Door Knocker thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Door Knocker

1935 (made)
Artist/Maker
Henry Hope & Sons (maker)
Hermes, Gertrude (RA) (designer)
Place of origin
Birmingham (made)

Gertrude Hermes, the designer of this brass door knocker, was primarily a wood engraver and sculptor but also a painter, printmaker and book illustrator. This frog door knocker is one of a small series of doorknockers that she designed for her friends. Hermes was the first woman engraver to be elected to the Royal Academy in 1963.

Object details

Categories
Architectural Fittings
Metalwork
Object type
Door knocker
Materials and techniques
Brass, cast
Brass
Casting
Brief description
Door knocker, cast brass, frog motif, Birmingham, 1935, made by Henry Hope & Sons, designed by Gertrude Hermes
Physical description
Door knocker in the form of a frog.
Dimensions
  • Length: 18.0cm
  • Maximum width: 11.8cm
  • Height: 5.0cm
Style
Art Deco
Production typesmall batch
Gallery label
(March 2004)
BADA 2004 Exhibition label:
DOOR KNOCKER
Brass, England, 1932, by Gertrude Hermes (1901-83)
Gertrude Hermes, the designer of this brass door knocker, was primarily a wood engraver and sculptor but also a painter, printmaker and book illustrator. She was the first woman engraver to be elected to the Royal Academy in 1963. Many of her subjects in sculpture and prints were animals and children. This frog door knocker was one of a series designed for her friends.
M.57-1981
Object history
This door knocker was one of several cast for Gertude Hermes. This example was for her own use. At least three others are known to have been made. One was for the illustrator, Betty Swanwick, RA, RWS, one was for the novelist and poet, Naomi Mitchison and the third was for the artist, Eric Kennington.
Subject depicted
Frog
Summary
Gertrude Hermes, the designer of this brass door knocker, was primarily a wood engraver and sculptor but also a painter, printmaker and book illustrator. This frog door knocker is one of a small series of doorknockers that she designed for her friends. Hermes was the first woman engraver to be elected to the Royal Academy in 1963.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Jane Hill, The Sculpture of Gertrude Hermes, Farnham, Lund Humphries in association with the Henry Moore Foundation, 2012, p.40, 107. ill. ISBN: 9780853318651
  • The Bystander, 15 May 1940, p.208
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.57-1981

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Record createdFebruary 16, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O93054/door-knocker-hermes-gertrude-ra/
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