Dorothy Hutton

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Dorothy Hutton
MVO
Born(1889-11-21)21 November 1889
Bolton, England
Died19 May 1984(1984-05-19) (aged 94)
London, England
NationalityBritish
EducationCentral School of Arts and Crafts
Known forpainting, calligraphy, printmaking

Dorothy Hutton MVO (21 November 1889 – 19 May 1984)[1][2] was an English painter, scribe and printmaker. She was particularly renowned as a calligrapher[3] and most widely known for her London Transport posters.

Early life and education[edit]

Hutton was born in Bolton, Lancashire, daughter of the Reverend F.R.C. Hutton.[1][4] Her cousin, Captain Anthony David Hutton OBE,[5] would go on to organise the evacuation of refugees from Cyprus during the Turkish invasion of 1974.

She was educated at Queen Margaret's School, York.[6] She studied architecture,[7] and in the 1920s, she attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts, studying with F Ernest Jackson.[1][8][9]

Career[edit]

Hutton worked in several media for many years, including calligraphy, tempera and printmaking, both paper and textiles. Among her works of calligraphy are the Metropolitan Police Roll of Honour, on which she collaborated with Vera Law,[8] the Barclays Bank Roll of Honour, the RAF Coastal Command War Record, the Record for the Honourable Company of Master Mariners,[10] the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham Roll of Honour of the Great War,[11] the Queen's University Belfast Roll of Honour,[12] the gold lettering on the war memorial tablet in the church at Great Horwood in Buckinghamshire,[4][13] and a map of the Cotswolds, with most of the towns indicated by churches.[14] Hutton entered the Daily Mail Exhibition of Village Signs in 1920 and won £200 as a third prize, out of 617 entries, for her sign for Battle, Sussex.[15][7] Hutton opened the Three Shields Gallery in Holland Street, London, exhibiting prints, drawings and, watercolors, and selling cards she designed, such as a Holly Bush series of tags for Christmas presents and place names for children's parties.[16]

Hutton exhibited widely in the 1930s and 1940s and at the Royal Academy in London for nearly fifty years, from 1923 to 1970.[17] She also exhibited with the New English Art Club and at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.[18] She was a co-founder, in 1921, of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and was also a member of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society[8][19] and of the Red Rose Guild.[20]

Well known for her depiction of flowers, Hutton was commissioned by London Transport for multiple poster designs between 1922 and 1954, including a series of seasonal posters advertising flowers in bloom throughout the city, as well as posters of historical landmarks. Hutton was the official artist to the Crown Office and among other works, responsible for a memorial to General Dwight Eisenhower in Bushy Park in West London.[18] From 1964 she was a member of the Art Workers' Guild.[18]

In the 1959 New Year Honours, Hutton was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order, fifth class.[21] She lived in Chelsea, London and at her memorial service, held on 20 June 1984 at the Queen's Chapel of the Savoy, the chaplain to the Royal Victorian Order officiated.[7][6]

Legacy[edit]

Detail from the letters-patent creating Charles Duke of Cornwall as Prince of Wales in 1958; written and illuminated by Dorothy Hutton for Queen Elizabeth II, as official artist to the Crown Office[22]

Donald Jackson MBE, Hutton's successor as official scribe and calligrapher to the Crown Office, remembers Hutton as "a very confident woman. She had her own gallery – a crafts gallery in Notting Hill – and she was quite formidable".[23]

In 20th Century Pattern Design, Lesley Jackson describes "the multi-talented Dorothy Hutton" as "an accomplished illuminator, letterer and lithographer".[24] Joanna Selborne, former Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Courtauld Gallery, lists Hutton "among the most distinguished" printmakers, alongside Enid Marx.[25][26] Modern adaptations of Hutton's textile prints continue to be marketed today.[27] The Penrose Graphic Arts International Annual expands on Hutton's impact on the design of contemporary printed greeting cards:[28]

A pioneer in the modern card was Dorothy Hutton. Her first cards date from 1919, were mostly printed from line blocks, and were coloured by hand. The fact that during World War I Miss Hutton had worked at the Curwen Press gave her an insight into printing processes, then rare amongst artists, added to which she was a member of the Senefelder Club and an exhibiting artist in her own right. You have to throw your mind back rather violently to appreciate how remarkable such cards seemed in the 'twenties ... [Y]et the idea was right, and because Miss Hutton had the courage to persevere, she has seen it take root and prosper. If you look for some key word to distinguish her cards, it is that each is clearly the sincere and natural expression of the artist's own sentiments and not those manufactured to suit the public taste.

— Noel Carrington, "The Contemporary Christmas Card", The Penrose Graphic Arts International Annual, Vol. 43 (1949)
Furnishing fabric for nursery, with design of farm and forest animals, birds, trees, ponds and fields; print designed by Dorothy Hutton[29]

Hutton's "pioneering Three Shields Gallery" is recognised as having been an important development in Britain's interwar arts scene, bringing significant positive impacts for women artists and gallerists.[30] According to Helen Ritchie of the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, Hutton was one of "a number of progressive and pioneering women [who] established successful and influential ... galleries in interwar London."[31] Hutton's gallery was the first of such establishments to open, encouraging craftswomen to create work by providing a forum in which they could sell it.[32][33][34] Jerwood Arts identifies the Three Shields Gallery as one of "a number of important outlets for designers wanting to sell high quality craftwork ... women ran many of these."[35]

Ritchie notes how Hutton and her peers "actively sought out new work, created a market for it, and carefully curated their spaces, acting as tastemakers and as conduits between the artist and the public. This complex and mutually supportive network of female artists and gallerists enabled its participants to live and work independently in new and non-traditional ways, often outside of the heteronormative sphere."[31] The Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft further notes that Hutton was "influential in promoting this new, contemporary work in the context of a 'modern' lifestyle."[36]

Hutton and her Three Shields Gallery both feature in Alison Love's 1997 historical romance novel Mallingford.[37]

Hutton's work has been exhibited posthumously in retrospectives including 'I Don't Know Her Name, But I Know Her Work' at Central Saint Martins,[38] 'Treasures Past and Present' at Fulham Palace[11] and 'Words Made Beautiful', a 2022 exhibition of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators at the Mall Galleries, London.[39]

Hutton is remembered by the Society of Scribes and Illuminators for "her distinguished work" and having "admirably fulfilled the objects assigned to [the Society]".[40]

Collections[edit]

The British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and National Portrait Gallery in London hold examples of Hutton's work, as do Yale University and the National Gallery of Canada.[41][42][43][44][45] The London Transport Museum collection includes her 1935 poster Heather Time.[46] The Whitworth Art Gallery and the University of the Arts London also hold works by Hutton.[47][48]

Works (incomplete)[edit]

Roll of Honour for the fallen of the Metropolitan Police in the First and Second World Wars, Westminster Abbey; lettering, decorations and miniatures by Dorothy Hutton
Poster design by Dorothy Hutton for London Transport, 1939

Calligraphic works (partial list)[edit]

Essays[edit]

  • 'Pigments and Media', The Calligrapher's Handbook (1956)[54]
  • 'Illumination and Decoration', The Calligrapher's Handbook (1956)[54]
It is through constant and corageous attempts that some satisfactory results may be achieved. There is a vast field of enjoyment open to all. However simple the theme, if the decoration is descriptive, lively, fearless and sincere, it will be of interest and will enrich the text.
— Dorothy Hutton, "Illumination and Decoration", The Calligrapher's Handbook (1956)

Paintings and prints (partial list)[edit]

Exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts:[55]

  • Arch of Titus – lithograph (1923)
  • Varzy – watercolour (1924)
  • Market boats returning on Lago d'Iseo (1925)
  • Santa Scolastica, Subiaco (1927)
  • Urbino (1927)
  • Piazza Campidoglio, Rome (1927)
  • Roses – tempera (1930)
  • June flowers – tempera (1930)
  • Summer flowers – tempera (1931)
  • Spring flowers (1933)
  • Kensington Palace (1933)
  • Mixed flowers – tempera (1934)
  • Summer flowers – tempera (1934)
  • City offices of Messrs Glyn, Mills & Co. – lithograph (1935)
  • Mevagissey Harbour (1938)
  • Summer Flowers – tempera (1940)
  • Harbour, Mevagissey (1940)
  • Spring bunch – tempera (1942)
  • A fellside cottage (1942)
  • Great Coxwell barn (1943)
  • Flowers in May – tempera (1943)
  • July flowers – tempera (1944)
  • June flowers – tempera (1944)
  • September flowers – tempera (1945)
  • Roses – tempera (1945)
  • Roses and snapdragon – tempera (1945)
  • Cartmel (1945)
  • Lymington (1947)
  • Spring – tempera (1947)
  • Summer – tempera (1947)
  • Summer rose – tempera (1948)
  • Japanese anemones – tempera (1948)
  • Yarmouth, Isle of Wight (1948)
  • A Summer Bunch – tempera (1949)
  • Auriculas – tempera (1949)
  • Westminster Abbey (1949)
  • June 1949 – tempera (1950)
  • Sept. 1949 – tempera (1950)
  • Looking North from Yarmouth, Isle of Wight (1950)
  • Cotswold Flowers – tempera (1951)
  • Camellias at Kew – tempera (1952)
  • Christmas Roses (1954)
  • Summer Roses, 1953 – tempera (1954)
  • Custom House, King's Lynn (1954)
  • White Peonies – tempera (1955)
  • Summer bunch, 1954 – tempera (1955)
  • September's Bunch – tempera (1956)
  • Flowers in May – tempera (1956)
  • Rosa Dupontii (1957)
  • Camellias – tempera (1958)
  • San Cimignano – chalk, pen and wash (1958)
  • Boule de Neige (1958)
  • Flowers in May – tempera (1959)
  • Rose Charles de Mills (1959)
  • Westminster Abbey (1959)
  • Rose "Fantin Latour" (1960)
  • Urbino – pen, wash and chalk (1960)
  • Flowers in a Bowl – tempera (1961)
  • Roses: Alba Maxima (1962)
  • Campo San Zanipolo (1962)
  • Camellias – tempera (1963)
  • Canterbury (1963)
  • Seated Figure (1964)
  • Camellias, 1964 – tempera (1965)
  • Felicite Parmentier – watercolour (1965)
  • Camellias – tempera (1967)
  • Siena from the Gran' Loggia – pen and wash (1968)
  • Shrub Roses in June – tempera (1968)
  • Camellias, 1968 (1969)
  • Salisbury (1969)
  • July Bunch, 1969 (1970)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Dorothy Hutton (Biographical details)". The British Museum. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  2. ^ Hutton, Dorothy. "England & Wales Government Probate Death Index". gov.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  3. ^ Webb, Brian; Skipwith, Peyton (2008). Design: Harold Curwen & Oliver Simon, Curwen Press. Antique Collectors' Club. p. 23. ISBN 9781851495719. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Death of the Rev. F.R.C. Hutton". Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press. Buckingham, England. 10 July 1926. p. 5. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  5. ^ Hutton, Dorothy (20 August 1983). Last will and testament. HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b "In Memoriam. Miss Dorothy Hutton". The Daily Telegraph. No. 40127. London, England. 21 June 1984. p. 16.
  7. ^ a b c "Sussex Village Signs. Prize Designs for Mayfield and Battle". Sussex Agricultural Express. Sussex, England. 22 October 1920. p. 9. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Lomas, Elizabeth, ed. (2019). Guide to the Archive of Art and Design: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Routledge. p. 226. ISBN 9781135970970. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  9. ^ Delaney, J. G. Paul; Ashmolean Museum (2000). F. Ernest Jackson and His School. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum. pp. 13, 17. ISBN 9781854441348. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e Dolman, Bernard, ed. (1970). Who's Who in Art, Fifteenth Edition. The Art Trade Press Ltd. p. 287. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "Fulham's Past on Show at Unique Exhibition". FulhamSW6.com. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Queen's University in World War 1" (PDF). Remembrance NI. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Great Horwood. The War Memorial Tablet". Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press. Buckingham, England. 6 September 1919. p. 4. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  14. ^ "London Display of Art in Handwriting". Birmingham Daily Post. Birmingham, England. 2 October 1956. p. 30. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Village Signs. Fruit of a Royal Suggestion". The Daily Telegraph. No. 20437. London, England. 16 October 1920. p. 15.
  16. ^ Johanna (16 November 1922). "Gossip - Grave and Gay. For Children". Pall Mall Gazette. London, England. p. 11. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  17. ^ Sara Gray (2009). The Dictionary of British Women Artists. The Lutterworth Press. ISBN 97807-18830847.
  18. ^ a b c David Buckman (2006). Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 1, A to L. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0-953260-95-X.
  19. ^ Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society: catalogue of the thirteenth exhibition, 1926. W.H. Smith and Son, The Arden Press. pp. 9, 37, 72, 89, 117. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  20. ^ Harrod, Tanya (1999). The crafts in Britain in the 20th Century. New Haven, USA: Yale University Press. p. 133. ISBN 0300077807.
  21. ^ "Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood" (PDF). Supplement to the London Gazette: 5. 1 January 1959. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  22. ^ Liddendale, Jane (1997). Some Notes on Campden Street (PDF). The Kensington Society Annual Report. p. 54.
  23. ^ Jackson, Donald. "Donald Jackson interviewed by Hawksmoor Hughes". British Library. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  24. ^ Jackson, Lesley (2011). 20th Century Pattern Design. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-61689-065-0. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Joanna Selborne". The Art Workers' Guild. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  26. ^ Selborne, Joanna (2000). Backemeyer, Sylvia (ed.). Making their Mark: Art, Craft and Design at the Central School, 1896-1966. London: Herbert Press. p. 24. ISBN 0-7136-5261-6. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  27. ^ "The Flood". Ehrman. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  28. ^ Carrington, Noel (1949). The Contemporary Christmas Card. The Penrose Graphic Arts International Annual, Volume 43. p. 45.
  29. ^ "Nursery Print". V&A. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  30. ^ The British Council Collection 1984-1994. The British Council. 1995. p. 121. ISBN 0-86355-290-0. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  31. ^ a b Ritchie, Helen. "Modern Gallerists: Women and the retail of craft in interwar London". Association for Art History. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  32. ^ Roscoe, Barley (1987). Gillian, Elinor (ed.). Women and Craft. London: Virago. p. 139. ISBN 0-86068-540-3. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  33. ^ Boydell, Christine (1989). Attfield, Judy; Kirkham, Pat (eds.). A View from the Interior: Feminism, Women and Design. London: The Women's Press. p. 62. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  34. ^ Anscombe, Isabelle (1984). A Woman's Touch: Women in Design from 1860 to the Present Day. London: Virago Press Limited. p. 147. ISBN 0-86068-338-9. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  35. ^ Epps, Philomena. "The Female Cover". Jerwood Arts. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  36. ^ "Women's Work". Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  37. ^ Love, Alison (1999). Mallingford. Transworld Publishers Limited. pp. 50–152. ISBN 0-7089-4036-6. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  38. ^ "I Don't Know Her Name, But I Know Her Work". Graphics UK Women. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  39. ^ "The Society of Scribes & Illuminators". Facebook. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  40. ^ Lamb, C.M. (1966). Osley, A.S. (ed.). Calligraphy and Paleography. New York: October House. p. 246. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  41. ^ "Collection online: Print made by: Dorothy Hutton". The British Museum. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  42. ^ "Name: Hutton, Dorothy". V&A Collections. London, England: Victoria and Albert Museum. 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  43. ^ "Dorothy Hutton (1889-1984), Artist". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  44. ^ "Dorothy Hutton, 1889-1984, British, The Daffodils Are Out. What About You? 1939". Yale Center for British Art. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  45. ^ "Dorothy Hutton, The Trough". National Gallery of Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  46. ^ "People". www.ltmuseum.co.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  47. ^ Whitworth Art Gallery; Hopper, Robert (1979). British drawings since 1945 in the Whitworth Art Gallery. The Gallery. p. 51. ISBN 9780903261104. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  48. ^ "Dorothy Hutton". University of the Arts London. 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  49. ^ Roberts, Jane (2011). Queen Elizabeth II: A Diamond Jubilee Souvenir Album. London: Royal Collection Publications. p. 138. ISBN 9781905686407. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  50. ^ "On the Silver Wedding of Their Majesties The King and Queen". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  51. ^ "BBC Radio Circle Membership Card (1930)". Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  52. ^ "BBC Radio Circle Membership Card (1931)". Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  53. ^ Miner, Dorothy E.; Carlson, Victor I.; Filby, P.W., eds. (1980). 2,000 Years of Calligraphy. New York: Taplinger Publishing Co. Inc. p. 162. ISBN 0-8008-7919-8. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  54. ^ a b Lamb, C.M., ed. (1976). The Calligrapher's Handbook. Pentalic Corporation. pp. 44–64, 232–236. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  55. ^ Royal Academy of Arts (1979). Royal Academy Exhibitors, 1905-1970: A dictionary of artists and their work in the Summer Exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Arts, Volume IV. EP Publishing. pp. 108–109. ISBN 0-85409-982-4. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
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