Cathedral

Frederick Arthur "Fred" Farrell (1882-1935) was a British artist who served as the city of Glasgow's official war artist during World War One. Glasgow was the only city to appoint an artist to such a position. Farrell had originally trained as a civil engineer while apprenticed to his brother. As an artist, he was self-taught, and worked in watercolour, as well as making etchings, as here. Forgotten for the best part of 80 years following his premature death in 1935, he emerged as an artist of real stature in the exhibition 'Fred A. Farrell: Glasgow's War Artist', shown at the People's Palace, Glasgow, in 2014.  

This etching shows a dramatic vista of the interior of a Gothic cathedral, looking to the liturgical east. It bears a very slight resemblance to St Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow, but a greater one to Westminister Abbey, albeit in a fanciful and exaggerated way. In particular, the building is vertically stretched. Farrell is working in a similar genre to his contemporary, Frederick Griggs, although he is a lot less 'Gothic' in his imagination. Another interesting comparison is with his very important, slightly older, Scottish contemporary D.Y. Cameron, who again makes Farrell look slightly prosaic. Yet there is no questioning Farrell's competence in drawing and etching. Did he know Cameron?  We aren't certain, as Farrell was evidently a very private man.

(source: Alan Greenlees, Glasgow Museums)

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Farrell

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art    April 2018