F.L.Griggs, 1876-1938

F.L. Griggs was acclaimed as one of the finest etchers of his time. Most of his subjects are architectural; some show actual places, whilst others are constructs from a rich arts-and-crafts imagination. Hitherto a largely unrecognized pivot in British Romantic art, Griggs's work links that of Turner, Blake and Samuel Palmer with the Neo-Romantics Graham Sutherland and John Piper. He was the first artist to be elected a full member of the Royal Academy, London on the basis of etchings alone, and a leading member of the Art Workers' Guild: he was elected its president in 1934 in succession to Sir Edwin Lutyens, the foremost English architect of the early 20th century. This scholarly and detailed account of Griggs's life fills an important gap, and Jerrold Northrop Moore writes with advocacy and passion on the subject of this talented artist's powerful work.