A.W.N. Pugin: Master of Gothic Revival was the first American retrospective dedicated to showcasing the work of the innovative English designer and architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin.
Although he lived to just 40, Pugin’s prolific body of design work included ecclesiastical and secular buildings, furniture, woodwork, metalwork, jewelry, textiles, wallpaper, ceramics, stained-glass windows, and books. Best known as the interior designer of the Palace of Westminster, he was also the single most influential artist in defining the 19th century Gothic Revival in England.
The exhibition was divided into five sections revealing Pugin’s incomparable role as an innovator in the Gothic Revival style. Its first section examined the pre-Pugin Gothic Revival in England, highlighting such monuments as Strawberry Hill House, the home of Horace Walpole. Others explored Pugin’s work ranging from ecclesiastical design to his work on the Houses of Parliament with architect Charles Barry. The exhibition’s later rooms were devoted to Pugin’s domestic commissions–most notably The Grange, his own residence–and his last great work, the Medieval Court at the Great Exhibition of 1851. This final section featured one of the most important highlights of the seminal Great Exhibition–a Cabinet designed by Pugin and manufactured by George Myers that epitomized the finest quality carving and cleverly adapted the form of its medieval prototype for modern use.
On view at Bard Graduate Center from November 9, 1995–February 25, 1996, A.W.N. Pugin: Master of Gothic Revival was curated by Paul Atterbury.
Although he lived to just 40, Pugin’s prolific body of design work included ecclesiastical and secular buildings, furniture, woodwork, metalwork, jewelry, textiles, wallpaper, ceramics, stained-glass windows, and books. Best known as the interior designer of the Palace of Westminster, he was also the single most influential artist in defining the 19th century Gothic Revival in England.
The exhibition was divided into five sections revealing Pugin’s incomparable role as an innovator in the Gothic Revival style. Its first section examined the pre-Pugin Gothic Revival in England, highlighting such monuments as Strawberry Hill House, the home of Horace Walpole. Others explored Pugin’s work ranging from ecclesiastical design to his work on the Houses of Parliament with architect Charles Barry. The exhibition’s later rooms were devoted to Pugin’s domestic commissions–most notably The Grange, his own residence–and his last great work, the Medieval Court at the Great Exhibition of 1851. This final section featured one of the most important highlights of the seminal Great Exhibition–a Cabinet designed by Pugin and manufactured by George Myers that epitomized the finest quality carving and cleverly adapted the form of its medieval prototype for modern use.
On view at Bard Graduate Center from November 9, 1995–February 25, 1996, A.W.N. Pugin: Master of Gothic Revival was curated by Paul Atterbury.
