Frank Brangwyn. A Rare Desk Originally Designed for the 1931 Pollard Exhibition

Frank Brangwyn. E Pollard and Co.

A rare desk originally designed for the 1931 Pollard Exhibition where it can be seen in a room setting in the original photographs from 1931. See images.

This desk was on display at the Scarborough Museums Trust's exhibition 'Brangwyn 1867-1956: Man of the People', in 2016. Co-curated by Dr Libby Horner, she focuses on prominent themes within the collection of 'the lives of man, at work, at rest and in times of distress'.

Born in Bruges and raised in London, Brangwyn grew up in a bubble of creativity. His father was a renowned Architect, winner of a silver medal in the Paris Exhibition, and his two siblings thrived in the field of Interior Design out in the US.

Brangwyn is not the result of an extensive Arts education but in fact a young man whom in the early stages of his artist life was exposed to three immensely inspiring and engaging designers of the time- A H Mackmurdo, William Morris, and Siegfried Bing. Their discovery of Brangwyn back in 1882, lead to collaborative and group work at the Century Guild, where shortly after he was taken under the wing of Morris to practice in his workshops at Queen Square on Flemish tapestries.

It didn’t go unnoticed that there were two fundamental themes that echoed throughout this experiential learning; the value of drawing from nature, and hence the value of a work ethic.

A notable stepping stone in Brangwyn’s professional practice and platform to the public, was the mural he was commissioned to execute at the age of 28 in 1895 at Galeries L’Art Nouveau in Paris, owned by supporter and mentor Bing. From this, a confident designer flourished. His designs broadened and began materialising in a range of mediums, from textiles through to glass and jewellery, to furniture for floors and decorative pieces for walls.

Only a year later, Brangwyn married a lady named Lucy Ray, whom was to be his partner managing Temple Lodge, a Georgian house in Hammersmith, and later The Jointure House in Ditchling.

During his travels through English fishing villages and communities, up until 1913, he was able to mature his collection of drawing material by experiencing the world in pieces; France, Italy, Morocco and an array more.

By the end of Brangwyn’s life, his extensive collection consisted of more than 20 mural commissions, 685 paintings, of which a further 265 are not dated, not forgetting etchings, lithographs, and wood engravings, exceeding 1,000.