Edmund Blampied
Gathering Vraic on a Jersey Shore.
c. 1937

Name: Gathering Vraic on a Jersey Shore.
Brand: Edmund Blampied
Price: 2500 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Gathering Vraic on a Jersey Shore. c. 1937. Ink and watercolor on 'Castle Linen Tolli & Harvey LD London' countermarked paper. 7 1/8 x 13 1/2 (sheet 12 1/2 x 16 1/4). Good condition, apart from small professionally repaired paper losses at the corners, from previous hinges. Dedicated 'To my friend Harold James Bailey E.B.' and annotated 'To wish you a glad glow of happiness for Christmas and the New Year'. From the collection of the famous Blampied scholar and collector, Harold J. Bailey, who wrote an article, 'Edmund Blampied: Artist and Philosopher' in the Print Collector's Quarterly 24 (1937). Housed in a 15 1/2 x 21 1/2-inch Whistler style gold wood frame. In the left rear section is a Martello or Conway tower, built as a fortiffiction. A Jersey Round Tower Coastal towers stand all along the coast of the island. The British built 22 round towers, one similar square tower, and eight Martello towers towards the end of the 18th Century and in the early to mid-19th Century, but now only 24 remain, including seven of the Martellos. Vraic is a seaweed found in the Channel Islands. The main use of vraic is for spreading over potato fields during the winter. It is then ploughed into the soil before the potatoes are planted in late winter and spring. Vraic was traditionally gathered by horse and cart in Grouville Bay and St Ouen's Bay, and in smaller quantities at Le Hocq and Havre des Pas. The practice continues using tractors and trailers, although the quantity taken has diminished over the years. Edmund Blampied was a painter, etcher, lithographer and sculptor. Born in 1886 to a family of three boys in St. Martin, Jersey, Blampied became interested in drawing at an early age. After visiting the studio of John Helier Lander in 1899, Blampied decided to make a career as an artist. In 1903 he went to London to attend Lambeth Art School, where he studied etching under Walter Seymour. In 1905, he joined the Daily Chronicle as an artist. In that year he was awarded a scholarship to Bolt Court School of Photo-engraving and Lithography. In 1912 he left the Chronicle and established his own studio. He earned a living by illustrating novels and short stories. In 1913, he had his first exhibition at the Leicester Gallery in London. The following year he married Marianne Van Abbé. During the 1920's, he became a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers. During the 1920s Blampied became a member of the Royal Society of Painters-Etchers and Engravers and exhibited in London to critical acclaim. He produced a folio of comic drawings in the 1930s which was published in New York in 1934 and another that was published in London in 1936. The Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum published a mongraph on his work. His London exhibitions were highly successful. In 1938, he moved to Bulwarks, St.Aubin in Jersey, but at the onset of the Occupation, had to relocate to Route Orange, St. Brelade. remained there throughout World War II during the German Occupation, despite the fact that his wife was Jewish. During the Occupation he designed bank notes and a set of postage stamps for the States of Jersey. After the War and the end of the Occupation, he continued to live and work in Jersey. In 1966, he died at the age of 80. He was a member of: Royal Society of British Artists, 1938 Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, 1921

Creator:

Edmund Blampied (1886-1966, British)

Creation Year:

c. 1937

Dimensions:

Height: 15.5 in (39.37 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)

Medium:

Ink,Watercolor

Movement & Style:

Modern

Period:

1930-1939