Curtis, Walter (1888-1906)
Curtis, Walter
London & Chipping Campden; furniture maker (fl.1888-c.1906)
Walter Curtis was reputedly a ‘very staid and upright’ man who joined the Guild of Handicraft about 1888 and apparently stayed with them for nearly 20 years, moving with them from London to Chipping Campden in 1902. His cabinet work included furniture designed by and exhibited by C.R. Ashbee/The Guild of Handicraft at various Arts & Crafts Exhibitions, London:
1889 – a large oak cabinet with decorative colour-work for the new school at Abbotsholme with wood work by R.G. Phillips Sen. and W. Curtis, painting by Walter Taylor and J. Harrison (cat. no. 199)
1890 – fourfold oak screen, stained and gilded; designed, executed and exhibited by Mrs C.M. Cleverly, woodwork by W. Curtis (probably the same W. Curtis although the catalogue description does not mention Ashbee or The Guild) (cat. no. 247); octagonal mahogany mirror, with gesso-work and colour, woodwork by Curtis (304); whitewood bureau, stained blue with ornamental gesso-work by W. Hardiman, lent by F.J. Thomas (305) [The Furniture Gazette, 15 November 1890]; oak and leather chair, woodwork by Curtis, leatherwork by W. Hardiman (334); mahogany mantelpiece with embossed copper panels by J. Pearson, woodwork by Curtis (336) and oak secretaire decorated with gesso and colour, woodwork by Curtis and gesso-work by W. Hardiman (374).
1899 – oak writing cabinet, executed by Curtis and metal work by W. Thornton, C. Downer and A. Cameron (cat. no. 167).
1903 – secretaire in Spanish mahogany, inlaid with silver-plated hinges, handles etc., designed by J. Pyment and executed by W. Field and Curtis, price £25 (cat. no. 395b).
1906 – oak armchair with inlay executed by Curtis, price £3 10s (cat. no. 304).
Sources: Lambourne, Utopian Craftsmen (1980); Crawford, C R Ashbee. Architect, Designer & Romantic Socialist (1985); Carruthers and Greensted, Good Citizen’s Furniture, The Arts & Crafts Collections at Cheltenham (1994); Greensted, ‘The Arts and Crafts Movement collections at Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum’, The Decorative Arts Society 1850-1932 (2000); Greensted and Wilson, Originality and Initiative. The Arts and Crafts archives at Cheltenham (2003); Arts & Crafts Exhibition Catalogues, 1888-1916.
Occupation
Ornamentation/Design
Style