Grinling Gibbons: aspects of his style and technique

Magazine Antiques, Oct, 1998 by Miriam Kramer

As with any form of art or decoration, Gibbons's work has been in and out of favor over the years, even within his own lifetime. The plainer taste initiated by Queen Anne was followed by the Georgian and neoclassical styles, again very different from Gibbons's. But by the end of the nineteenth century, renewed emphasis on craftsmanship brought renewed appreciation for Gibbons's work, an appreciation that continues to this day.

I would like to acknowledge the kind assistance of Tracy Williamson at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Stephen Astley at Sir John Soane's Museum, Hannah Hartwell at Saint Paul's Cathedral, and, of course, David Esterly.

An exhibition entitled Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving is on view at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from October 22 until January 24, 1999. A book of the same title by David Esterly, who was also the curator of the exhibition, has been published by the Victoria and Albert in England and by Harry N. Abrams in the United States.

1 David Esterly, Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1998), p. 129.

2 For a fuller account of Gibbons's life and work, see ANTIQUES, June 1989, pp. 1444-1455.

3 Conversation with David Esterly, April 11, 1998, and Esterly, Grinling Gibbons, p. 132.

4 London Times, October 22, 1990.

5 Frederick Oughton, Grinling Gibbons and the English Woodcarving Tradition (Stobbart and Son, London, 1979), p. ix.

6 Esterly, Grinling Gibbons, pp. 115-116.

7 Conversation with David Esterly, April 22, 1998.

8 Esterly, Grinling Gibbons, p. 202.

MIRIAM KRAMER is a London-based writer who specializes in art and antiques.