Archibald Knox (designer)
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Archibald Knox (9 April 1864 in Cronkbourne village, Braddan near Tromode,
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
– 22 February 1933 in Douglas, Isle of Man), was a Manx designer of Scottish descent. He is best known as being
Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
's primary designer at the height of their success and influence upon UK and International design. Knox's work bridged the Arts and Crafts Movement,
Celtic Revival The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gael ...
, Art Nouveau, and
Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
. He is seen as a leading figure of the
Modern Style The Modern Style is a style of architecture, art, and design that first emerged in the United Kingdom in the mid-1880s. It is the first Art Nouveau style worldwide, and it represents the evolution of the Arts and Crafts movement which was native ...
movement. Knox's hundreds of designs for Liberty made his style widely known, though not his name, as Liberty kept their designers anonymous. Most of his work for Liberty was for the Tudric (pewter) and Cymric (precious metals) ranges. The gravestone of Liberty founder,
Arthur Lasenby Liberty Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty (13 August 1843 – 11 May 1917) was a London-based merchant, and the founder of Liberty & Co. Early life Arthur Liberty was born on 13 August 1843 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, the son of a draper. He b ...
, was designed by Knox. His design talent covered a wide range of objects, ornamental and utilitarian, and included silverware and
pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades ...
ware, jewellery,
inkwell An inkwell is a small jar or container, often made of glass, porcelain, silver, brass, or pewter, used for holding ink in a place convenient for the person who is writing. The artist or writer dips the brush, quill, or dip pen into the inkwell ...
s, boxes, gravestones, watercolours, graphic designs, calligraphy, a house design, fonts and even bank cheques. Some sources estimate that he produced around 5,000 designs.


Early life and family background

Archibald Knox was born the 5th child (and 5th son) of William Knox, a cabinet maker and Ann Carmichael in Cronkbourne village, Braddan. His father was living in
Kilbirnie Kilbirnie ( Gaelic: ''Cill Bhraonaigh'') is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisle ...
in 1853 when he married Ann, who was from the isle of Lismore in Scotland, which was a centre of the medieval Celtic Christian church in the Western Isles. In 1856, the Knoxes moved to the Isle Of Man for a better life, with their firstborn, Robert. William Knox, "an exceptionally ingenious cabinet and machine-maker, joined Moore’s Tromode Works, makers of high quality herring nets and sailcloth." In 1856, William's sister Margaret had been the first Knox to move to Man when she married a Manx fisherman, William Callister. William Knox later started his own firm "William Knox’s Engineering Works" and was joined in his enterprise by four of his sons - only Archibald pursued his own career in art. Besides running a successful steamboat and ferry business, the Knox family mechanised the local fishing fleet, were pioneers in industrial electric lighting on Man and introduced the first motor car to the island. Knox's engineering background may have influenced his design process in that his metalwork designs were produced in the style of ready-to-engineer blueprints.


Education

Knox started his education at St Barnabas Elementary School, and then attended Douglas Grammar School. The Knox family lived and worked on Douglas, Isle of Man harbour and quayside and the teenage Knox started sketching around the area. In 1880, at the age of 16, Knox enrolled at the newly opened and innovative Douglas School of Art. The students there considered themselves 'venturesome modernists'.Tilbrook, Adrian J, 'Knox, The Early Years' in Stephen A Martin, Archibald Knox,, 2001 In 1889 Knox was awarded his Art Master's Certificate. During his youth Knox developed a lifelong interest in early Manx history and
Celtic art Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and styli ...
, particularly the carved Celtic and Norse stone crosses on the Isle of Man which date from c.500AD to c.1200AD. As a young teacher at Douglas he befriended the headmaster and antiquarian, Canon John Quine, and they would go on regular expeditions to explore sites. Knox and Quine later restored the derelict church of Old Kirk Lonan where Quine was vicar. Knox campaigned in the 1870s for the derelict Manx Cathedral on
St Patrick's Isle St Patrick's Isle ( gv, Ynnys Pherick) is a small tidal island on the west coast of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, largely occupied by Peel Castle and noted for its attractive and relatively well preserved historic castle ruins. History Arc ...
, Peel to be restored and reinstated, and set up the League of St German in 1896 to do so.


Career

Knox starting teaching at Douglas School of Art in 1884, while still a student. The Arts and Crafts architect Baillie Scott started classes at the Art School while Knox was teaching there, and Knox worked with him on some interiors. In 1893, ''
The Builder ''Building'' is one of the United Kingdom's oldest business-to-business magazines, launched as ''The Builder'' in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed ''Bu ...
'' published Knox's article, "Ancient Crosses in the Isle of Man". In 1896 or 1897 Knox was working for / studying with the pioneering designer Christopher Dresser in London. In 1897, Knox started teaching at Redhill School of Art where his friend from art school A. J. Collister was principal. In 1897 Knox began working for the
Silver Studio The Silver Studio was one of the most influential textile design studios in the UK from its formation in 1880 until the middle of the twentieth century. The studio, founded by Arthur Silver (1853–1896) designed some of the most famous fabric, w ...
, who were designing for
Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
. In 1899 he left with Collister for the
Kingston School of Art The Kingston School of Art (KSA) is an art school in Kingston upon Thames, part of Kingston University London. It was first established in 1899 as the Kingston School of Science and Art. In 1930 it was established as a separate school and has b ...
. From 1900 to 1904 Knox returned to the Isle of Man, and produced over 400 designs directly for Liberty of London, most notably for the Cymric and Tudric ranges. Their Cymric catalogue stated, “The feature of this development is, its complete breaking away from convention in the matter of design treatment”. "Knox and his colleagues whether they be his fellow designers at the Silver Studio or the Liberty management who gave their undoubted support, had moved the Arts and Crafts stylistic principles one stage further forward and in so doing, had created a distinctive British version of Art Nouveau" (V&A) This work contributed to Liberty's aim of "the production of useful and beautiful objects at prices within the reach of all classes." Knox then returned to teach at Kingston School of Art and Wimbledon Art School 1906/7, again following his friend A. J. Collister.


Teaching methods and design principles

Knox told his students a large number of maxims that give an insight into his design principles. Perhaps the primary one was “Aim at order, hope for beauty”. Knox wrote on the blackboard for new students, “Never be ordinary, better be nothing than that”. Another maxim was, “Art is in everything if we choose to put it there”. In 1912 Knox wrote to a student “Don’t slacken in your work: work and think – think and work: that is the royal road: there is no other through the forest of art”. Knox had an innovative method of teaching art: he collected a set of three thousand glass slides, of examples of design work, to show his students. While showing these he encouraged the students to consider the design principles involved in each, and whether the design met the functional requirements. As his student Winifred Tuckfield described in 1916, "Mr. Knox's system of teaching was essentially his own. Instead of insisting on the English method of art education by making laborious copies of scraps of museum specimens of 'styles' he made at his own expense three thousand lantern slides, illustrating works of art from prehistoric times down to the gipsy caravans of to-day, showing how Art was produced by the workman in the joy of using his chisel or hammer. To you of MANNIN it will be interesting to know that he gave lectures on your grey thatched homes, your churches, and your crosses, making us love them as if they were our own." Tuckfield also said, "Many of the lectures were divided into groups, such as colour, windows, pot contours, etc. Comparing one example with another Mr. Knox would show which had the greatest thought in it, which was most suited to its purpose and the material used — teaching that there were two Natures, Outside Nature and Our Own, the last being Art, Art the outcome, or the reward of practice and study. Style or Art came to the artist as to the musician, only after long and continual application to the paintbox or the keyboard, application with resolution and thought. Not until this Self Nature was expressed was the work produced complete, distinctive by its individuality, glowing as a stone mined from the recesses of the unknown."


Manx renaissance interests

Knox had a profound and intertwining interest in the natural world and landscape, the spiritual life, and the history and art of the Isle of Man and particularly the early Celtic Christian Church. He described this connection in his illuminated 1913 poem "Renshent", written about an early Celtic Christian keeill (chapel) on the Isle of Man. Knox was part of a 'Manx renaissance' of culture and history led by antiquarians. They rediscovered, reconstructed and reinterpreted history and traditions to bolster Manx cultural distinctiveness and devolved political status in the face of economic and social influences from the British Empire and the thousands of visitors to the island's booming tourism industry. This was part of a wider
Celtic Revival The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gael ...
echoed in smaller nations across Europe asserting their identities. On Sundays Knox would go to the countryside to paint. He would often wait for hours for the right effect of light and weather, and would then catch the effect rapidly in watercolour. He has been described as "The man who could paint the wind". While living in Sulby, Knox wrote of his watercolours that 'the places painted are within short walks from my home, passed often; one day something never seen before; some new appearance of colour and the bends of the sky. It may not be seen again; shortly it will fade and disappear, and in an hour forgotten. Such sights as they, as men over unimaginable centuries have looked at and learned to know their land is beautiful.’ Several of his watercolours of Manx scenes were given as new to the
Manx Museum The Manx Museum (Thie Tashtee Vannin) in Douglas, Isle of Man is the national museum of the Isle of Man. It is run by Manx National Heritage. In general, the museum covers 10,000 years the history of the Isle of Man from the Stone Age to the mode ...
to be sold in order to fund its expansion. A collection of them sold originally for £5 each were auctioned in Exeter for several thousand pounds, early in the 21st century, some of them returning to the island.


Late years 1912-1933

In 1912, Knox resigned from his post as Head of Design at Kingston School of Art following criticism of his teaching. About twenty of his students also quit and set up the
Knox Guild of Design and Crafts The Knox Guild of Arts and Crafts was formed in 1912 by a group of about twenty art students at Kingston School of Art, Surrey, England in honour of the Liberty designer Archibald Knox. Knox had resigned from his post as Head of Design at Kingsto ...
. Knox was the Master of the Guild and would return to Kingston to exhibit with them. In 1913, he spent a year in the United States, and on his return to Man acted as a censor of internees' letters during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In 1919, after the War, he again took up teaching art at some of the Isle of Man's schools until his death. Knox produced a variety of design work on the island for publications, illuminations, and gravestones. Knox's great late work was an illuminated manuscript titled 'The Deer's Cry'.Stephen A. Martin (Ed.), Archibald Knox, 2008 This was a personal project for over 20 years and an intricate visual meditation on the Irish prayer of St Patrick known as 'The Deer's Cry' or ' Saint Patrick's Breastplate'. Each page is a complex interlaced illumination of a line of the prayer. The style, imagery, and colouring of each page reflects the content of each line of the prayer.


Personal life and death

Knox has been described as modest and monk-like: "almost Cistercian in his silence". He has also been described as gruff and stubborn. However, he did have close friendships, such as with Canon Quine and A. J. Collister. He was an active member of various societies such as the Isle of Man Antiquarian Society and the Freemasons. He was a
sidesman A sidesperson, also known as a sidesman, usher, or assistant churchwarden, in Anglican churches is responsible for greeting members of the congregation, overseeing seating arrangements in church, making the congregation queue for communion at ...
at his local high Anglican Church, St Matthew's. He also wrote a number of articles in journals to communicate his ideas. Knox died of heart failure in 1933 and was buried in Braddan Cemetery. His epitaph reads "Archibald Knox. Artist. A humble servant of God in the ministry of the beautiful".


Legacy

In 1975 the V&A Museum staged an exhibition of Liberty's designs. This started a slow increase in awareness of Knox and his work. Cadran Cottage, Ballanard Road in Douglas, remodelled c.1910 with design by Knox, was listed as a Registered Building of the Isle of Man in 1996. 'Cadran' means quadrant. The first international touring exhibition of Knox's work was in 1996-1998. The Archibald Knox Society was founded in 2006. The aim of the Society is the education of the public worldwide in relation to all matters concerning the legacy of Knox. To this end the Society has given lectures, (including an international tour), published journals and helped to organise exhibitions. To celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Knox's birth, the
Isle of Man Post Office The Isle of Man Post Office ( gv, Oik Postagh Ellan Vannin), which formerly used the trading name Isle of Man Post, operates postal collection, ancillary mail services, philatelic goods and delivery services and post office counter services on ...
issued a set of 10 stamps featuring his designs, released in April 2014. Also in 2014, an exhibition exploring the work of Knox and his Celtic contemporaries ("Celtic Style") was held at the House of Manannan, Peel, Isle of Man. A commemorative concert was held at Peel Cathedral featuring newly composed harp music and also including Manx Gaelic choir music. An exhibition of Knox's work was held at the 42nd Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair in London in 2014. In 2019 Knox was added to the Manx Patriot's Roll of Honour for his role in reviving the island's culture. A spokesperson for the awarding committee said, "He took the Isle of Man's Celtic and Norse art history and brought it back to life, revamping and reinvigorating it almost a millennium after the original artists had passed."


External links


The Archibald Knox Society
archived May 2008
Archibald Knox Trail - video with Liam O'Neill of the Archibald Knox Society
12 min, n.d.
Manx Schoolmaster to Liberty’s Designer
Manx National Heritage, Collection Guide 5, November 2013, 5 pages
'Archibald Knox: Beauty and Modernity, a Designer Ahead of His Time, by Anthony Bernbaum
* *Winifred Tuckfield, (191

in '' Mannin'' vol 7, pp381-384
Design / Calligraphy for ''Manx Fairy Tales''
pinterest.com


'The Deer's Cry' / 'St Patrick's Breastplate' by Archibald Knox
youblisher.com
'The Deer's Cry' / 'St Patrick's Breastplate'
sle of Man Museum, each illumination shown with corresponding words of each line of the prayer


Gallery

File:Belt buckle designed by Archibald Knox.jpg, Belt buckle designed by Archibald Knox File:Archibald Knox00.jpg, ''Lhergy'', watercolour on paper (1900–20) File:Inkwell designed by Archibald Knox.jpg, Inkwell designed by Knox File:An 'easel' clock style 0608 designed by Knox.jpg, An 'easel' clock style 0608 designed by Knox File:Knox-sweet-dish.jpg, Sweet dish designed by Knox File:Tea service, designed by Archibald Knox, 1903, made by W. H. Haseler & Co., Birmingham, England - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC09518.JPG, Tea service, 1903 File:Pewter candlestick designed by Archibald Knox.jpg, Pewter candlestick designed by Knox File:Archibald Knox illustration of 'Castle Rushen' by Armitage Rigby.jpg, Knox illustration of 'Castle Rushen' by Armitage Rigby. File:'Bollelin' pewter plate designed by Archibald Knox.jpg, 'Bollelin' Pewter and enamel plate designed by Knox


See also

*
Mannin (journal) ''Mannin: Journal of Matters Past and Present relating to Mann'' was an academic journal for the promotion of Manx culture, published biannually between 1913 and 1917 by the Manx Society, ''Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh''. It was edited by Sophia Mo ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Archibald 1864 births 1933 deaths 19th-century calligraphers 20th-century calligraphers Art Nouveau designers Art Nouveau painters Art Nouveau illustrators British graphic designers British illustrators British male painters Jewellery designers Manx artists Manx calligraphers Manx people of Scottish descent People of the Victorian era