At the Sawmill, with the Carpenter Waiting
Drawing
ca. 1945 (made), 1945 (published)
ca. 1945 (made), 1945 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Although he trained as an actor, Rolf Brandt enjoyed drawing and making collages. In his native Germany he developed an interest in Dada and Surrealism and in Bauhaus artists such as Paul Klee. He moved to London from Hamburg in the early 1930s with his brother Bill (1904–83), who became famous as a photographer.
This is one of nine illustrations that Brandt made for the children’s book The Story of a Tree by Stephen McFarlane. Charting the passage of a tree from forest to sawmill to carpenter’s workshop to toyshop, the images are a charming example of illustration for children at the end of the Second World War. Brandt’s interest in Surrealism is evident in some of the illustrations, especially the cover page, where the trees take on the forms of furniture and toys.
This is one of nine illustrations that Brandt made for the children’s book The Story of a Tree by Stephen McFarlane. Charting the passage of a tree from forest to sawmill to carpenter’s workshop to toyshop, the images are a charming example of illustration for children at the end of the Second World War. Brandt’s interest in Surrealism is evident in some of the illustrations, especially the cover page, where the trees take on the forms of furniture and toys.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
|
| Materials and techniques | Gouache on paper, on card support |
| Brief description | Gouache drawing: illustration no 5 from a set of 9 for 'The Story of A Tree' by Stephen McFarlane |
| Physical description | Gouache painting on thick paper pasted to brown cardboard support which has residual glue marks etc on back.also some tape which appears to have been designed for sugar packaging as it bears the legend, only legible through fragments: T L Granulated Sugar 12 packages 2/14lbs. Image is of a quayside on which a sawmill with a huge tree trunk being fed into the mill by three men on the left. To the right a man in a cap and white apron, smoking a pipe with clapping hands outstretched. In the background a crane unloads further logs from a barge. Across the water in the distance, a green meadow with houses, then mountains and sky. Thin paper and tissue taped together as a cover-sheet attached by sellotape to back. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Given by the artist's children |
| Production | This is the design for the fifth illustration for the children's book 'The Story Of A Tree' by Stephen McFarlane.(the first is for the cover). The eight other designs for illustrations are also in the collection. At the time of acquisition the designs were in a wrapper labelled with the titles of the nine drawings. It was not clear if these had been assigned by artist, publisher or artist's family. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | 'The Story Of A Tree' by Stephen McFarlane, published 1945 |
| Summary | Although he trained as an actor, Rolf Brandt enjoyed drawing and making collages. In his native Germany he developed an interest in Dada and Surrealism and in Bauhaus artists such as Paul Klee. He moved to London from Hamburg in the early 1930s with his brother Bill (1904–83), who became famous as a photographer. This is one of nine illustrations that Brandt made for the children’s book The Story of a Tree by Stephen McFarlane. Charting the passage of a tree from forest to sawmill to carpenter’s workshop to toyshop, the images are a charming example of illustration for children at the end of the Second World War. Brandt’s interest in Surrealism is evident in some of the illustrations, especially the cover page, where the trees take on the forms of furniture and toys. |
| Associated objects |
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.546:5-2005 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | December 22, 2005 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
