F. L. Griggs

A touring exhibition from the Ashmolean MUseum Oxford

F. L. Griggs (1876 to 1938) created images of compelling visionary intensity. He was a master of poetic effects of light and atmosphere, as well as meticulous architectural detail.

From 1904 Griggs was based in the Cotswolds and his work responded to the surrounding countryside, English history and the Romantic tradition. His etchings and watercolours reform the past through imagination and memory.

Griggs initially trained as an architect in the Arts & Crafts tradition, but he is better known as a draughtsman and print-maker. 

His election to the Royal Academy in 1931 acknowledged his unsurpassed contemporary reputation as an etcher. 

Griggs's detailed visions of England draw upon the Romantic tradition, especially from the example of Samuel Palmer. Indeed, through the V&A's 1926 Palmer exhibition, Griggs was instrumental in introducing Palmer to a new generation of artists, among them Graham Sutherland, whom Griggs instructed in print-making.

A commission from Macmillan in 1900 to illustrate their guidebook series Highways & Byways, assured Griggs's artistic career.

Beginning with his native Hertfordshire, he completed eleven further volumes, among them those devoted to Lincolnshire, and Oxford and the Cotswolds.

Inspiration for his own topographical and imaginative work often came from the places he had originally encountered as an illustrator.

Griggs's experiments with etching began in 1895 but it was not until 1912, shortly after his conversion to Roman Catholicism, that he created his first mature works in the medium. 

Thereafter, it remained his primary means of artistic expression. His work was continually infused with his deep-seated love of the English countryside and of medieval architecture.

Griggs subjected his etching plates to successive revisions with consummate technical skill.

Adding meticulous detail and refined poetic effects of light, his favoured motifs; the church, the farm, the street, and the bridge, were infused with spiritual significance.

Griggs increasingly lamented England's lost identity as a result of the Reformation of the sixteenth century, the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth, and the modern dissolution of community, accelerated by the horrors of the First World War, of the twentieth. Writing to his friend, the poet Russell Alexander on 20 September 1911 he proclaimed:

Yet his work offered a refuge, resisting change by reforming the past through imagination and memory.

The Ashmolean Museum's collection of Griggs's work is unrivalled and this exhibition displays nearly forty examples spanning his career. 

The exhibition includes volumes of Highways & Byways, etchings (over one third of the fifty-seven he produced), fascinating preparatory drawings, and superb watercolours. Works rarely exhibited before are included in this fantastic opportunity to examine the full range of Griggs's achievement. 

The exhibition can be adapted to suit all venue sizes up to 150 square metres and comes with object labels and interpretation panel content and design. The exhibition is usually available for a 12 week display period. 

The exhibition hire fee includes:

• The mounted and framed Griggs etchings and watercolours, copies of Highways & Byways, fascinating preparatory sketches and drawings

• Transport of exhibition from and return to Oxford (if venue is under 140 miles from the Ashmolean), and technical installation support if required

• Labels and text panel content and design; including an illustrated panel, depicting a map of the locations which feature in the exhibition and inspired Griggs:

• The exhibition's curator will be available for a lecture at the touring venue

• A selection of three images (to be determined by the venue) for use in the venue's press and publicity

• The book cradles and mounts for Highways & Byways and any unframed works (can be supplied framed if required)

• Object preparation and condition reporting

• Tour co-ordination by the Ashmolean Museum Registrars' Department

F. L. Griggs: Visions of England is a touring exhibition from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

All our engaging exhibitions are curated by experts from the University of Oxford and based on original research. They utilise works of art and historical objects from the collections of the Ashmolean, to tell fascinating stories across cultures and time. All curators are available to give a lecture as part of the exhibition package.

Our exhibitions can be adapted to suit all venue sizes up to 150 square metres. They come with labels and interpretation panel content and design. If your venue is less than 140 miles from the Ashmolean, transport of the exhibition from and to Oxford is included in the fee. If your venue is further than 140 miles we will work with you to ensure the exhibition is transported to you in the most economical method possible.

Our touring exhibitions team will provide expert assistance with all aspects of the exhibition, from the planning stages to the installation and beyond. We aim to build long term, mutually beneficial relationships with our touring partners.

Please contact us if you are interested in hiring, or require any further information:

Touring Exhibitions, Ashmolean Museum:

E: touring.exhibitions@ashmus.ox.ac.uk

T: 01865 288 074/197

W: www.ashmolean.org/touring