Chandelier

Object Type
The elements in the design of this chandelier, a simple hoop and plain crossbars made from steel and with copper details is reminiscent of the Cawdor candelabra, made 20 years before.

Places
This chandelier was made for the White House, Shiplake, which was designed by George Walton and built for George Davison in 1908. Davison, whose career began in the Civil Service, was a keen amateur photographer and in 1897, he left government service to become the assistant manager of the Eastman Photographic Materials Company. Davison became Walton's most important client. It was he who commissioned Walton in 1897 to refurbish a Kodak shop in the Clerkenwell Road, London. As a result Walton designed the interiors and fronts of a chain of Kodak shops in London, Glasgow, Brussels, Milan and Vienna, which brought him international recognition.

Design & Designing
In parallel with Charles Rennie Mackintosh, George Walton has been seen as the founder of the Glasgow style. Walton's designs have the simplicity and clarity associated with that group, but they are less effete and more solid than those of Mackintosh. To some extent Walton looked back to the achievements of the Arts and Crafts Movement while at the same time moving away from their earthy, rural qualities to a more urban sophistication.