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Rooke;Noel; ( 1872 - 1953 ) Noel Rooke was born in Bedford Park, London, where he lived all his life. His father was the watercolourist Thomas Matthews Rooke, who had acted as studio assistant to Edward Burne-Jones. In 1899, aged 18, he was employed by William Lethaby in the school holidays to make drawings of the Chapter House at Westminster Abbey. From then until 1903 he attended part-time art classes at the Slade School, and in 1904 joined R. J. Beedham's classes at the LCC School of Photoengraving and Lithography at Bolt Court. Dissatisfied with photo-mechanical process as a means of artistic expression, he resorted to wood engraving, having been encouraged by Lucien Pissarro to experiment with techniques including 'graduated' printing, woodcutting on the side-grain of boxwood, and colour printing. Since late 1899 he had been attending, with Eric Gill among others, Edward Johnston's revolutionary Writing and Illumination class at the Central School, and it was Johnston's principles of calligraphy which inspired him to make wood engravings on the same basis, in terms of the nature of the tools used. As a teacher he was largely responsible for raising the status of wood engraving as an independent graphic medium, but only after some opposition from within the School. From 1905 he was only able to teach woodcutting and wood engraving within book illustration classes, although in 1912 he was allowed to teach lettering and wood engraving in the Day Technical School. Despite being appointed Head of the School of Book Production, he was only finally able to establish a specific woodcutting and wood engraving class in 1920. He retired from the School in 1947. Rooke's campaign to revive the medium on 'autographic' principles provided the impetus to the modern wood engraving movement. He made a lasting impression on his pupils. In particular he played a vital role in encouraging them to break into the world of publishing and in persuading commercial publishers to recognize the value of the medium. As a result of his efforts, his own output was comparatively small, consisting of line drawn, watercolour, and wood-engraved illustration to a few books, and various individual prints and posters, several of which reflect his passion for mountains. He was a founder member of the Society of Wood Engravers in 1920 and in the same year was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers. He was also Honorary Secretary of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. In 1932 he married one of his pupils, Celia Fiennes. No Image Exists Detail copied from a fifteenth-century Flemish tapestry at the South Kensington (Victoria and Albert) Museum Noel Rooke taught at the Central School from 1905. He was 18 years old when he painted this watercolour. F.55 ; [18_?] ; Mediaeval tapestry scene (unidentified) (Unsigned) This is likely to be student work undertaken by Noel Rooke in the late 1890's. Rooke taught at the Central School from 1905-1947. F.147 ; 1935 ; (Portrait of Lethaby ) The buildings shown are; Westminster Abbey, he was Surveyor to the Abbey, Brockhampton Church, showing Lethaby as architect and The Central School of Arts and Crafts, of which he was the founding Principal. F.148 ; ; [Church and street scene]
F.149 ; 1898 ; S. Hilaire Poiliess [?]
F.150 ; ; [Mountain Landscape]
F.151 ; ; [Mountain Landscape]
F.152 ; ; [Mountain Landscape]
F.153 ; ; [Mountain Landscape]
F.154 ; ; [Mountain Landscape] Unmounted Sketch book page F.156.1-3 ; ; [Studies of a woman's head] Possibly portrait sketches of the artist's wife - Celia Fiennes, who studied wood engraving under Rooke during the mid 1920s. Loose leaf pages from a sketch book F.157 ; ; [Study of a woman's head and shoulders] Possibly a portrait sketch of the artist's wife - Celia Fiennes, who studied wood engraving under Rooke during the mid 1920s. F.158 ; ; [Study of a woman reclining]
F.159 ; ; [Nude study of a woman] Loose leaf page from a sketch book P.344 ; c.1914 ; The Two Bridges The signed proof in the Victoria and Albert Museum extends the border to give an empty panel beneath the image, suggesting that ‘The Two Bridges’ was originally used as a poster. Possibly cut for a poster for the Paris-Lyon-Mediteranee railway. P.461 ; c.1930-1933 ; Flood in Sky See also P.1695
P.1688 ; ; Consult the PLM about Summer Holidays Copy on design reads: "Paris Lyons Mediterranean Railway. London Offices 179-180 Piccadilly. Alps Duaphine Savoy Burgundy Auvergne Provence" Mountain scene with decorative border and typopgraphy See also P.1709, which appears to be a one-colour artists proof of the mountain landscape image that sits at the centre of this poster design P.1689 ; ; [Mountain landscape]
P.1690 ; ; [Figures in a landscape]
P.1691 ; c.1925 ; Zacharias and Elizabeth Artists proof of one of the illustrations executed by Rooke for 'The Birth of Christ from The Gospel According to St Luke', printed and published by The Golden Cockerel Press in 1925 (under Robert Gibbings). This is one of a number of artists proofs of images executed by Rooke for the publication. The publication itself is also in the Collection. P.1692 ; c.1930-33 ; Wind on the Matterhorn Mounted print Re. Date - stylistically, there are similarities between this image and P.1694, which has been dated. See P.1694 P.1693 ; c.1913 ; Gates of Upper Dauphine See also P.1715 - same image, though P.1693 is a much stronger, blacker, crisper impression. Signed and titled by Rooke in pencil. The c.1913 date is due to certain stylistic similarities between this print and P.1697 - a similar mountain landscape dated '13 by Rooke in pencil - and another similar landcsape, 'Limestone Cliffs', which featured in The Imprint, April 17th 1913, p.249. P.1694 ; c.1930-33 ; Zinal Rothhorn Re. Title - see page 150 of 'Wood Engraving of the 1930s: Reviewed by Claire Leighton'; The Studio Ltd., London, 1936 P.1695 ; c.1930-33 ; Flood in Sky See also P.461 Pencil inscription on print seems to infer title 'Flood in Sky'. Date is attributed due to striking stylistic similarities with P.1694, which has been dated to the early 1930s. This may be an artists proof of an illustration executed by Rooke for 'The Birth of Christ from The Gospel According to St Luke' - it does not appear in the final book, and does appear to be unfinished (note how the block remains uncut around the central figure). 'The Birth of Christ from The Gospel According to St Luke' was printed and published by The Golden Cockerel Press in 1925 (under Robert Gibbings). This is one of a number of artists proofs of images executed by Rooke for the publication. The publication itself is also in the Collection. Mounted with P.1698.1 Signed NR within the print. Source for title: Matrix, issue 3 [Winter 1983], article by Justin Howes - 'Noel Rooke: The Early Years' P.1698.1-3 ; c.1913 ; The Embroidress Of the three versions, .1 and .2 are printed on laid paper and belong to a larger edition of 50, whilst .3 is printed on wove paper and doesn't belong to the same edition (and therefore may be an artists proof). The accompanying poem, an exceprt from a longer poem by William Morris, is cut around the image and bordered, reads: "I broider fair her glorious gown, And deck her on her days of mirth, With many a garland of renown" Originally from verse quatrains by William Morris, published in Poems by the Way, 1891. The full verse is: "I am the handmaid of the Earth / I broider fair her glorious gown / And deck her on her days of mirth / With many a garland of renown / and while Earth's little ones / are fain / and play about the mother's hem / I scatter every gist I gain / from sun and wind to gladden them" The poem can also be seen in full, on a fine tapestry at The Whitworth Artt Gallery, University of Manchester, designed by Morris with Edward Burne-Jones and Sir Edward Coley, and manufactured by Morris and Company at Merton Abbey. P.1699 ; ; Grace R Richards (Fellowship is Life...) Design with lettering, floral design with squirrels. The lettering is a verse: 'Fellowship is Life & Lack of Fellowship is death - Grace R Richards' - and around the edge: 'So now amidst our day of strife / With many a matter glad we play / When once we see the light of life / Gleam through the tangle of today'. P.1700 ; ; William Rothestein: To Truth Alone Obedience Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) was an English painter, draughtsman, and a writer on the subject of art. He studied at the Slade and went on to become Principal at the Royal; College of Art between 1920 and 1935, where he encouraged artists including Jacob Epstein, Paul Nash, and Henry Moore. Though there is no evidence, Rooke may have known Rothenstein - perhaps this print was a commission from Rothenstein? His son, Sir John Rothenstein, was Director of the Tate between 1938 and 1964. P.1701 ; ; Que Liquens Bougars de Valence Faisoit Unmounted A commission from the British Transport Commission. Two (2) impressions of the same image on the same sheet - probabloy an artist's proof. Possible an early state of a print based on a drawing that is also part of the Museum and Contemporary Collection at Central Saint Martins - see F.147. The portrait is of W R Lethaby, who is shown surrounded by silhouettes of some of the buildings he was associated with, including: Westminster Abbey - he was Surveyor to the Abbey, Brockhampton Church - showing Lethaby as architect, and The Central School of Arts and Crafts - of which he was the founding Principal. The lack of detail and inscriptions may infer that this is an early state of the print, though there is no evoidence to suggest a final state was ever accomplished, nor an edition printed. P.1704.1 ; c.1930-33 ; [Mountain landscape] Unmounted and unsigned - perhaps an early proof. Further suggesting this, a sister image - P.1704.2 - is printed on a different stock, heavier than this particular print, which is on a light (Japanese-like) paper. Perhaps influenced by the difference in paper stocks, the blocks appear to have been inked with a far lighter touch than P.1704.2 which is, as a result, much darker and a little stronger. The date has been influenced by striking stylisytic similarities between this print and P.1694 - 'Zinal Rothorn' - which was dated by Justin Howes in his article on Rooke in issue 3 of Matrix, and the publication of that same print in Clare Leighton's 'Wood Engraving of the 1930s', published by The Studio Ltd., London, in 1936. P.1704.2 ; c.1930-33 ; [Mountain landscape] Unmounted and unsigned - perhaps an early proof. Further suggesting this, a sister image - P.1704.1 - is printed on a different stock, lighter than this print which is on wove paper. Perhaps influenced by the difference in paper stocks, this print is a much darker and the definition of line and tone a little sharper than P.1704.1 The date has been influenced by striking stylisytic similarities between this print and P.1694 - 'Zinal Rothorn' - which was dated by Justin Howes in his article on Rooke in issue 3 of Matrix, and the publication of that same print in Clare Leighton's 'Wood Engraving of the 1930s', published by The Studio Ltd., London, in 1936. P.1705 ; 1916 ; The Old Vicarage, Grantchester [Near Cambridge] On the same sheet as P.1706 - the two portrait images composite together to form one whole image, although on this (early state?) they are separate, and both have a border. The design was for a double-page frontispiece to Rupert Brooke's 'The Old Vicarage, Grantchester' (published in London by Sidgwick & Jackson, 1916). Rupert Brooke lived at The Old Vicarage in Grantchester, and wrote a poem with the same title as the book. One of only a small number of book illustrations by Rooke, whose time was largely consumed by his teaching. P.1706 ; 1916 ; Near Cambridge (The Old Vicarage, Grantchester - Near Cambridge) On the same sheet as P.1705 - the two portrait images composite together to form one whole image, although on this (early state?) they are separate, and both have a border. The design was for a double-page frontispiece to Rupert Brooke's 'The Old Vicarage, Grantchester' (published in London by Sidgwick & Jackson, 1916). Rupert Brooke lived at The Old Vicarage in Grantchester, and wrote a poem with the same title as the book. One of only a small number of book illustrations by Rooke, whose time was largely consumed by his teaching. Illustration with typeset typography, from page 29 of a book - 'The Birth of Christ'? Unbound proof of page from that book. P.1708 ; ; [Two women sat by a window]
P.1709 ; ; [Mountain landscape]
P.1710 ; c.1925 ; [Elizabeth and Mary] Editioned print of one of several illustrations executed by Rooke for 'The Birth of Christ from The Gospel According to St Luke', printed and published by The Golden Cockerel Press in 1925 (under Robert Gibbings). This is one of a number of artists proofs of images executed by Rooke for the publication. The publication itself is also in the Collection. Signed in the block 'NR' Probably dates from the early to mid 1920s. Bears a striking resemblance - both aesthetically and thematically, to an image by Rooke used to illustrate under and over-inking in "Woodcuts and Wood Engravings", Noel Rooke, Publication No.5, Print Collectors Club; 1926. This print is characteristic of Rooke's earlier work of the 1910s and 1920s, slightly before he became preoccupied with mountains in the 1930s. The rural theme and aesthetic treatment are a slight progression from the more detailed 'Two Bridges' (1914) and 'The Old Vicarage' (1916), and perhaps a little closer to 'Edge of the Wood', dated to the same period. P.1712 ; c.1920s ; Edge of the Wood Probably dates from the early to mid 1920s. Bears an aesthetic and thematic resemblance to an image by Rooke used to illustrate under and over-inking in "Woodcuts and Wood Engravings", Noel Rooke, Publication No.5, Print Collectors Club; 1926. Like P.1711, this print is characteristic of Rooke's earlier work of the 1910s and 1920s, slightly before he became preoccupied with mountains in the 1930s. The rural theme and aesthetic treatment are a slight progression from the more detailed 'Two Bridges' (1914) and 'The Old Vicarage' (1916), and perhaps a little closer to 'Edge of the Wood', dated to the same period. P.2243.1-3 ; 1919 ; A Central Granite Mountain Range: L.C.C. School Pictures No.5 L.C.C. School Pictures No.5 This is one of a series of prints made for the LCC School Prints series, initiated by F. Ernest Jackson - a champion of lithography and a teacher at the Central School between 1902 and 1921. The Museum and Contemporary Collection holds several prints from the series including: 'Tower of London' by Miss C. Hey and F. Ernest Jackson, A.S Hartrick's 'Breast Plough to Motor Tractor', and Francis Unwin's 'Stirling Castle'. The Rooke print is number 5 in the series, the Jackson number 3, but the Unwin and Hartrick are un-numbered. Around 1917/18, Jackson also initiated a series of prints that became known as the LCC School Pictures series. Little is known about the series, but the series is almost certainly a pre-cursor to the post-WW2 series of School Prints, an initiative started by Brenda Rawnsley in the 1940s. Jackson's initiative, organized through the LCC, was to invite leading artists to produce prints for school's to buy or subscribe to - for instructional purposes. Four colour print Poster for tribute exhibition to Noel Rooke
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