John Taylor Arms
- Gargoyles of the Gothic Era -
John Taylor Arms
- Gargoyles of the Gothic Era -
John Taylor Arms, born in 1887, didn’t begin pursuing art until five years into a career in architecture. The Princeton University graduate was gifted an etching kit in 1915 from his wife, Dorothy, and his path was forever altered While continuing his work as an architect and later directing his own architectural firm, Arms steadily established a reputation as one of America’s leading intaglio printmakers, producing around 441 prints.
Though Arms was especially known for his grand and elegant renderings of churches and other noted architecture throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, he showed as much interest in the smaller details frequently overlooked by the passersby.
Arms was fascinated by what he termed “the Gothic Spirit” in early Gothic architecture: the gargoyles and chimeras – also known as “grotesques” for their often-frightful appearance – carved from stone and placed along ledges and corners of masonry walls. Gargoyles, the more familiar specimens, function as waterspouts, while chimeras are ornamental, though are seen by some as guardians against evil spirits. They all range stylistically from the frightening to the humorous.
In 1920 Arms began the “Gargoyle Series,” which would eventually total forty-one etchings. In order to obtain the ideal view, he would reportedly climb out onto the façade of a building and sketch the specimen from a precarious perch. Some of these images were rendered in miniature, measuring less than three inches on the longest side. No matter what the size, each work is intricately detailed, capturing the weathering and the expressions of each gargoyle or chimera with great clarity.
John Taylor Arms died in 1953, leaving behind a legacy of remarkable imagery, still unmatched.
The Annex Galleries acquired the first fourteen images in the “Gargoyle Series” which we are highlighting in this on-line flipbook catalogue and have provided links to our website for the unsold images which includes more information, including prices.
The Gargoyle and His Quarry, Notre Dame
Etching, 1920; 7-1/8 x 5-1/4 inches platemark; pencil signed and editioned as Artist’s Proof, from a listed edition of 75 impressions; printed by Frederick Reynolds on cream laid paper that measures 11-7/8 x 7-7/8 inches; reference: Fletcher 90; Gargoyle Series #1; Arms 92; Library of Congress (LOC) 128. Inventory number 24549.
A Gargoyle, Lincoln Cathedral
Etching, printed chine collé, 1920; 1-7/8 x 3-1/8 inches platemark; pencil signed and dedicated: “To Frederick Reynolds / John Taylor Arms – 1922”; from a listed edition of 50 impressions; state i/i; printed by Frederick Reynolds on cream china paper supported on cream wove paper that measures 6-1/8 x 9-1/2 inches; reference: Fletcher 92; Gargoyle Series #2; Miniature Series #3; Arms 94; LOC 129. Inventory number 24550 This impression was from the personal collection of the printer, Frederick Reynolds.
Watching People Below, Amiens Cathedral
Etching, 1921 / printed 1937; 4-7/8 x 8-1/8 inches platemark; pencil signed and dated “1921”; also inscribed “I” in lower left and “SP” (David Strang impression) on lower sheet edge; from a listed edition of 75 impressions; printed by David Strang on antique-white ‘Unbleached Arnold 1934’ wove paper with partial watermark that measures 10 x 12-1/8 inches; reference: Fletcher 102; Gargoyle Series #3; Arms 103; LOC 520. Inventory number 24551.
Guardians of the Spire a.k.a. Amiens Cathedral Number Two
Etching, 1921 / printed 1938; 6-3/4 x 9-7/8 inches platemark; pencil signed and dated “1921”; also inscribed “SP 1938” (David Strang impression) along lower sheet edge; from a listed edition of 75 intended impressions with only 45 known impressions (10 printed by Frederick Reynolds in 1921, 35 printed by David Strang in 1938); printed by David Strang on blue-gray tinted laid paper, with FJ Head & Co watermark, that measures 9 x 15-1/2 inches; reference: Fletcher 102; Gargoyle Series #4; Arms 104; LOC 150. Inventory number 24552
A Chimera, Rheims
Etching, 1921; 4-3/8 x 2-3/8 inches platemark; pencil signed and dated “1921”; also pencil inscribed “Personal collection” in lower right; from a listed edition of 50 impressions; printed by Frederick Reynolds on fine, ivory laid paper that measures 6-1/8 x 3-7/8 inches; state i/i; reference: Fletcher 105; Gargoyle Series #5; Miniature Series #6; Arms 419; LOC 61. Inventory number 24553.
The Frog of the Tour, Charles VIII, Amboise
Etching, 1921; 7-7/16 x 5-7/16 inches platemark; pencil signed, dated “1921” and editioned 25/40; printed by Frederick Reynolds on ivory wove paper that measures 12-5/8 x 9-3/4 inches; reference: Fletcher 110; Gargoyle Series #6; Arms 112; LOC 119. Inventory number 24554
Notre Dame Gargoyle, Through Wind and Weather
Etching, 1922; 7-1/8 x 8 inches platemark; pencil signed, lower right; pencil inscribed in an unidentified hand, lower sheet edge: “Parmi la pluie et le soleil / through wind and weather”; from a listed edition of 75 impressions; printed by Frederick Reynolds on ivory laid paper with a ‘Handmade’ watermark, that measures 9-1/8 x 11-3/8 inches; reference: Fletcher 118; Gargoyle Series #7; Arms 120; LOC 482. Inventory number 24555.
The Gothic Spirit a.k.a. A Gargoyle; A Gothic Spirit
Etching, 1922; 11-3/4 x 7-3/16 inches platemark; pencil signed; from a listed edition of 100 impressions (30 impressions printed in 1937-’38); printed by Frederick Reynolds on ivory Imperial Japon wove paper that measures 17-5/8 x 11-1/8 inches; reference: Fletcher 120; Gargoyle Series #8; Arms 122; LOC 147. Inventory number 24556.
Sentinels a.k.a. Sentinels in the Night
Etching, 1922; 4-5/16 x 7-7/16 inches platemark; pencil signed and dated “1922”; from a listed edition of 100 impressions (35 impressions printed in 1937-’38); state ii/ii; printed by Frederick Reynolds on gray-green tinted wove paper that measures 7 x 9 inches; reference: Fletcher 123; Gargoyle Series #9; Arms 125; LOC 314. Inventory number 24557.
A Gargoyle of Amiens
Etching, 1923; 5 x 6-7/8 inches platemark; pencil signed and editioned as “Artist’s Proof”; signed in the plate, lower left; from outside of the listed edition of 110 impressions; state ii/ii; printed by Frederick Reynolds on ivory watermarked Arches laid paper that measures 9-3/4 x 12-1/4 inches; reference: Fletcher 134; Gargoyle Series #10; Arms 137; LOC 130. Inventory number 24558.
La Penseur de Notre Dame
Etching, 1923; 12-5/8 x 10-1/8 inches platemark; pencil signed and dated “1923”; signed in the plate, lower left; from a listed edition of 150 impressions (35 impressions printed in 1937-’38); state i/ii; printed by Frederick Reynolds on ivory wove paper that measures 16-1/2 x 12-1/2 inches; reference: Fletcher 136; Gargoyle Series #11; Arms 139; LOC 267. Inventory number 24559
Ugly Devil a.k.a. Gargoyle Studies; Ugly Devil Eyes; Eyes
Etching, 1924; 3-3/16 x 3-1/8 inches platemark; pencil signed and dated “1924”; titled “Eyes” in the plate, lower right; from a listed edition of 100 impressions; printed by Frederick Reynolds on ivory wove paper that measures 6-3/4 x 6-1/8 inches; reference: Fletcher 148; Gargoyle Series #12; Miniature Series #10; Arms 150; LOC 131. Inventory number 24560.
Devil of Notre Dame
Etching, 1929; 8 x 5-1/2 inches platemark; pencil signed and dated “1929”; pencil inscribed “Collection A” in lower left and titled along lower sheet edge; signed and dated in the plate, upper right; proof, from outside of the edition of 251; state i/ii; printed by the artist and Peter Platt on antique, gray-tinted laid ledger paper that measures 13-3/4 x 8-1/4 inches; reference: Fletcher 222; Gargoyle Series #13; Arms 224; LOC 88. Inventory number 24561.
Une Chimére
Etching, 1947; 3 x 2-1/2 inches platemark; pencil signed and dated “1948”; inscribed with the Roman numeral II in lower left; monogrammed “JTA” in the plate in the lower right; from the listed edition of 226 impressions; state ii/ii; printed by David Strang on ivory wove paper that measures 7-1/2 x 6-1/8 inches; reference: Fletcher 408; Gargoyles Series #14; Miniature Series #38; Arms 419; LOC 62. Inventory number 24562.
