Architectural Fantasy

John Piper was born in Epsom, Surrey and worked in his father’s solicitors’ firm until 1926. He later studied art in Richmond and London. Meeting Braque in Paris inspired him to make abstract art and to exhibit with the Seven and Five Society (1934–35). In 1935 Piper collaborated with Myfanwy Evans (later, his wife) on the pioneering review, ‘Axis’. He abandoned abstract art for Neo-Romanticism and during the Second World War, as an Official War Artist, he recorded bomb-devastated buildings of England’s disappearing architectural heritage. A versatile artist, Piper made book illustrations, theatre designs, ceramics, stained-glass and textiles. He collaborated with Patrick Reyntiens on stained glass projects which included the baptistry window for what was then the new Coventry Cathedral, and the stained glass lantern for Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Retrospectives of Piper's work were held at the Museum of Modern Art (Oxford, 1973) and the Tate (1983–84).

Places

Subjects

urn, tree, fantasy, church windows, spire, archway, dome, tower

Materials & Techniques

wool, Aubusson tapestry, wool tapestry

Artist

John Piper (1903 - 1992)
Les Ateliers Pinton

Title

Architectural Fantasy

Date

1975

Medium

Aubusson wool tapestry

Dimensions

height: 234.00 cm, width: 450.00 cm

Acquisition

Transferred from the Overseas Estate Department, August 1982

Inscription

br: John Piper [+ Pinton monogram]

GAC number

16079