but Mr.
Simpson has gone so far that there is
little doubt he will go further. At present
he is almost without a rival in the par-
ticular field he has chosen to explore.
The work of Joseph Crawhall was slighter
in conception and execution, and was less
influenced by conscious design. Perhaps
the most interesting comparison is with
the Swedish painter, Bruno Liljefors, to
whom Mr. Simpson is very close in aim
and method. The development of the
two artists has been quite independent,
but their achievements are alike grounded
in the love and study of animal life, and
the use of a Western technique for a
treatment of design inspired by Eastern
Art. W. G. Constable.
95