Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Designs for the Brighton Pavilion by Frederick Crace

Frederick Crace
Exterior view of Frederick Crace and Son Establishment, 14 Wigmore Street, London
ca. 1827-40
watercolor
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace (1779-1859) is identified in the Dictionary of National Biography as an "architectural decorator," famously skilled at blending Chinese, Islamic and Mughal elements into the "exoticism" that prevailed at the top of the market in his day.  He supplied a plenitude of inspirations for the interiors of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, enlarged and radically refitted for George IV between 1815 and 1822.  Crace produced numerous alternative proposals in the form of highly finished watercolors and gouaches, as sampled here.  These offered a range of schemes and choices, ultimately intended for execution by lesser craftspeople.

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room, North Wall, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1818-19
watercolor, gouache
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room, North Wall, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1818-19
watercolor, gouache
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room, South Wall, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1818-19
watercolor, gouache
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room, West Wall, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1818-19
watercolor, gouache
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room Carpet, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1818-19
watercolor, gouache
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room Ceiling with Fretwork Balcony and Open Sky, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1820
watercolor
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room, West Wall, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1817
watercolor
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room Curtains, East Wall, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
1820
watercolor
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room Curtains, East Wall, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1817
watercolor
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Music Room Curtains, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1818-19
watercolor
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Window Alcove, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1815-22
watercolor
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Window Alcove, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
1822
watercolor
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frederick Crace
Design for Wall Decoration with Oriental Landscape, Royal Pavilion, Brighton
ca. 1815-22
watercolor
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum