PETER PAN

George Frampton was born in London and studied at the Lambeth School of Art under W.S. Frith and then at the Royal Academy from 1881-87. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1884 and went on to win a gold medal in 1887 as well as a travelling scholarship. Part of his travels took him to Paris where he enrolled in the studio of one of the most successful sculptors of the France, and the inspiration for many of the English new school of sculptors, Antonin Mercie. His new teacher enthused him not only with the strength of the French Romantic movement but also introduced the young sculptor to Symbolism.

On his return to England Frampton became the acknowledged leader of the Arts and Crafts movement and was appointed joint head of the London Central School of Arts and Crafts. His work covered a wide range of subject and techniques including architecture, such as the exterior sculptures for the Lloyds Registry in 1903 and mixed media works such as his Caprice of 1891. Frampton was knighted in 1908 and was the most prominent English sculptor of his time. Later in his career he branched out more, experimenting with bronze, ivory, marble and gemstones. He won the Grand Prix at the Expositions Universelles in 1884.

Frampton's famous statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens was commissioned by the character's creator Sir James Barrie. It was erected in 1912 and in order to keep the mystery of the figure for his many young admirers the statue was installed at night so that it might appear as if by magic the next day.

The original story of Peter Pan was written in 1898. It tells of the tale of a fairy child (Peter Pan) who has adventures in the Gardens of Kensington and plays his pipes.

Children loved to listen to Barrie telling his fairy stories in the Gardens. One of these children in particular, Michael Llewellyn-Davies, provided the inspiration for the Peter Pan statue. Barrie dressed him in a suitable Pan-like costume and sent the pictures to George Frampton who was commissioned to create the sculpture.

The statue in Kensington Gardens depicts Peter Pan in a very natural and childlike pose, playing his pipes. He is standing on a large “Pedestal” which on close inspection is actually made up of fairies, personages, and woodland animals, in a very organic and magical way. It remains not only one of Frampton's most well-loved works, but also one of London's - it has been voted as the city's most popular statue. The wonderfully lifelike representation of Peter Pan is whole-heartedly in the style of the Romantic era (1880s). This is in contrast to the starker, more hard-edged and avant-garde movements in vogue when this piece was sculpted.

This particular version of Peter Pan is a reduction of the original in Kensington Gardens, without the “pedestal”. Instead he is standing on an oval base. It was cast in 1915 and has the initials PP (standing for Peter Pan) inscribed on the base. He has the delicate poise of a woodland sprite, and is happily playing his pipes, one arm outstretched, one foot forward, as though he is dancing to the sounds of his magical music.

Literature

Michael Forrest, Art Bronzes, Schiffer Publications Ltd , Pennsylvania 1988, p.386, 391, 464, 475
E Benezit, Dictionnaire Des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Grund, Paris,1976, Vol.4 p 476
John Blackwood, London's Immortals, Savoy Press, London, 1989, p 136-7, 104-5, 166-7
Jeremy Cooper, 19th Century Romantic Bronzes, David and Charles, London, 1975, p 82 - 85
British Sculpture 1850-1914, The Fine Art Society Ltd, London, 1968, p 23
Susan Beattie, The New Sculpture, Yale, New Haven and London, 1983, p 21