Eric Gill (1882-1940)

Eric Gill was one of the most significant sculptors to work in Britain during the first half of the twentieth century. As well as being a talented stone carver, he was also a gifted draughtsman, letterer, typographer and printer. Rejecting the established techniques of making sculpture with the aid of the pointing machine, Gill is credited with re-establishing the practice of ‘direct carving’ in Britain and influencing the work of subsequent generations of sculptors, including Henry Moore.

 In 1909, Gill interrupted his successful inscription-cutting business to carve a female figure in stone. His first figural sculpture is Estin Thalassa (now lost), combined cut lettering, for which he had already become well known, and a naked, crouching woman. Most sculptors, at least at that time, modeled their statuary, building it up in clay, and then have this model reproduced in stone by a professional carver with various machines and gadgets. Gill carved his subject himself directly out of the stone. Moreover, he thought in terms of stone (not of clay) and of carving (not of modeling). In his Autobiography he records the event in these words: "So all without knowing it, I was making a little revolution. I was reuniting what never should have been separated: the artist as a man of imagination and the artist as a workman. I was really like the child who said, First I think and then I draw my think-in contrast with the art-student who must say, first I look and then I draw my look. At first the art critics didn't believe it. How could they? They thought I was putting up a stunt -being archaic on purpose. Whereas the real and complete truth was that I was completely ignorant of all their art stuff and was childishly doing my utmost to copy accurately in stone what I saw in my head." He showed photographs of this work to William Rothenstein and Roger Fry who became crucial supporters of his work. Whilst Rothenstein was travelling in India, Gill wrote to him telling him about his own exposure in Britain to images of Indian architecture and sculpture through a publication called Wonders of the World.

In 1908, Gill met Ananda Coomaraswamy at a lecture given by the latter at the Art Workers’ Guild in London. Through these acquaintances, Gill became interested in the art and culture of India and he joined the india society in 1910 (as did fellow sculptor Jacob Epstein). Gill took a specific interest in the religious carving which adorned South Asian temples, heavily influenced by Coomaraswamy’s publications. In his Autobiography, Gill wrote of Coomaraswamy: ‘I dare not confess myself his disciple; that would only embarrass him. I can only say that I believe that no other living writer has written the truth in matters of art and life and religion and piety with such wisdom and understanding.’ Gill also wrote an introductory essay on ‘Art and Reality’ for Mulk Raj Anand’s The Hindu View of Art and contributed a full-page engraving to Anand’s The Lost Child, published in 1934.