Designs for embroidered pin cushions, Selwyn Image

1888

Item

185 mm x 262 mm

Image, Selwyn (Rev): Selwyn Image (1849–1930), was an Anglican clergyman who became an artist, designer and writer as part of the Arts and Crafts Movement. He later became Professor of Fine Art at Oxford. He was heavily influenced by the aesthetics of William Morris. A member of the Art Workers’ Guild he was co-founder, with Arthur Mackmurdo and Herbert Horne, of the Century Guild (1883–92), and was a key contributor to its periodical, The Century Guild Hobby Horse. He worked a great deal with Mackmurdo and contributed a number of designs to the Royal School of Art Needlework. His work has often been miss-attributed to others including to Burne-Jones and to Mackmurdo. He figures are particularly fine and his designs show a complexity and clarity that made them excellent for needlework.

Two designs for round embroidered pin cushions, designed by Selwyn Image for the Royal School of Art Needlework. Watercolour on paper. They show a bird and fish.

The bird is probably a goose and looks most like a graylag goose, a species native to the united kingdom, the Graylag goose was driven to extinction as a wild bird in the 19th century and only revived after re-introduction in the mid twentieth century. The fish might be a rainbow trout, native to British rivers, which has a broad purple/ red stripe across its back and dark spots. The goose sits on a branch with berries and the fish swims around weeds.

The design shows the influence of Selwyn Image's work in stained glass, with both animals segmented into smaller sections in the manner of a design for stained glass.

Image's distinctive signature and the date 1888 can be seen in the bottom right hand corner, this was one of a number of designs by Selwyn Image for the Royal School of Art Needlework. It is not known if this design was ever worked and there have as yet been no identified needlework examples.

Pincushions S. Image

D4/39