My interest in the work of F.L. Griggs began a little after
I had purchased my first etchings of Samuel Palmer and began to investigate
some the artists who had come under his spell.
I first purchased Griggs small etching titled Laneham (1923) and have slowly built up a modest collection of his
work. Griggs was many things to different people. For me he was a great
draughtsman who possessed a unique poetic vision of English architecture.
Sometimes the architecture he drew inspiration from was imaginary and was
channelled from the an unspoilt past age; etchings like Saras and Priory Farm are
examples of this preoccupation. The marks he drew onto the plates were often
quite intricate and like Palmer in many of his plates he has overlayed successive
etched layers of marks to create rich dark passages while still allowing small
areas of white to glint through.
As well as making magnificent etchings, drawings and
watercolours, Griggs was also a flawless printmaking technician who at various
times was able to assist and encourage young British printmakers in the making
and proving of their plates. On the 30th of November 1926 Paul Drury
and Graham Sutherland made a journey to Grigg’s home in Chipping Campden where
the elder printmaker assisted them in printing their recent etching plates. Sutherland wrote later, “It was Griggs as an
enthusiast and technician from whom perhaps we gained most. A master printer of
the copper plate, with infinite knowledge and patience, he had a palm as
delicate as gossamer” [the side of the
palm is often used in the final stages of traditional plate wiping
techniques] (Drury, 2006: 58)
During the latter years of his life Griggs was involved in
an ongoing battle to save many of the ancient buildings and land (Dover Hill) in
the Chipping Camden area from demolition and developers. He spent much of his
own funds to preserve a number of buildings of historic importance. He died during the great depression when
print prices in general had fallen and many artists were struggling to make a
living. Unfortunately Griggs did not see a resurgence of interest in his marvellous
etchings.
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| Laneham, etching (1923) |
This
small etching was part of Print Collectors Club commission members print.
Griggs used part of Church Laneham, Nottinghamshire as the subject, one of the
church subjects he had previously drawn for Highways
and Byways. A delicate light can
be observed falling on the walls of the church and a partly shadowed figure can
be seen either resting or praying inside the porch of the church.
 |
| Sarras, etching. (1926) |
After a new year’s eve feast with
the Campden parish church bell ringers, Griggs began a pencil sketch of Sarras.
“On 2 February 1927 he wrote to his friend Russell Alexander
of “visualising Sarras as a walled City with three large churches as the very
centre of it. ‘I’ve tried for the utmost beauty of effect in aged Gothic, &
outside the town harshness and danger, but beauty even there… My view is that
the city itself is hidden & mystical - & all that our highest ideals would
paint it.’ The concealment of inner world from outer- the opposition of them-
touched the centre of Grigg’s art now. “ (Moore,
1999: 181)
Although Griggs began Sarras early in 1927 he continued to
work on the plate until it was finally completed in May 1928. He described the
making of the etching as “like a pilgrimage to the place itself… all stoney and
difficult” (Moore, 1999: 204)
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| St Ippolyts, etching. (1927) |
In another
letter to Alexander Griggs explains, “St Ippolyts is one of the places that
pilgrims to Sarras see, & I don’t think it’s very far away. For me it’s in
the heart of that lost country- oh God, how lovely it was! There was a
wonderful road, difficult to find, it seemed to have no beginning & I, for
one never knew the end.” (Moore, 1999:
200)
In St Ippolytes Griggs has described the three lambs as symbolic of his three children. It is worth considering that the elderly pilgrim or shepherd with his burden may be a symbol of the artist on his journey to his visionary Sarras.
In St Ippolytes Griggs has described the three lambs as symbolic of his three children. It is worth considering that the elderly pilgrim or shepherd with his burden may be a symbol of the artist on his journey to his visionary Sarras.
 |
| Cockayne, etching. (1936) |
This etching was made two years before the artists death
and is an imaginary image of London during Shakespeare’s time. The later states of the etching include a subtle clouded
sky and the massive church tower in the distance. The drawing it is based on is
in the collection of the Boston Public Library. In the etching Griggs uses
heavier areas of tone and strong shadows. This foces our eye to move up toward
the lighter more ethereal areas of the cloud and the church tower at the top of
the composition.
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| Drawing of a Pegola at Crowborough, pen and ink. 1908 |
During his life Griggs made many illustrations for different books and Journals; the most famous being the Highways and Byways travel series. The drawing above was made for an article in volume 44
of the 1908 edition of
International Studio. The article was titled
International Gardening by the British architect, C.E.
Mallows F.R.I.B.A. and became a
continuing feature in future issues. Griggs also continued to produce many
drawings for Mallows articles.
 |
| International Studio 1908 volume 44. P 182 |
