This is an attractive colour woodcut made by the celebrated British / Australian printmaker, John Hall Thorpe (1874 - 1947).
Thorpe moved to London from his native Australia in 1902. He was a member of the Grosvenor School of Art, famed for their dramatic and colourful woodcuts. He attended Heatherley’s School of Art and by 1919 had begun to create these beautiful floral colour woodcuts which made him famous. Thorpe set up a studio on Redcliffe Square and it was here that he created most of his woodcuts between 1920 and 1927.
He held his first one-man show of his colour woodcuts in London in 1918 and his success was immediate. His brightly coloured floral woodcuts were an international phenomenon during the 1920’s and 30’s. Thorpe became a household name in the field of home decoration and was a strong influence on fashions in wallpaper design. Over time his work fell out of fashion but a revival from the 1980s has renewed interest in his work and his floral works are now keenly sought after.
This one is called Cowslips - and shows a vase of pretty yellow flowers cascading over the sides of a bright blue globular vase. It dates to the mid-1920s (as annotated on the old label on the reverse).
It is signed in pencil on the lower right margin.
Dimensions: The image size is 16.5 x 15 cm. The frame size is 36 x 34 cm
References: King, R. Hall Thorpe: Coloured Woodcuts, Sydney 1980: 10, pp 38, ill. 39.
It is in good antique condition and has been recently framed by a professional framer with a fresh cream-coloured double-stepped window mount and a simple black wood frame, as photographed. It is so lovely and ready to hang straight on your wall.
The framer has kept the original label from the old frame and has attached this to the back of the new frame, as photographed. My price takes into account the cost of the new frame and fine double mount.
In the UK - it would cost £10 to send to you with Royal Mail Special Next Day Delivery. This would be applied to your order at the checkout.