John Piper C.H. (British, 1903-1992)


Harlaxton Manor II signed 'John Piper' (lower right); further signed, titled and dated 'Harlaxton Manor/2/John Piper/1972' (verso)oil on canvas laid on panel122 x 152.8 cm. (48 x 60 1/8 in.)
|ProvenanceWith Marlborough Fine Art, LondonProfessor Patrick Horsbrugh Esq.Private Collection, U.K.Harlaxton Manor was built in 1837 by Gregory Gregory (1775–1860) when he inherited the property from his uncle, George de Ligne Gregory (1740–1822) upon his death in 1822. Gregory commissioned the renowned English architect Anthony Salvin (1799 -1881) to build Harlaxton Manor in 1831. Salvin was considered an expert in medieval buildings and architecture, working on some major English landmarks in his lifetime such as the Tower of London and, upon instruction from Prince Albert, Windsor Castle. The structural elements of the manor combined both Elizabethan and Jacobean styles and its construction was an important factor in the subsequent renaissance in Elizabethan architecture. The manor then changed hands many times upon Gregory's death, was requisitioned by the Government during the Second World War for the Royal Air Force, and is now owned by The University of Evansville as Harlaxton College.Patrick Horsbrugh (1920-2014) was an eminent British Professor of Architecture who, having studied in both Britain and the United States, began a career in teaching. Horsbrugh taught at Harvard University, in North Carolina, Illinois and Nebraska also holding the title of Professor Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame until his death in 2014.Having found his passion for architecture interrupted by service during World War II, Horsbrugh started working voluntarily in a planning office in Middlesbrough on the Middlesbrough Survey and Plan, under the architect Max Lock. It was during this time when Horsburgh became close with Piper as he recalls, 'It was a wonderful service for me and through that I met John Piper, the artist of some of these paintings. The finest painter in Europe at that time, John and I became friends until he died, his bronze that I had cast—a portrait—just before his death'.Painted in 1972, Harlaxton Manor II is a celebration of the architectural form. The heavily etched lines accentuate the Elizabethan and Jacobean styles of the building, with the bright and musical colouring, so heavily associated with Piper, depicting Harlaxton Manor as an uplifting triumph of design and form.