Augustus Lunn Explained

Henry Augustus Lunn (always known as Augustus Lunn) (16 August 1905 – 1986) was a British artist and art teacher, best known for works with tempera and large mural paintings.

Early life

Lunn was born in Liverpool in 1905, the son of George Henry Lunn, a clergyman, and his wife Blanche Edith Maude (née Cane Spicer).^[1]

Career

Lunn studied at Kingston School of Art, and then won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, where he won the Edwin Abbey Mural Scholarship at the British School at Rome.^{[2] [3]} He joined the staff at Kingston, but also undertook private commissions.^[4] He is regarded as one of the leading figures in the revival of tempera painting in Britain.^[5] He exhibited in the New English Art Club and the Royal Academy.^{[6] [7]} In 1943 he applied to the War Artists' Advisory Committee to be a war artist, but was rejected.^[8] There was a solo exhibition of his work in 1985, the year before his death, at the Michael Parkin Fine Art Gallery in London.^[9]

Selected works

Lunn is barely represented in public art collections. Art UK lists just three works: Composition (1937) in the Jerwood Collection,^[10] Fish (1940) in the Wolverhampton Art Gallery,^[11] and Objects Observed on a Beach (1945) in the Government Art Collection.^[12]

Many more works are held in private collections. Works sold at recent auctions have included Organic Elements (undated) sold by Bonhams in 2005,^[13] Pavilion by the Sea, Lowestoft (undated) sold by Christie's in 2008^[14] Gale Warning (1937) sold by Christie's in 2006,^[15] Jacob's Dream (1944) sold by Christie's in 2010^[16] Tower on a Hill in a Brooding Landscape (1947) sold by John Nicholsons in 2020;^[17] Other works in private hands include Christ Expelling the Money Changers (undated, 1930s)^[18] and House under Construction (1937).^[19]

His sgraffito mural paintings are his best-known works.

• The reredos depicting Christ preparing his followers to preach the gospel at Bishop Hannington Memorial Church, Hove (1940).^{[20] [21]}
• The cement and plaster mural entitled Sgraffito, depicting a collage of industrial youth engaging in woodworking and reading at desks with the central theme of a bee above a microscope and violin, at Woodberry Down Community JMI School, Woodberry Grove, London Borough of Hackney. The mural was salvaged from the Festival of Britain's South Bank 'Seaside' exhibition (1951).^[22]
• Sgraffito mural in the open-air courtyard and patio at The Building Centre on Store Street, London (1952) (since hidden or lost).^[23]
• The Joyous Mysteries of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the tympanum surmounting the west door of St Mary's Church, Welling (1955).^[24]
• Stencils of Mary the Mother of Jesus and St John the Evangelist either side of the Cross (forming a traditional rood) in the side chapel of St Alfege with St Peter in St Alfege, Greenwich (1956).^[25]
• A large (300 sq ft) mural painting depicting the Call of All Creation to Bless the Lord on the wall dividing the hall from the church at St Philip's Church, Hove (1958).^[26]
• A grisaille mural of the Epiphany, showing Our Lady above a cot with Christ Child, and influenced by Carlo Crivelli, at Christ Church, Battersea (1959).^{[27] [28]}

Personal life

He married Alice Inez Dawson in 1932.^[29] They had one daughter, Blanche (1933–1962). She married Richard Pemberton in 1961,^[30] but died the following year.^[31] Lunn died in 1986.^[32]

Notes and References

1. Liverpool Registry Office, September 1905 quarter, Vol 8B, p 133.
2. Web site: Art UK: Augustus Lunn. 14 February 2021.
3. Taylor, Lyrica, "Augustus Lunn" in Still Small Voice: British Biblical Art in a Secular Age (1850-2014), (2015: The Wilson), pp 108-109, at p 109.
4. Web site: Art UK: Augustus Lunn. 14 February 2021.
5. Web site: Artists Collecting Society: Augustus Lunn. 14 February 2021.
6. Web site: Moore Gwyn Fine Art: Augustus Lunn, House under Construction. 14 February 2021.
7. Taylor, Lyrica, "Augustus Lunn" in Still Small Voice: British Biblical Art in a Secular Age (1850-2014), (2015: The Wilson), pp 108-109, at p 109.
8. Web site: Foss, Brian Frederick, British Artists and the Second World War (1991: Thesis for University College, London), p 446. 15 February 2021.
9. Web site: Artists Collecting Society: Augustus Lunn. 14 February 2021.
10. Web site: Art UK: Composition, by Augustus Lunn. 14 February 2021.
11. Web site: Fish, by Augustus Lunn. 14 February 2021.
12. Web site: Objects Observed on a Beach, by Augustus Lunn. 14 February 2021.
13. Web site: Augustus Lunn: Organic Elements. 14 February 2021.
14. Web site: Augustus Lunn: Pavilion by the Sea, Lowestoft. 14 February 2021.
15. Web site: Augustus Lunn: Gale Warning. 14 February 2021.
16. Web site: Augustus Lunn: Jacob's Dream. 14 February 2021.
17. Web site: Augustus Lunn: Tower on a Hill. 14 February 2021.
18. Web site: Richard Taylor Fine Art: Augustus Lunn, Christ Expelling the Money Changers. 14 February 2021.
19. Web site: Moore Gwyn Fine Art: Augustus Lunn, House under Construction. 14 February 2021.
20. Taylor, Lyrica, "Augustus Lunn" in Still Small Voice: British Biblical Art in a Secular Age (1850-2014), (2015: The Wilson), pp 108-109, at p 109.
21. Web site: National Heritage List Entry No 1298638. 14 February 2021.
22. Web site: National Heritage List Entry No 1391843. 14 February 2021.
23. Web site: Building Centre: Building’s concrete secrets revealed, 5 October 2017. 15 February 2021.
24. Taylor, Lyrica, "Augustus Lunn" in Still Small Voice: British Biblical Art in a Secular Age (1850-2014), (2015: The Wilson), pp 108-109, at p 109.
25. Web site: St Alfege, Greenwich: Side chapels. 14 February 2021.
26. Web site: Church Times: "Sussex Benedicte on a Mural", 25 July 1958, p 1. 14 February 2021.
27. Web site: Church Times: "German gifts to new church at Battersea", 3 April 1959, p 1. 14 February 2021.
28. Web site: Survey of London: Churches and Chapels, p 42. 15 February 2021.
29. Deptford Registry Office, September 1932 quarter, Vol 1d, p 2054.
30. Surrey Northern Registry Office, March 1961 quarter, Vol 5G, p 669.
31. Tonbridge District Registry, December 1962 quarter, Vol 5b, p 1039.
32. Richmond upon Thames District Registry, June 1986 quarter, Vol 14, p 1614.