Original design for a stained glass window featuring Florence Nightingale.

NIGHTINGALE, Florence - WHITEFRIARS GLASS; HOGAN, James Humphries (artist).

Edité par London: James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Limited, 1927

A fine presentation watercolour for a stained glass triptych celebrating the life and work of Florence Nightingale. It was designed by James Humphries Hogan for renowned glass house James Powell & Sons, known as Whitefriars, for the parish church of Kidderminster, a town which historically cultivated ties to Nightingale. The left panel features a vignette titled "Florence Nightingale and the dying soldier", the centre the social reformer holding a lamp, and the right a scene captioned "The Boulogne fisherwoman carrying the luggage", the latter a reference to the enthusiastic welcome Nightingale and her nurses received on landing in Boulogne in 1854. The choice of Nightingale as a person to commemorate in Kidderminster Parish Church is likely a nod to the influential Stretton family, who were leading figures in the town's medical history. In addition to operating their own practice, they were instrumental in establishing the Kidderminster Infirmary in 1870-1. Various family members held positions at said infirmary, as medical officers at the workhouse, and as presidents of the Kidderminster Medical Society. Samuel (1832-1920), Lionel (1860-1943), and John Stretton (1888-1952) were known as the town's three consecutive "honorary surgeons". Samuel served in the Crimean War at Renkioi Hospital before returning to Kidderminster, and spent the rest of his life advocating for sanitation reform in the town, a subject on which Nightingale, of course, was particularly vocal. James Powell & Sons (1834-1980), was the longest running glass house in Britain. "The growth in church building in the 19th century and the resulting demand for stained glass led the company to set up a stained glass department in 1844. The turnover of this department doubled between 1852 and 1872. Key designers and artists commissioned to design windows included Edward Burne-Jones and Henry Holiday. The company also accepted orders from artists and designers including Louis Davis, Henry Holiday, and William Blake Richmond to manufacture their designs. A key commission executed by Powells was the manufacture of mosaics for St Paul's Cathedral. Powells was the only large stained glass company to manufacture opus sectile (opaque stained glass, made from remelting waste glass). In 1919 the company converted from a partnership to a limited company and was renamed James Powell and Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd. In 1923 the company moved from Whitefriars to Wealdstone, Middlesex. The stained glass department closed in 1973 and the glassworks in 1980" (V&A Archives). The company's order book indexes, held in the V&A archives, confirm the artist of this particular window as James Humphries Hogan (1883-1948), eventual managing director of the company. British gallery Abbott and Holder, who has dealt with a number of presentation watercolours by James Powell & Sons, have handled another design for the same window in Kidderminster Parish Church, also dated 1927, featuring Joan of Arc. Window design no. 6864/391-2, Powell order book indexes, V&A archives. Ink and watercolour drawing on single sheet of thick white paper (sheet size 425 x 305 mm), single rule frame, hand lettered in ink upper left "The Parish Church Kidderminster." "No 3", lettered below the drawing "Scale 1' to the foot" and "8' 0' to floor", lettered lower right "James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Limited, 100 Wigmore St. W.1.", vertical pencil guides faintly visible. Pencil annotation in upper left corner, "6864/291 1927", following Whitefriars's dating convention. Surface somewhat soiled, a few brown marks but the drawing itself largely clear, pinholes in margins. Overall in very good condition. Presented window-mounted, Abbott and Holder gallery label on mount verso, in light oak frame with conservation acrylic glazing. N° de réf. du vendeur 146450

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : Original design for a stained glass window ...
Éditeur : London: James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Limited, 1927