Eric Gill

Acquired directly from the artist circa 1939 and thence gifted to the present owner as a graduation present in 1958 

The stone appears to be in very good condition. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Gill's position as one of the leading sculptors of his day is undoubted, and his contribution towards the move that saw sculptors once again embracing the art of carving was to be an important feature of the revival of that art. With a sculptural output that only runs to some three hundred works, the opportunities to see these pieces are limited. However there is another aspect of Gill's work to which many will be exposed on an almost daily basis.

From his earliest career, Gill's interest in typography was notable, and the carving of lettering, which Gill himself saw as very much part of the artist-artisan heritage of the stone-carver, and the designing of typefaces became an established part of his income throughout his life. A basic tenet of typography is that of readability, and in the same way that Gill's sculpture is distinguished by its purity and simplicity of image, so his designs for lettering exhibit those same qualities.

Of the various typefaces that Gill designed, three of these, Perpetua, Gill Sans and Joanna, have remained in widespread usage and are familiar around the world. Gill Sans, designed in 1926-7, is perhaps the most immediately recognisable, with its simple and balanced forms still being valued for its clarity and style. It became the house style of LNER in 1937 and still forms the basis of the lettering used by institutions as varied and internationally known as London Underground, the BBC and Sotheby's.

The present work is closely based on Gill's Perpetua typeface, designed in 1928-9, and perfectly demonstrates the combination of legibility, functionality and aesthetics that marks out his lettering. Carved in a large block of Hoptonwood Stone, a creamy-grey stone quarried near Matlock in Derbyshire and much favoured by sculptors in the inter-war period including Dobson, Moore and Hepworth, the crisp lines and detail that this stone affords the carver made it a most apt vehicle for inscriptions. The use of colour was a feature of many Gill inscriptions at this time, and not only offers a contrast in the image, but also harks back to the use of colour in relief carving by medieval masons. Whilst many of these 'alphabet' tablets offer just a simple run of the letters, here the extraction of the lower-case a and n to form the indefinite article an at the beginning of the inscription brings life to the forms of the letters.

Dated to 1938, the present work was acquired from Gill by the present owner's father around the time of its execution. A partner in a leading New York architectural practice which had long associations with Gill's workshop, the piece passed to his son in 1958 and is thus certainly unexhibited in over seventy years.