A Renaissance man

Frank Brangwyn is often thought of as just a mural painter, in fact he was involved in virtually every aspect of the arts; believing that art was part of everyday life, he designed furniture, ceramics, glass, stained glass and metalwork.

Brangwyn was noted for the brilliant use of colour in his oil paintings and was widely acclaimed in international exhibitions in the early years of the twentieth century. The watercolours range from the detailed studies of his native Bruges to the Turneresque studies in colour of the Lot valley.

His numerous etchings, lithographs and wood engravings brought his work to a mass audience, particularly through the posters he designed for the London Underground and for the War Effort in the Great War.

Brangwyn gained an international reputation, his works were collected not only in Europe but also in Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa and the USA.

An exhibition of his work was held in 1924 at 184 Queen's Gate, London and was opened by the British Prime Minister, James Ramsey MacDonald.

He was the first British artist to be given a retrospective at the Royal Academy during his lifetime (1952). Brangwyn was chosen by Siegfried Bing to decorate the exterior of the Galerie L'Art Nouveau in Paris and to paint large mural panels for the interior (1895).

Vienna, Tiffany and Rockerfeller

He was also invited to exhibit at the first Vienna Secession in 1898. Other exhibitors included Gustav Klimt, Alphonse Mucha and J A McNeill Whistler.

In 1899 Brangwyn designed stained glass panels for Louis Comfort Tiffany. Brangwyn was also one of three muralists chosen by the Rockefeller family to decorate the concourse of the RCA (now GE) Building in New York (1930-34). The other two painters were Diego Rivera and José Maria Sert.

During his lifetime Brangwyn produced over 12,000 works including: 20 murals, 950 oil paintings, 1500 drawings and watercolours, 500 etchings, 160 lithographs, 300 wood engravings and woodcuts, 40 posters for commercial organisations, 80 war posters, 130 bookplates, 40 interiors, and architectural designs, 240 furniture designs, 17 carpets and tapestries, 20 ceramic designs, five jewellery designs and 20 stained glass panels and windows.