Autograph letter signed from artist George Simonds to Arthur Macmurdo dated 1890
SIMONDS, George Blackall (1843-1929); MACKMURDO, Arthur Heygate (1851-1942). Autograph letter signed from Simonds to Mackmurdo regarding preparations for the forthcoming Birmingham Congress of the National Association for the Advancement of Art and its Application to Industry. The Priory Studio, April 18, 1890.
Autograph letter signed, one page, 110 x 180 mm, on The Priory Studio, Lodge Place, Grove Road, N.W., headed paper, dated 18 April 1890. Addressed by Simonds to "A. H. Mackmurdo Esq, President, Section D" and signed "George Simonds, President, Section B." Old folds, a couple of small mounting tabs and light traces of former mounting to the reverse; otherwise very good. The reverse bears a few faint contemporary pencil notes in Mackmurdo's hand.
An Arts and Crafts association letter documenting preparations for the 1890 Birmingham Congress of the National Association for the Advancement of Art and its Application to Industry. Simonds invites Mackmurdo to a meeting of the Sectional Officers to be held at his Priory Studio on Saturday 3 May, followed by dinner, the stated purpose being to 'determine on some united course of action for next Congress'.
Founded in 1888, the National Association for the Advancement of Art and its Application to Industry was established to encourage cooperation between artists, architects, designers, craftsmen and manufacturers through a series of annual congresses devoted to the relationship between art and industry. Its meetings were organised into specialist sections, including Sculpture (Section B) and Applied Art (Section D). In 1889 both Simonds and Mackmurdo already occupied senior offices within the Association, and this letter records them serving as sectional presidents during preparations for the Birmingham Congress, the Association's final meeting.
George Blackall Simonds was one of the leading British sculptors of the late Victorian period, the first Master of the Art Workers' Guild, and is best remembered for the Maiwand Lion at Reading and The Falconer in Central Park, New York. Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo, founder of the Century Guild, ranks amongst the pioneers of the Arts and Crafts Movement and is widely regarded as one of the earliest exponents of Art Nouveau in Britain. Their correspondence is uncommon, and letters directly concerning the organisation of the Arts and Crafts movement are scarce. The reverse carries faint pencil notes by Mackmurdo, giving preliminary thoughts for discussion at the meeting.