Fire Imp thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ironwork, Room 114e

Fire Imp

Wall Hanging
1974 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

'Fire Imp' was made by Antony Robinson in 1974 as an experiment to create a modern piece of work, using ancient iron-forging techniques. His original training was as a plumber and he taught himself ironworking from Fritz Kuhn's book 'Wrought Iron'. However, his grandfather had been a blacksmith on the Great Western Railway and he was taking up what had been a family trade. He began making ironwork in 1964 and 'Fire Imp' was his first major piece, which he regarded as marking a very important point in his artistic development.

Antony Robinson was one of the first artist-blacksmiths and a key part of the 'Renaissance' in blacksmithing in England in the 1970s and 1980s, represented at the exhibition 'Towards a new iron age', held at the V&A in 1982.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleFire Imp (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Wrought iron and bronze
Brief description
Wall hanging, forged iron and bronze, designed and made by Antony Robinson, England, 1974.
Physical description
Flame like ornamentation, made of forged steel of varying width and length with small bronze additions.
Dimensions
  • Length: 116cm (Maximum)
  • Width: 45cm (Maximum)
Credit line
Given by Antony Robinson
Historical context
‘Fire Imp’ was made in 1974 as an experiment to create a modern piece of work, using ancient iron-forging techniques. Antony Robinson's original training was as a plumber and he taught himself ironworking from Fritz Kuhn’s book ‘Wrought Iron’. He began making ironwork in 1964 and ‘Fire Imp’ was his first major piece, which he regards as marking a very important point in his artistic development. His father's father had been a blacksmith on the G.W.R., and he was taking up what had been a family trade/craft. ref, letter from Anthony Robinson, 22nd April, 1998 on RP 78/1089.

Antony Robinson was one of the first artist-blacksmiths and a key part of the ‘Renaissance’ in blacksmithing in England in the 1970s and 1980s, represented at the exhibition ‘Towards a new iron age’, held at the V&A in 1982.
Summary
'Fire Imp' was made by Antony Robinson in 1974 as an experiment to create a modern piece of work, using ancient iron-forging techniques. His original training was as a plumber and he taught himself ironworking from Fritz Kuhn's book 'Wrought Iron'. However, his grandfather had been a blacksmith on the Great Western Railway and he was taking up what had been a family trade. He began making ironwork in 1964 and 'Fire Imp' was his first major piece, which he regarded as marking a very important point in his artistic development.

Antony Robinson was one of the first artist-blacksmiths and a key part of the 'Renaissance' in blacksmithing in England in the 1970s and 1980s, represented at the exhibition 'Towards a new iron age', held at the V&A in 1982.
Other number
LOAN:ROBINSON.1 - Previous loan number
Collection
Accession number
M.217-2011

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Record createdDecember 15, 2006
Record URL
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