“Max Gill: Wonderground Man” at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft
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Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft will celebrate the forgotten work of Brighton-born MacDonald (Max) Gill.On view from October 20, 2018 through 28 April 2019, the exhibition will witness the artist’s humorous work, noted for its distinctive Art Deco and tones“Max Gill: Wonderground Man” at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft
Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft will celebrate the forgotten work of Brighton-born MacDonald (Max) Gill.On view from October 20, 2018 through 28 April 2019, the exhibition will witness the artist’s humorous work, noted for its distinctive Art Deco and tones.The museum says that Gill’s work was once prominently in the public eye, particularly his brightly-coloured pictorial maps, graphic designs for book covers, and posters for transport and communications companies in the first half of the twentieth century.Gill’s “Wonderground Map” (1914) was hung at every London Underground station, and in 1918 he was appointed by the Imperial War Graves Commission to design the lettering used on the Cenotaph and every military headstone since WWI.“Long after Gill’s death, a major collection of his work was discovered in the Sussex cottage that had once been his home, revealing many pieces of artwork that had not been seen for over sixty years. Rolled up, carefully packed away and labeled by his wife Priscilla Johnston, the works were uncovered by her nephew Andrew (grandson of London Underground typeface designer Edward Johnston) when he inherited the cottage,” the museum reveals.Born in Brighton in 1884, Gill lived through a time of huge social and industrial change. Trained in the Arts and Crafts tradition of William Morris, he went on to develop his own, highly personal style.Gill’s work mostly reflects the social, economic and political changes of the 20th century such as the decline of the British Empire, rapid communication by land, sea and air, the Great Depression and two World Wars.“One of his most celebrated maps formed the centrepiece of the iconic 1930s Art Deco interior for the first class dining salon of the RMS Queen Mary ocean liner, now preserved in California. Two of Gill’s maps; ‘A Plan of the Houses of Parliament’ and ‘A Map of the Cities of London’ and Westminster (both 1932) can still be seen at the Palace of Westminster on either side of the steps in St Stephen’s Porch,” the museum adds.Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft was founded by Joanna and Hilary Bourne in 1985 and holds an internationally important collection of work by the artists and craftspeople who were drawn to the village.The sculptor, wood engraver, type-designer and letter- cutter Eric Gill, calligrapher Edward Johnston (responsible for the famous Johnston typeface used for London Underground), painter David Jones, printer Hilary Pepler, silversmith Dunstan Pruden and weavers Ethel Mairet and Valentine KilBride.In addition to its permanent collection, the museum presents exhibitions inspired by these inspirational arts and crafts, often inviting contemporary artist response, and includes a lively programme of events, workshops and talks.The exhibition will be on view from October 20 through April 28, 2019 at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, Lodge Hill Ln, Ditchling, Hassocks BN6 8SP, UK.For details, visit: http://www.ditchlingmuseumartcraft.org.uk/Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the exhibition.http://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin Read more