New Additions to the Collection
Eric Gill (1882-1940), Torso – Woman, 1913, Bath stone, on a slate base, The Ingram Collection.
© The Estate of the Artist. Image courtesy JP Bland Photography.
Torso – Woman, 1913 by Eric Gill
A new acquisition by Chris Ingram is displayed in the ground floor sculpture gallery. This beautiful sculpture is by Eric Gill. Gill was born in Brighton in 1882 and in 1897 his family moved to Chichester.
After his studies he moved to London in 1900 to train as an ecclesiastical architect but soon became frustrated with his training and took evening classes in stone masonry and in calligraphy. In 1903 he gave up his architectural training and became a calligrapher, letter-cutter and monumental mason.
Gill combined an appreciation of medieval religious art with Egyptian, Greek and Indian sculpture. Gill’s inspiration for his sculptures came from the Catholic belief in the Word of God and how this linked to the body. Gill is also well known for his typeface designs, especially Gill Sans (1927-1930).