Charles Stewart
Black and White Gothic
20 Dec 2014 - 15 Feb 2015
Charles Stewart
‘Uncle Silas’: Frontispiece, 1947.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2603.
‘Uncle Silas’: Frontispiece, 1947.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2603.
Charles Stewart
'Uncle Silas’: Title Page, 1947.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2604.
'Uncle Silas’: Title Page, 1947.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2604.
Charles Stewart
'We walked in silence to the balustrade', undated.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2606.
'We walked in silence to the balustrade', undated.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2606.
Charles Stewart
'Looking with the absorbed gaze of an artist on the ruin', 1945.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. RA Inv. 14/2609.
'Looking with the absorbed gaze of an artist on the ruin', 1945.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. RA Inv. 14/2609.
Charles Stewart
'She stood scowling into the room with a searching and pallid scrutiny', 1946.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2613.
'She stood scowling into the room with a searching and pallid scrutiny', 1946.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2613.
Charles Stewart
'Meanwhile, the winter deepened', 1947.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2833.
'Meanwhile, the winter deepened', 1947.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2833.
Charles Stewart
'The figure of Uncle Silas rose up, with a death like scowl', undated.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. RA Inv. 14/2838, Royal Academy of Arts. © Estate of the artist..
'The figure of Uncle Silas rose up, with a death like scowl', undated.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. RA Inv. 14/2838, Royal Academy of Arts. © Estate of the artist..
Charles Stewart
Illustration for Uncle Silas, 'She clasped me round the waist, and buried her face in my dress', 1947.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2844.
Illustration for Uncle Silas, 'She clasped me round the waist, and buried her face in my dress', 1947.
Pen & ink drawing on Whatman board. © Estate of the artist. RA Inv. 14/2844.
CHARLES STEWART
Black and White Gothic
20 December 2014 — 15 February 2015
Unsettling, otherworldly and murderous scenarios are dramatically played out in Charles Stewart’s deceptively simple book illustrations, striking examples of the neglected British tradition of black and white book art.
Illustrator Charles Stewart (1915–2001) was haunted by the Victorian novel Uncle Silas (1864) for over 40 years. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s tale of Maud Ruthyn, a naïve heiress in peril, inspired Stewart to produce a set of 30 full-page pen and ink drawings, in the manner of the great graphic artists of the nineteenth century.
The novel takes place within the confines of a neglected country house and its grounds. The decay is moral as well as physical, as hints of murder, immorality and the occult hover around the spectral Silas. A fascinating array of influences formed Stewart’s personal vision of Silas, Maud and the house Bartram-Haugh; influences we can identify from his archive, held in the RA Collection. Film stills and theatre designs, proofs and publishing materials from the abortive Bodley Head edition of Uncle Silas (1948) are displayed alongside the decorative binding designs made for the edition finally realised by the Folio Society in 1988.
Black and White Gothic
20 December 2014 — 15 February 2015
Unsettling, otherworldly and murderous scenarios are dramatically played out in Charles Stewart’s deceptively simple book illustrations, striking examples of the neglected British tradition of black and white book art.
Illustrator Charles Stewart (1915–2001) was haunted by the Victorian novel Uncle Silas (1864) for over 40 years. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s tale of Maud Ruthyn, a naïve heiress in peril, inspired Stewart to produce a set of 30 full-page pen and ink drawings, in the manner of the great graphic artists of the nineteenth century.
The novel takes place within the confines of a neglected country house and its grounds. The decay is moral as well as physical, as hints of murder, immorality and the occult hover around the spectral Silas. A fascinating array of influences formed Stewart’s personal vision of Silas, Maud and the house Bartram-Haugh; influences we can identify from his archive, held in the RA Collection. Film stills and theatre designs, proofs and publishing materials from the abortive Bodley Head edition of Uncle Silas (1948) are displayed alongside the decorative binding designs made for the edition finally realised by the Folio Society in 1988.