New William Blake works found
- From: paramindsoftware@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: 19 Jun 2006 21:24:23 -0700
http://www.americanaexchange.com/NewAE/aemonthly/article.asp?f=1&page=1&id=377
By Michael Stillman
It was a miracle find. Drawings meant for an early 19th century book of
poetry, created by a poet-artist-printer himself, lost for almost two
centuries show up at an obscure bookshop in the English countryside.
Thought at first to be mere prints, further research reveals that these
are the original watercolors produced by the artist-poet William Blake.
As the excitement mounts, they are offered to a museum, to be kept
together for eternity. Then it all unravels. New players, for whom
Blake is neither poet nor artist, but a financial opportunity, insert
themselves in the deal. The price goes up, the collection is no longer
viable as a unit, so it is broken into pieces to pay off the middlemen.
Blake's drawings were auctioned off last month, one by one, the
collection likely destroyed forever, nothing left but the pieces.
For those in the book trade, this is not one of our prouder moments.
What started as a collection of amazing works lost in a family's attic
for generations, appeared to be headed for a museum, to be protected
for eternity. Along the way, some people in the book and art businesses
inserted themselves in the process for easy money. Now, the collection
is lost again, but this time forever. It is a sad and shameful day for
the book and art trades, for it was our trades that destroyed this
wonderful collection.
The story begins almost two centuries ago. William Blake, poet and
artist, is commissioned to create illustrations to go with a new
printing of The Grave, a poem first published in 1743 by Robert Blair.
If you don't know this poem, you don't know Blair, as it was all he
wrote. Blake produced twenty watercolor illustrations. Twelve were used
in the edition published in 1808, though publisher Robert Cromek
brought in Luigi Schiavonetti to create the engravings from Blake's
illustrations, apparently an embarrassment to the latter. It also meant
Blake made little money on the project. The vultures would make up for
that centuries later.
After the work was published, the watercolors remained with Cromek. He
died in 1812, and the illustrations passed on to his wife. They next
appeared at an auction in Edinburgh in 1836, where they sold for just 1
pound 5 shillings. That's roughly $2 in American currency, or about ten
cents each. The buyer is unknown. And then, they were lost. At some
point, they came into the possession of the family of artist John
Stennard. However, as they were passed down from generation to
generation, their significance, like the drawings themselves, was
forgotten. They would remain essentially unknown for the remainder of
the 19th and all of the 20th century.
continued...
--
Robert Pearson
ParaMind Brainstorming Software http://www.paramind.net
Creative Virtue Press/Telical Books/Regenerative Music
http://www.rspearson.com/
.
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