Frederick James Partridge (c.1877–1946) (known as Fred Partridge, works signed "FJP") was an English jeweller, silversmith and teacher of jewellery making, active circa 1901–1930.Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951
University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011, ''Frederick James Partridge'' His works are in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

style. He has been called the "British

René Lalique René Jules Lalique (; 6 April 1860 – 1 May 1945) was a French jeweller, medallist, and glass designer known for his creations of glass art, perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks, and automobile hood ornaments. Life Lalique ...

Origins

He was born in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

, North Devon, the son of David Partridge (a pharmacist) and his wife Mary Ann Hunt. His elder sister

Ethel Mairet Ethel Mary Partridge, Ethel Mary Mairet Royal Designers for Industry, RDI, or Ethel Mary Coomaraswamy (17 February 1872 – 18 November 1952) was a British hand loom Weaving, weaver, significant in the development of the craft during the first h ...

(1872-1952) (née Partridge) was a notable weaver, textile designer and dyer who wrote several books on hand-weaving.

Career

He studied at

Birmingham Municipal School of Art The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...

where he shared lodgings with Henry Payne, painter and stained glass designer. After two years (c.1907-9) teaching at the

Camberwell School of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

in London and spending time at the Barnstaple Guild of MetalworkBonhams, 2019
An enamel and mother-of-pearl necklace, by Frederick James Partridge, circa 1905
/ref> and at the

Guild and School of Handicraft The Guild and School of Handicraft was established in 1888 in London, later moving to Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, England, as a community of artists and craftspeople by the arts and crafts architect Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942). Acc ...

Chipping Campden Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold (district), Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries. A wool trading centre in the Middle Ages, Chipp ...

, Gloucestershire (established as a community of artists and craftspeople by the

arts and crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

architect

Charles Robert Ashbee Charles Robert Ashbee (17 May 1863 – 23 May 1942) was an English architect and designer who was a prime mover of the Arts and Crafts movement, which took its craft ethic from the works of John Ruskin and its co-operative structure from the soci ...

), where his sister Ethel also studied, he established himself as an artist and art jeweller, at some time before 1911 and worked from a studio in

Dean Street Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. It crosses Old Compton Street and is linked to Frith Street by Bateman Street. Culture The Soho Theatre presents new plays and stand-u ...

, London. Amongst his clients was the department store

Liberty & Co Liberty, commonly known as Liberty's, is a luxury department store in London, England. It is located on Great Marlborough Street in the West End of London. The building spans from Carnaby Street in the East to Kingly Street in the West, where ...

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...

, London.

Marriage

His wife,

May Hart Partridge May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...

(born c.1881 in Harborne, Staffordshire - died 1917), was an art enameller who studied at the

Birmingham School of Art The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...

. She was "the most notorious pupil of

Arthur Gaskin Arthur Joseph Gaskin RBSA (16 March 1862 – 4 June 1928) was an English illustrator, painter, teacher and designer of jewellery and enamelwork. Gaskin and his wife Georgie Gaskin were members of the Birmingham Group of Artist-Craftsmen, w ...

".For career of Mary Hart Partridge see: Toni Lesser Wolf, ''Women Jewelers of the British Arts and Crafts Movement'', Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Vol. 14 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 28-45 Her works are mainly in the

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

style. She later worked at

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

schools and at home.

Works

Two of Fred Partridge's works from 1928 are in the collection of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London, a brooch (M.14-1976) and a ring (M.15-1976), the latter of silver set with a baguette amethyst, made for his daughter Joan.{{Cite web, url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O118176/ring-partridge-fred/, title=Ring | Partridge, Fred | V&A Explore the Collections A brooch (c.1930) (1981M400) is in the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery.

References

1946 deaths

Partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They ar ...

Year of birth uncertain