Studio: international art (84.1922)

THE WATER-COLOURS OF MR.
CYRIL FAREY. BY GORDON HOLT

IT may well be that a keen eye can
i generally detect an architect's water-
colour from one made by an artist pure
and simple, but to acknowledge that such
differentiation is, at times, made, does not
necessarily imply a lack of imagination
or of breadth in the architect's lesser pro-
fessional work. As a fact, many architects,
when sketching in the open, for instance,
are able to emancipate themselves from
that tautness of vision, that dryness of
execution which, after all, might be ex-
pected of men dealing far more with the
exact side of their art than with the more
liquid and lyrical aspect of it. In other
words, if an architect makes more one-
eighth or half-inch scale drawings than
sketches it does not preclude him from
opening his eye to the world in a fresh
way, or from wielding the brush with a
fresh touch. The water - colours of
Guerin, Walcot, Horsnell and Dieulafoy
are there to prove this. But not theirs
alone, for let us bear in mind that of the
younger men, there is, in England alone,
a plentiful supply. 0000

Mr. Cyril Farey is one of them, and as
with most of them, a tremendous amount of
energy and hard work has gone a long
way to strengthen natural gifts. Starting
with an early training at the Architectural
Association and at the School of the Royal
Academy, Mr. Farey secured, in rapid
succession, first the Architectural Associa-
tion's Travelling Studentship (1909), then
the Royal Academy School's Bronze Medal
(1911), and subsequently three awards
made by the Royal Institute of British
Architects—Hon. Mention (1910), Tite
Prize (igi3),and Soane Medallion (1914).
This amazing spell of success was broken
by the war, but no sooner had he exchanged
his khaki uniform for the overall, than Mr.
Farey relapsed into his former habits and
made off with the R.A. School Gold
Medal and Travelling Studentship (1921).
These last three awards are prizes of con-
siderable weight and consequence ; they
indeed hold a strange and powerful
fascination with architectural students,
and to carry off the lot is therefore a
notable achievement. 000

312

Now, whatever may be said against this
competitive system among students, there
is one advantage which it indubitably
possesses : it does train the mind to think
quickly and coherently ; it also does train
the hand to draw in a swift fashion not only
well, but often with brilliance, because
you cannot go on year after year tackling
a great variety of intricate problems and
expressing the dictates of the intellect
upon the subject under consideration
without formulating sound graphic methods
to bring them home. Such methods must
tell quickly and sans ambages ; they must
convey the message with which the mind
alone struggled, at first, but which has,
ultimately, to be brought out and crystal-
lised in the most convincing way. And
that is one of the advantages of this com-
petitive system. Soon, the mind sees how
sound it is to be clear—and simple. 0

" FERDINAND BRIDGE, VIENNA"
WATER-COLOUR BY CYRIL A. FAREY