John Egerton Christmas Piper, CH (13 December 1903 – 28 June 1992) was a 20th-century English painter and printmaker. For much of his life he lived at Fawley Bottom near Henley-on-Thames.
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Life
Piper, the son of a solicitor, was born in Epsom in 1903. He was educated at Epsom College and trained at the Richmond School of Art, followed by the Royal College of Art in London. He turned from abstraction early in his career, concentrating on a more naturalistic but distinctive approach.
As a child, John Piper lived in Epsom which was , in those days, in the countryside. He would go exploring on his bike, and would draw and paint pictures of old churches and monuments on the way. He started making his own guide books at a young age, complete with pictures and information. When it came to finishing at Epsom College Piper wanted to go to art school, to study to become an artist. However, Piper's father Charles disagreed, and wanted him to be a solicitor like himself. They formed an agreement that John Piper would work for his father in London for three years, and then could pursue whatever career he chose. However, John failed the Law exams. Charles Piper died soon after, so John was free to become an artist.
Piper was appointed an official war artist in the World War II. He collaborated with many others, including the poet John Betjeman (on the Shell Guides[1][2]), as well as with the potter Geoffrey Eastop and the artist Ben Nicholson. In later years he produced many limited-edition prints.
His work often focused on the British landscape, especially churches. Along with Patrick Reyntiens he designed the stained glass windows for the new Coventry Cathedral. He also designed windows for many smaller churches. Piper created tapestries for Chichester Cathedral and Hereford Cathedral. He was a set designer for the theatre, including the Kenton Theatre, a theatre in Henley, Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, the Royal Opera House for a production of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream and for the operas of Alun Hoddinott
Piper also wrote extensively on modern art in books and articles.[3][4][5][6] With his wife, Myfanwy Piper, he founded the contemporary art journal, Axis.
His children include painters Edward Piper and Sebastian Piper, and his grandchildren include painter Luke Piper and sculptor Henry Piper.
Exhibitions
182 of his works are in the Tate collection, including etchings and some earlier abstractions. Major retrospective exhibitions have been held at Tate Britain (1983-1984), the Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, the River and Rowing Museum and the Museum of Reading.
Quotations
- Abstraction is a luxury that has been left to the present day to exploit.
- Abstraction is the way to the heart — it is not the heart itself.
References
- ^ Archaeology: A reference handbook by Alan Edwin Day, page 254. ISBN 978-0208016720.
- ^ Guide to Reference Books by Eugene P. Sheehy, page 636. ISBN 978-0838903902.
- ^ "The Listener articles 1933-"Young English Painters:Contemporary English Drawing"
- ^ "Lost,A Valuable Object" an essay in Myfanwy Piper's anthology "The Painters Object" 1937
- ^ 'Englands Early Sculptors' Architectural Review 1937
- ^ 'British Romantic Artists' essay in the series 'The British People in Pictures' 1940
Extra Reading
- Bowen, Jane (Curator)John Piper centenary Crossing boundaries 2002 ISBN 0-9535571-4-6
- Davis,Howard, A Great Job Of Work For All Time. John Piper - Unknown Mosaicist, Andamento No.3 2009 [British Association for Modern Mosaic] (ISBN1752-5578).
- Jenkins, David Fraser, John Piper, London: Tate Gallery Publications, 1983 (ISBN 0-905005-94-5).
- Jenkins,David Fraser, John Piper,A Painter's Camera,London: Tate Gallery Publications,1987 (ISBN 0-946590-81-8)
- Jenkins, David Fraser, John Piper — The Robert and Rena Lewin Gift to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1992 (ISBN 1-85444-025-X).
- Jenkins, David Fraser, John Piper — The Forties, Philip Wilson Publishers, 2000 (ISBN 0-85667-529-6)
- Jenkins, David Fraser & Spalding, Frances, John Piper in the 1930s — Abstraction on the Beach, Merrell Publishers, 2003 (ISBN 1-85894-223-3)
- Ingrams, Richard & Piper, John, Piper's Places: John Piper in England and Wales, London: Chatto & Windus, The Hogarth Press, 1983 (ISBN 0-7011-2550-0).
- Levinson, Orde, Quality and Experiment: The Prints of John Piper — A Catalogue Raisonné 1932–91, London: Lund Humphries Publishers, 1996 (ISBN 0-85331-690-2).
- Spalding, Frances, John Piper, Myfanwy Piper: Lives in Art, Oxford University Press, 2009 (ISBN 9780199567614).
- West, Anthony, John Piper, Secker & Warburg, 1979 (ISBN 0-436-56591-9).
- Woods, S. John, John Piper Paintings Drawings & Theatre Designs 1932–1954, New York: Curt Valentin, 1955.
- Wortley, Laura, John Piper — Master of Diversity, Henley-on-Thames: River and Rowing Museum, 2000 (ISBN 0-9535571-1-1) OCLC 55970238
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: John Piper (artist) |
- Huge site devoted to the work of John Piper
- Page dedicated to John Piper
- Artcyclopedia entry
- Artnet entry
- John Piper — Master of Diversity exhibition at the River and Rowing Museum, 2000
- Shell Guides Website
- John Piper at the Tate Gallery Archive
- Photo
- Film about John Piper in the Arts Council England Film Collection
- "Christ Between Saints Peter and Paul — Stained Glass designed by John Piper". Glass. Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/glass/stained_glass/sacred_stained_glass/featured_panels/christ_peter_paul/index.html. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
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