INNOVATIVE FORMS – THE LETTERING OF JOHN SKELTON

Flowing Alphabet, 1994, slate – see page 79 – photo by ARL

Contents PAGE 6 Foreword by Helen Mary Skelton 10 Introduction by Jonathan G Skelton 14 ‘A key influence, certainly for my generation’ by Ewan Clayton 19 A rich legacy: John Skelton’s letter carving by Tom Perkins 62 Recollections by Paul Wehrle 65 Reflection by Sarah More 81 A Perspective by Tom Sargeant

PAGE YEAR COMMISSIONED WORKS PAGE YEAR COMMISSIONED WORKS 23 1955 Designs for Church Lecterns (cont.)

24 1958 Elizabeth & Bridget Meek Memorial 60 1977 Field Marshals Memorials 25 1959 Baron & Lady Wester Wemyss 66 1979 Chichester Cathedral Font

Memorial 70 1981 Mountbatten Exhibition Plaque 26 1963 Thames Valley Police Headquarters 71 1984 Valentine Kilbride Headstone 27 1963 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust 72 1985 Edward James Ledger 30 1963 The Pillans Memorial 73 1986 Tu Es Petrus Inscription 31 1963 Dorothy Packman Headstone 74 1989 John Clare Memorial 32 1965 Cannock Chase German Military 75 Canvas Alphabet

Cemetery 75 Linklater Pavilion Inscription 35 1965 Dr Linton-Bogle Memorial 76 1980 Withstand The Beginnings 36 1967 Paperweight Design for Design 77 1990 Revolving Celtic Alphabet

Research Unit 78 1994 Pat & Noëlle Gwynne Headstone 38 1968 European Resistance Movement 79 1994 Flowing Alphabet Sampler

Memorial 80 1998 Crafts Council Double-Sided Alphabet 39 1968 Light Fitting for a Church 40 1968 The Stations of the Cross 83 NON-COMMISSIONED LETTERING 41 1970 John Ireland Memorial 87 MAP DESIGN 42 1970 Ivor Novello Memorial 91 SCULPTURES 43 1970 E.V. Knox Memorial 95 OTHER WORKS 44 1971 Joan Palmer Headstone 96 LOST WORKS 45 1971 Mortimer & Morrison Memorial 98 PROPOSED WORKS 46 1971 Parham Park Memorials

47 1972 Theophilus & Dorothy Davies Memorial 100 LOCATION MAP OF WORKS 48 1972 The Dean’s Chapel Altar 102 Biography of John Stephen Skelton MBE 49 1972 Skelton’s Press Signs 103 The Art Workers’ Guild Portrait 50 1973 Sir Winston Churchill Floor Tablet 104 Acknowledgements 51 1973 The Indian Army Memorial 51 1973 The Women’s Auxiliary Corps India

Floor Tablet 52 1974 Liquid Paper Corporation Sign 54 1974 Kathleen Coleridge-Taylor Headstone 54 1974 Tessa Donovan Headstone 55 1975 George Eliot Memorial 56 1975 David Jones & Alice Hyne Memorial 57 1976 Ernest & Norah Shepard Headstone 58 1976 Heygate Family Memorial 59 1977 Field Marshal Montgomery Memorial

Pebble beach stone with oil paint – 21/8" x 31/8" x 11/8" – photo by ARL

5

INNOVATIVE FORMS • THE LET TERING OF JOHN SKELTON

Foreword by Helen Mary Skelton John Skelton’s daughter, and his third apprentice, 1973–76

T

his exhibition was conceived around seven years ago, when Myrtle, John’s widow, Jonathan, my older brother, and I came to Snape Maltings to discuss the possibility with Harriet Frazer, who is the founder member of Memorials by Artists and The Lettering Arts Trust. In 2002, three years after my father’s death, we had put together a small exhibition for Ditchling Museum, East Sussex, showing a range of lettering and sculpture drawings. However, in recent years it has felt timely to explore my father’s large body of lettering work and to bring to the attention of fellow lettercutters his contribution to lettering design. This idea has been greatly encouraged by master lettercutters, Gary Breeze, Tom Perkins, John Neilson and Chris Elsey.

The exhibition covers work from 1958–98 and seeks to show how John’s lettering developed from the more classical forms of the 1950s to the less formal, yet disciplined, characters of the later years. It has been curated by the family with the help of Natalie Oborn and staff members of The Lettering Arts Trust who are hosting this exhibition. This publication shows drawings, rubbings, sketches and photographs of the work on display in the exhibition, but we have also made reference to pieces that cannot be shown due to their location or ownership. We have included essays by the calligrapher Ewan Clayton, master lettercutter Tom Perkins, John’s second apprentice Paul Wehrle, an assistant Sarah More, and I have also asked Tom Sargeant to contribute. He was trained under the Lettering Arts Trust apprenticeship scheme and is now a fully fledged lettercutter working in Sussex.

A few unrealised projects are included too, as their designs often illustrate John’s innovation as well as his imaginative expertise. These pieces would not otherwise be seen and the drawings are often beautiful objects in themselves.

Some works referred to have regretfully been destroyed or have little or no information to accompany them. We are keen to fill in the gaps and would be grateful for any comments or information leading to more complete documentation.

The John Skelton archive is housed at The Keep, the East Sussex Record Office. The collections of drawings in the archive date from the late 1940s to 1999 and include plans for lettering and sculpture work. The archive is based on work listed in ‘The Black Book’ which is where my father recorded most jobs, whether commissioned or otherwise. However, the collection is incomplete. Some of the drawings in the exhibition come from The Keep and some from family and friends who have loaned drawings and artworks. My research has revealed a prolific output, some years listing 50 jobs, with ongoing exhibitions and sculptures being created alongside complex commissions. Although jobs were given a number and usually a client name, there are many that bear no other information. Either the

6

drawings were in such poor condition that they were disposed of, or they were sold or given to the client. Some pieces were repeatedly photocopied and others have no photographic record (that we have found thus far). However, considering the volume of work produced it is not surprising that some recording was overlooked, and indeed it is remarkable that we have as much as we do.

We are grateful to The Keep for their expert advice and for assistance in scanning large pieces and for the conservation of some items on display. There is a great deal more work to be carried out to ascertain other details, for example what material has been used.

We could not have mounted this exhibition without the help and encouragement from all the staff at The Lettering Arts Trust.

REJOICING IN THE ACT OF MAKING : MY TIME AS AN APPRENTICE

I

was formally apprenticed from 1973–76 after a six-month trial period. It was funded by what was then known as the Crafts Advisory Committee. At the end of that time I was presented with an indenture scroll by my father in the presence of the family solicitor to add gravitas to the occasion. It was inscribed on vellum using a homemade bamboo pen and hand-ground Chinese ink and was sealed with a handsome disc of red sealing wax. I treasure this beautiful object, which represents a truly privileged time, because not only was I instructed by my father but benefited from the knowledge and experience of Jack Trowbridge and Paul Wehrle, John’s assistants.

The day started with my father rising around 6 a.m. and enjoying a swim or cycle ride before going to his office to assess and plan the business of the day.

This was a quiet moment to order his thoughts and was a ritual that continued throughout his working life. Jack, Paul and myself arrived at 8. John would set us all going on our allotted tasks and then go into the house for breakfast.

Maybe twice a week his secretary at the time would arrive for an hour or two of correspondence. My father taught himself to type during the war, but he often dictated letters which were taken in shorthand and typed up at the secretary’s home for speed. This aspect of his profession was necessary but not much enjoyed, as he was itching to get on with the job in hand.

Drawing out inscriptions also was not a favourite task and my father would often pore over design conundrums deep into the night, preferring to solve the problem then and there and not carry it over to the next day. Carving, ‘doing’, was where his passions lay and he wished to save the morning energy for those more rewarding activities, after the planning was done.

7

Inscription on granite with painted letters – 3' x 6' 6" – photo by ARL

York Stone with five crosses – 3' 6" x 5' 3" – photo above and below by ARL

32

INNOVATIVE FORMS • THE LET TERING OF JOHN SKELTON

Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery Staffordshire • 1965 • Granite & York Stone

T

he cemetery contains nearly 5,000 burials from both First and Second World Wars. They are mainly German and Austrian nationals with some Ukranians.

In 1959 the UK government together with The Federal Republic of Germany agreed that care of the remains of military personnel and of internees should be jointly managed.

Cannock Chase Cemetery was established for this purpose. It is maintained under the inter-governmental agreement by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

John was asked to design and make several memorials for this cemetery. It was an opportunity for him to develop the new distinctive letter forms that can be seen here.

It was a large project that required most of the work to be done on site, so John and his assistants decamped to Staffordshire for the duration of the work.

Conditions were not always favourable for carving letters, as can be seen from the photo of John wearing a Russian hat that he bought for the long hours spent working under an inadequate polythene awning. continued »

Left: L31, one of four Zeppelins shot down over the United Kingdom during the First World War

33

Photo by ARL

INNOVATIVE FORMS • THE LET TERING OF JOHN SKELTON

Ivor Novello Memorial St Paul’s Cathedral, London • 1970 • Bianco del Mare

Ivor Novello memorial drawing – 24 x 20 cms – photo by ARL

Ivor Novello memorial – 2' 7" x 3' 5" x 2" – photo by ARL

M

any anxious hours were expended on this sensitive relief portrait of Ivor Novello.

The society that had been set up in his name were anxious, quite rightly, that a true likeness be portrayed – no mean feat in this material and format. The members of the Ivor Novello Society would come down to Streat every few weeks to follow progress and check the likeness. These visits were stressful for John as a piece of work such as this goes through many stages and transformations, and to the viewer they may look unfamiliar or ugly. It is the nature of the process of removing stone gradually in the right place and to the correct depth. It was with huge relief that on the final viewing it was declared “Well – it looks just like the dear boy”.

42

E. V. Knox Memorial St Paul’s Cathedral, London • 1970 • Slate

I

t is interesting to note that in the original design the full quote has been drawn around the circumference but when it was actually made, just eight words have been used. It may have been deemed too difficult to read the complete verse.

The cutting of this piece is a wonderful example of John’s expertise. Freedom and excellence are bound together. It is at such a height in the crypt that it invites people to stroke it.

Who can blame them!

E.V. Knox memorial – 2' 7" x 2' 6" – photo by ARL

E.V. Knox memorial drawing – 47 x 33 cms – photo by ARL

43

INNOVATIVE FORMS • THE LET TERING OF JOHN SKELTON

David Jones & Alice Hyne Memorial Ladywell Cemetery, London • 1975 • Nabresina David Jones and Alice Hyne memorial – 215/8" diameter

J

ohn was recommended as a suitable candidate to make a sensitive memorial to David Jones, artist and writer, and to his sister Alice. Tony Hynes, David Jones’s nephew and trustee of the estate commissioned John to come up with a design that complemented the existing headstone to his parents, carved by Eric Gill, whilst giving David Jones a personal memorial in his own right. (All four members of the family share the same grave.) The design solution was questioned

by René Hague, a long-term friend of John’s from Ireland, who was a printer and married to Joan Gill, Eric’s daughter. He was an authority on David Jones.

John wrote that he felt his final design ‘contributes rather than merely adding’. There was a move to have a separate stone to David Jones made and placed at one of the colleges of the University of Wales.

David Jones and Alice Hyne memorial drawing – A4 – photo by ARL

56

Ernest & Norah Shepard Headstone Lodsworth, West Sussex • 1976/7 • Hornton Stone

Pencil and watercolour wash drawing – A4 – photo by ARL

N

orah Shepard, Ernest Shepard’s second wife commissioned this headstone as a memorial to her husband and his work. He is especially known for his illustrations for The Wind in the Willows and Winnie the Pooh. The local vicar Rev. Dinnis commented in a letter to John that it ‘manages to sing of old Ernest’. Norah requested that one of the brushes be a quill pen as Ernest used one and suggested that brushes and quill could come through the thumb hole in the palette. Sadly, she died in early 1977 and her ashes were added to the grave.

John used a company called Hall Harding in Brighton who would enlarge his small sketches to actual size. This saved John time as it would allow him to transfer the design directly onto the stone.

57

Canvas Alphabet Oil on Canvas

J

ohn was in the habit of experimenting with new techniques and materials – if he did not already have experience in a particular discipline, he would research and learn about it.

He had also started to produce pieces which appear to be lettercutting experiments, just for the fun of it (see the NonCommissioned Lettering section on page 83).

In this piece he not only includes letter forms already developed in stone, but also creates new letter forms and applies them to a new medium for him, painting on canvas.

Photos by ARL

Linklater Pavilion Lewes, East Sussex • Pine

T

he lettered board was in the workshop when it was noticed by a client who bought it on the spot for her husband who was working for the United Nations in New York at the time.

The phrase was found in a Sussex church by John and it was deemed very pertinent to the work of the UN and was displayed for ten years in the Human Development Office of the UN, New York.

It then came back to England and was presented to the Linklater Pavilion by the owners, Alison and Richard Jolly. Its message fits well with the vision and tasks of the Linklater, as it did for the UN. The building stands on land which was part of the Railway Reclamation Project in Lewes.

Linklater Pavilion – 10" x 6' x 1" – photo by ARL

75

Dove – 1993 – 3¾" x 5" x 3" – Bronze. To celebrate John’s 70th birthday.

70 were made – all photos on this page by ARL

The Ditchling Cat

E

xhibitions were frequently held at The Ditchling Gallery, just three miles from John’s workshop. He often exhibited there and this piece became known as ‘The Ditchling Cat’. John made unlimited aluminium casts from this original which were very popular. They were sold as doorstops and were individually finished by adding eyes of gold leaf and a handsome leather collar with which to pick it up.

Dove – 1970s – Marble. Slate base

Wren – 1990s – Slate and nails. Stone base

94

Ditchling Cat – 1962 – 8½" x 4¼" x 2¾"

AN EXHIBITION OF THE LETTERING OF

Hosted by The Lettering Arts Trust • March 13th – August 30th 2020 The Lettering Arts Centre, Snape Maltings, Snape, Suffolk IP17 1SP • 01728 688393 The book accompanying this exhibition will comprise 108 pages of text and illustrations, and will be available from The Lettering Arts Trust during the exhibition – and from www.johnskeltonexhibition.co.uk thereafter

T

his book accompanies the exhibition held at The Lettering Arts Trust, Snape Maltings, Suffolk from 13th of March to the 28th of June 2020.The exhibition has been curated by the Skelton family to mark 20 years since the death of John Skelton MBE in 1999. It seeks to shed light on the innovative letter forms he was using on commemorative work, public commissions and his experimental work for exhibitions. His knowledge of, and passion for, three dimensions undoubtedly informed his design of lettershapes, and the vitality with which he carved them gave their appearance a dance-like quality on whichever surface he chose to use.

These included slate, stone, wood, paper, metal, scraperboard, Perspex, glass and silver.

Much of his prolific output is included here and five major projects have been selected to illustrate his diligence and

versatility. In the exhibition are displays of working and scale drawings, rubbings and photographs, as well as carved pieces.

His work can be found throughout Great Britain in cathedrals, churches, civic buildings and schools. Notable amongst these are the font he carved for Chichester Cathedral. The piece combines his sculptural approach and deep knowledge of Celtic letter forms. The many complex processes necessary to create this work have been explored in the exhibition.

John Skelton also carried out a suite of commissions for St Paul’s Cathedral, including 10 memorials for the field marshals of the Second World War, which can be seen in the crypt.

Through pushing the boundaries of conventional letter forms into a more innovative approach, he has earned a place as one of the outstanding artists of the second half of the 20th century.

SKELTON WORKSHOPS PUBLICATIONS Blabers Mead, Streat, Hassocks, West Sussex, BN6 8RR www.johnskeltonexhibition.co.uk www.johnskeltonsculptorlettercutter.co.uk www.skeltonworkshops.co.uk