E. W. Godwin

Elizabeth Aslin.

Current vendor.

British Architect, 1st July 1881.

Elizabeth Aslin, The Aesthetic Movement, London, 1969.

Elizabeth Aslin, The Fine Art Society, E.W.Godwin, Furniture and Interior Decoration, London, 1986, (illustrated p.85, pl.69.)

Susan Weber Soros. (Ed.), London, 1999.

Edward William Godwin, (1833 – 1886) was a true polymath.  He was an architect, architectural journalist and theatrical designer but it was perhaps in the area of furniture and interior design that he exerted the greatest influence.  Following his untimely death, an anonymous contemporary described this influence as `greater than that of many men whose names are better known to the public….We are still, alas! In an age of stucco and bastard art but the little that has been done to beautify our domestic surroundings is mainly due to him’.

In the early 1860s, whilst living in Bristol, Godwin stripped the interior of his home in Portland square.  He used plain colours on the walls, simple rugs and matting on the bare floors and hung Japanese prints. This would have been a radical approach at a time where wall to wall carpeting, richly coloured wallpapers and upholstered furniture were embraced by all.

During this time, Japan was just beginning to emerge from a period of isolation and the influence of its exports on Western life was limited to a small number of connoisseurs.  Following the International Exhibition in South Kensington in 1862, where visitors were enthralled by the Japanese Court, the thirst for all things Japanese increased.  Indeed some exhibits which arrived too late for the exhibition itself were sold at a public auction and further wares were sold at Farmer and Rogers’ Oriental Warehouse where the manager was Arthur Lazenby Liberty. 

Following his move to London, Godwin found it difficult to source furniture for his simple interiors and so began designing the forms which were to remain popular until the end of the nineteenth century.  These were originally executed in ebonised deal for reasons of economy but when this was found to be unsatisfactory, they were made in mahogany.  These pieces may well have been based on furniture and interiors depicted in Japanese prints and relied on the use of simple outlines, solids and voids. Godwin himself described his furniture as being `more or less founded on Japanese principles’.

The Victorian interest in hygiene was also important to Godwin who avoided overstuffed furniture and wanted his pieces to be easy to move and clean, and for the environment to provide, `…an abundance of light, air and cleanliness’.  He described the rooms in his home in Taviton Street in detail in a series of six articles entitles, `My House In London’, published in the Architect in 1876.  One of these articles describes the use of large palms in Oriental pots placed at the window as can be seen in this drawing.

Godwin's drawings rarely appear at auction. This drawing, which was reproduced in the British Architect on July 1st 1881, illustrates many of the features mentioned above and shows a seated figure and a sleeping dog highlighting the calming atmosphere of this uncluttered interior.