Voysey Society : profiles by Voysey (2024)

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"A feeling for simplicity and restfulness will result in economy of labour and material, and perhaps leave us with a little spare cash to devote to one spot of sculpture, one point of pre-eminent interest in which we might suggest some merriment like the old grotesques."– C.F.A. Voysey, Ideas in things, part 2, pp.123-4. Full text available

Head profiles and grotesques were a favourite device of Voysey's. In some cases they are thought to represent his client, but sometimes himself. Some examples are shown here.

Duncan Simpson noted: “It is important to remember two recurring themes in Voysey’s work. His reputation rests on the principles of plainness and simplicity. Walls are white roughcast on the outside, untreated oak panelling or plaster surface devoid of decorative mouldings inside; dimensions are modest; everything is understated. Two things disturb this consistency and it is necessary to realize why they do so; the first is the grotesque form; the second the Gothic. The grotesque has been pointed to several times in the preceding chapters and recurs throughout Voysey’s career: the porch at St Dunstan’s Road, the sundial at Norney, the corbelled carved heads at Broadleys, the profile incised in the bedroom chair and so on. Other instances have not been specifically mentioned, the most notable being the small devil which Voysey worked up himself for casting in bronze or plaster and which was a caricature of himself — this particular grotesque was also carved in much larger form, in stone, for the house he built for Müntzer at Guildford. The same theme, the use of the grotesque form or figure, also recurs often among the flowers and birds of his pattern design output. His use of it is very medieval; it is part jest, for very often we know or suspect that his forms are based on those of the particular client; part serious for it brings a cautionary personal note into the buildings where it appears, a reminder of ephemerality, human vanity or whatever. What is fascinating is that the note that the grotesque strikes in Voysey’s work is so discordant when seen against the pattern and background of what we expect from him. Yet it brings a vital element of warmth to his work and emphasizes his basic humanity. Similar in some of its roots is the prepossession with Gothic form; but where the grotesque relates to Voysey’s own sense of humanity, this relates rather to his sense of propriety. ...”– Simpson (1979), pp.145-6.

For a detailed assessment mentioning many of the examples below see 'The sculpture of C.F.A. Voysey' by Tony Peart in The Orchard (no.11, 2022), pp.44-65. Full text available

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Bedroom chair. "Similar to a porter's chair, with screened sides and a canopy. There is a slung canvas seat. There are four corner posts, the side screens being cut away from the front pair at the top and cut to the profile shape of a grotesque head. The overall height is 5 ft (about 1.5m), the canopy indented and the chair mounted on castors. The chair was made though whether an example exists is not known. Illustrated in The Artist (special number, 12th Oct 1896), p.13; Studio (IX, Dec 1896), p.194. Exhibited at the Arts & Crafts Exhibition, 1896, no.237. Estimates are noted on the design for manufacture in deal and in oak, though which was used is not known. The chair was made by A.W. Simpson."

Text and first image from Brandon-Jones (1978), pp.84-5.

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Hall settle.

"The upper section with pediment above central circular mirror flanked by two cupboard doors with brass handles and hinges concealing shelves, the backrest composed of nine splats inlaid with heart-shaped pewter panels, with projecting coat rail, the chest seat with high panelled sides and champfered pillared sides terminating in small tray tops. Dimensions: 188cm (74in) height, 183cm (72in) width, 56cm (22in) depth."– auction catalogue. An article entitled 'Leading traders and their work, I: Mr J.S. Henry' in The Furnisher (vol. I & II, 1899-1900), mentions this piece: "one of the latest products of Mr Henry's factory - a hall fitment designed by Mr C.F.A. Voysey. Solid, massive, and dignified, this piece alone would give character to the house the occupants of which were fortunate enough to possess it."

Now owned by the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh. A similar piece was designed for New Place, Haslemere, Surrey, built for the publisher Algernon Methuen in 1899: drawings are at RIBA, reference SB115/VOY [329] 2.

"The fantastic silhouettes on the settle recall ‘The Demon’, Voysey’s pattern design of 1889, as well as the devil tiles produced to his designs by Pilkington’s, c.1900."– Max Donnelly, in Livingstone (2016), p.218, and Karen Livingstone, in Livingstone (2016), p.283.

Image by Daderot on Wikimedia.

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Sundials

The Horniman sundial.

Sundial for Emslie John Horniman (1894).

A similar design appears in Voysey's "Squire's garden" wallpaper pattern (1896).

First image by Heather Bailey, second by John Turner, both 2016. The Squire's Garden images appear by kind permission of David Berman of Trustworth Studios.

The Squire's Garden pattern of 1896.

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Sundial for Reverend William Leighton Grane (1897).

The sundial "is of stone on an octagonal base, the support cross-shaped in section with an identical grotesque profile carved into each arm of the cross. Believed to be contemporary with the house". It is "possibly based (Voysey's caricatures often though not always were) on his client's face".– Simpson (1979), p.50.

See also the Squire's Garden wallpaper pattern illustrated in the entry for the Horniman sundial, above.

Images by Heather Bailey, 2018.

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Oak sundial for William Edward Frank Britten, for whom Voysey designed 17 St Dunstan's Road, Hammersmith, London, in 1891.

"Mr Voysey again and again makes his art appeal to us by its simplicity, whether in a design for a £500 cottage or a £10 pigeon cot, and now he admirably illustrates for us the nature of a very simple method of effect in his oak sundial, which he designed for Mr W.E.F. Britten, the well-known artist. The cutting of a satyr's figure on the flat wood as a bracket out from a central post is a very simple but cheap device for effect, and the whole design surely suggests that a nicely designed sundial may as well be an adjunct to a tiny cottage as a lordly mansion. Only don't grudge the architect five pounds for the design, even if it cost only ten pounds to produce!"

Text and drawing by T. Raffles Davison, reproduced in The British architect (1st March 1895), p.146.

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Bell hoods

Bell hood at Norney (1897), on the chimney above the entrance porch. The house at Shackleford, Surrey, was built for the Reverend William Leighton Grane.

Images by Heather Bailey, 2018.

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Bell bracket at Perrycroft (1893), Colwall, Herefordshire, for John William Wilson, MP.

Located at the top left-hand side of the tower in the front courtyard, pictured without the bell in the second photograph.

First image by Gillian Archer (2020), second by Heather Bailey (2012).

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Porch hood at New Place (1897), Haslemere, Surrey, for A.M.M. Stedman, later known as Sir Algernon Methuen.

"The stone corbels to the porch caricatured a man's profile – not Voysey's on this occasion, but one suspects that he and Methuen would have shared the joke." – Hitchmough (1995), p.92.

First image by the late Martin Charles, reproduced in Hitchmough (1995), p.107. Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holder. Second image by John Trotter.

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Porch hood at 17 St Dunstan's Road (1891), Hammersmith, London, for William Edward Frank Britten.

"Other devices added to the Voysey vocabulary with this house include ... the use of a grotesque profile, probably caricaturing the client, in this case carved into the porch supports".– Simpson (1979), p.28. Hitchmough, however, believes that the profile is Voysey's own: "Compare these profiles with the portrait of Voysey by Harold Speed of 1896 in the National Portrait Gallery".– Hitchmough (1995), p.225.

First image by Tony Peart, second by John Trotter.

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Corbel at Broad Leys (1898), Gillhead, Cumbria, for Arthur Currer Briggs.

The head "is presumed to be a caricature of Currer Briggs ... . The figure is less than life-size and carved in the coarse style that Voysey favoured for such work, the tool marks remaining in the wood".– Simpson, C.F.A. Voysey, p.69

"There are many examples in Voysey's work of faces and figures shown in simple profile ... however the Broadleys caricature was atypically three-dimensional. One of Voysey's annotations on the drawing reads: 'This nose must be sharp cut with its true fascets [sic] and not to be round and dumpling shaped C.F.A.V."– Cole (2015), p.151.

First image of corbel by robyneerica, second from Hyde (2013), p.59. Photograph of Briggs from John Stowell. Voysey's original design drawing is available at the RIBA.

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Fireplace at Lowicks (1894), Frensham, Surrey, for Emslie John Horniman.

"... in the play room [Voysey] carved his own profile (playfully) into the corbel supporting the mantel-shelf.– Hitchmough (1995), p.71.

First image by Heather Bailey, second by John Turner, both 2016.

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Mantel piece at 14 South Parade (1891), Bedford Park, London, for Joseph Wilson Forster.

There was also a carved corbel grotesque on the porch of this house as originally designed, now replaced by the side extension (second image).

Drawings from The British architect (18th September 1891), p.209.

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Oriel window support at Perrycroft (1893), Colwall, Herefordshire, for John William Wilson, MP.

Located on the garden front.

Images by carolyngifford.

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Herbert Koester photograph.

Staircase newel post.

"An oak newel post finial in the collection of the V&A, which Voysey owned, encapsulates his humorous side. At Garden Corner, six almost identical finials remain on the newel posts of the secondary staircase. A photograph of another closely related newel post finial, ... was taken by Herbert Koester, c.1908. Voysey inscribed the reverse of this photograph: 'Newel Post for an M.P. / Mr. Looking fourways' (perhaps a wry political comment). His own finial was later owned by the scholar-architect John Brandon-Jones, who wrote that Voysey used it as a hat stand."– Max Donnelly, in Livingstone (2016), pp.217-8.

Garden Corner, at 13 Chelsea Embankment, London, was completed in 1906 for Emslie John Horniman.

Garden Corner example.

V&A example.

Koester image from MAK: Museum fuer angewandte Kunst Wien, Garden Corner image by Charles Lawrence, V&A image © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

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Architect's devil.

The second image is the original model created by Voysey himself. The first image is a copy carved in stone in the garden of Littleholme in Guildford.

"Architect’s Devil . Height 17cm, width of base 7.5cm, depth of base 8.5cm. c.1900. Plaster, blackened. Used as a book-end, this piece was modelled in plaster by the architect himself. The head is a caricature self-portrait with protruding tongue; Voysey has improved on nature by the addition of a pair of horns, cloven hoofs and a tail. A large version, carved in stone, was installed in the house built for Mr G. Müntzer at Guildford, Surrey (1906); Architect, LXXIX, 1908, p.304 (photograph of ornament). From the Voysey family collection."– Brandon-Jones (1978), pp.6 & 29.

The first mention of the devil in Voysey's office expenses book occurs in July 1907 with "Carriage of Devil to Nicholls", and the last in November 1927, when "4 Bronze casts of Devil" were commissioned.

Images by Heather Bailey, 2016, and Sotheby's, 2006.

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Gate latch

"Voysey's attention to detail, and sense of humour, extended to his latches and handles for garden gates, including one incorporating a grotesque based on his self-portrait ... . The latch can again be found in the Elsley catalogue and was used at Hollybank, Chorleywood, a house built in 1903 for a local doctor [Dr H.R.T. Fort, although nominally built for the Reverend Matthew Edmeads] ... . It was down the lane from Voysey's own home, The Orchard, and, as always, he closely supervised all aspects of the design of the property, right down to the ironmongery."– Karen Livingstone, in Livingstone (2016), p.276.

A similar latch was specified for Moor Crag (1898), Gillhead, Cumbria, for J.W. Buckley (Symonds (1976), p.46 & fig.66).

Image by Tony Peart.

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Tiles

Devil tile

Tile or teapot stand in earthenware, manufactured about 1903 by J.C. Edwards Ltd of Ruabon near Wrexham. Versions are known in grey, green and orange as well as blue.

"The motif of a devil translated directly from earlier designs and self-portrait caricatures by Voysey"– Karen Livingstone, in Livingstone (2016), p.283, referencing the 'Architect's devil' sculpture above.

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Others

Other known profiles and grotesques in Voysey's work include:

• Hitchmough mentions small metal grotesques, each to an individual design, which adorned each bedroom door at The Cottage in Bishop's Itchington (1888) near Warwick for M.H.J. Lakin. These have now been replaced by modern door hardware. (Hitchmough (1995), p.35)
• snooker cue rests for Sydney Claridge Turner (1907). (Drawings at RIBA, ref. SB115/VOY [257].)

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References

• Brandon-Jones, John & others (1978), C.F.A. Voysey: architect and designer, 1857-1941 (Lund Humphries).
• Cole, David (2015), The Art and architecture of C.F.A. Voysey (Images).
• Hitchmough, Wendy (1995), C.F.A. Voysey (Phaidon).
• Hyde, Matthew (2013), Broad Leys by CFA Voysey (Compass).
• Livingstone, Karen, and others (2016), C.F.A. Voysey: Arts & Crafts designer (V&A).
• Simpson, Duncan (1979), C.F.A. Voysey: an architect of individuality (Lund Humphries).
• Symonds, Joanna (1976), Catalogue of the drawings collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects: C.F.A. Voysey (Gregg).

Photograph of C.F.A. Voysey by Lafayette Ltd, 16th August 1928, © National Portrait Gallery (NPG x42629) and reproduced under this Creative Commons licence.

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Page last amended 8th July 2024