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One of the most interesting traditions of silhouette cutting in this country is the tradition of seaside pier silhouettes. The story of Brighton is the one which has captured my imagination! The first pier at Brighton was known as The Chain Pier, and there was a silhouettist working on it throughout most of it's history. The slhouettists moved to the West Pier when it opened in the 1866, and continued more or less continuously until shortly before it's closure in the 1970's
Rider to The Chain Pier, mounted on rose glass
The first Brighton Pier artist (to my knowledge) was John Gapp, who cut full length portraits from paper and bronzed them with gold, after the fashion of the day. He seems to have had an obsession with gloves, and could hardly resist depicting his subjects holding a pair of gloves. Still, I like his work for all that. The next artist, E. Haines, was certainly more accomplished, and his work is highly sought after by collectors today. Many of his subjects are depicted holding a hat or cane. He sometimes seems to have had a problem with legs, which sometimes have a naive "egytian" quality about them, being one behind the other! However his work is more inventive and experimental than his predecessor. They were succeeded by A.E. Lloyd, about whom I know nothing. The Chain Pier stood until 1890 or so, but I've no idea if any artist worked there after the opening of the West Pier.
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Silhouettes by John Gapp (left) and E.Haines (right) of The Chain Pier
The first twentieth century silhouettist that I know of was Huardel Bly. He was a talented French artist, specializing in freehand, bust length profiles.
A silhouette by Arthur Forrester in my collection. Mr Forrester revived the silhouette tradition after the second world war, but did not have quite the skill of his predecessors. Still, I'm fond of this cutting, which seems to have been a early one, to judge by the hat!
Huardel Bly's work is marked by a lively and inspired style of cutting, with a restrained and tasteful use of slash cut embellishments to indicate collars, etc. You can always spot one of his silhouettes by the "shoe" shape of the bust line (see the illustration below). Bly was followed by Hubert Leslie, without doubt the best silhouettist of this period working in the UK, who remained there until the Second World War, and then by Arthur Forrester, who is the last artist I have definate information about.
Silhouettes by Huardel Bly, of The West Pier, c.1920
Arthur Forrester's silhouette studio on The West Pier during the 1950's.
I visited Brighton myself in 1989. At that time I was just starting my own career as a silhouettist and had my eye on the "Brighton Tradition" as a possible line of business. I spoke with the management of the current Pier, but they were not at all interested in my ideas, and thought silhouettes had died out a hundred years ago! Since then I've found more appreciative audiences elsewhere. Still, the idea lingers.
There were plans afoot to rebuild the old West Pier at Brighton and return it to it's former glory. Like many others I watched with interest. Perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope for a Brighton Pier Silhouette Tradition in the twenty-first century? However the recent arson attacks have reduced the pier to a complete wreck, and I fear restoration is no longer an option.
The desolate West Pier at Brighton, as it stood until the recent fires detroyed it altogether.
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©Charles Burns/www.roving-artist.com/The Edo Barn Site/charles@edobarn.demon.co.uk/This page was first created in September 1997 and last updated January 2007