Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin (born May 26, 1833 in Bristol , † October 6, 1886 in London ) was an English architect and designer.
Life
Education and Neo-Gothic
The father, William Godwin, was a wealthy leather craftsman in Bristol. After attending school in London, Godwin returned to Bristol and trained with William Armstrong. He was a city surveyor, architect and engineer, with the latter being his focus. Since there was so little about architecture here, Godwin trained himself in this discipline, and so he was given the architectural duties of the office from an early age. Dissatisfied with the lack of recognition for his work, Godwin founded his own office in 1854. After a slow and not very successful start, he won the 1861 architecture competition for Northampton Town Hall . Godwin initially devoted himself to neo-Gothic , influenced by his acquaintance with the eclectic architect William Burges and by studying John Ruskin's book Stones of Venice . The designs for the Congleton Town Hall , the Dromore Castle , the Glenbegh Towers and the Castle Ashby are influenced by the Gothic . On November 1, 1859, Godwin had married Sarah, the daughter of the Reverend William Clarke Yonge. Sarah died in 1865 after a long illness.
The Dandy and James McNeill Whistler
In 1863 Godwin met the American painter James McNeill Whistler . At that time Godwin was already an established architect in Bristol, a founding member of the Art Club and a member of many gentlemen's clubs. He was a sophisticated city dandy .
Ellen Terry and the Japanese style
In 1868 Godwin began an affair with the actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928). The couple moved to the Red House in rural Harpenden and stayed there for six years. In 1869 their daughter Edith (1869–1947) was born. Her son Edward (1872–1966), later called Edward Gordon Craig , was born in 1872. For some time Godwin had been interested in Japanese art, which had become accessible to the Western world from 1853. Gradually, this preference showed in his designs, which was initially noticed critically by the public. Godwin was influenced by Japanese design features when designing the furniture for Dromore Castle and also for his own furniture. This mixture of traditional and Japanese style was called Anglo-Japanese style . Through Ellen Terry he came into contact with the design for costumes and stage construction. Godwin developed modern fashion designs for the London department store Liberty . One of his most famous clients was Oscar Wilde . Godwin built the controversial White House in Chelsea for James McNeill Whistler . Unfortunately, in 1879, Whistler was forced to sell the house, including the paintings, for financial reasons. The buyer, an art critic, had changes made to the house that Whistler and Godwin disapproved of. The house was demolished in the 1960s.
literature
- Susan Weber Soros (Editor): EW Godwin: Aesthetic Movement Architect and Designer. Yale University Press, 1999.
- Susan Weber Soros: The Secular Furniture of EW Godwin: with Catalog Raisonne. Bard Center, 1999.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Godwin, Edward William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Godwin, EW |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English architect and designer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 26, 1833 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bristol |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 6, 1886 |
| Place of death | London |