Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.
Jerusalem 1931. Pencil, ink and watercolor. 9 1/4 x 15 (framed 18 1/2 x 24 1/2). Signed and dated in pencil. Housed in a carved gold leaf frame $1,350.
Twelve of his etchings and drypoints were included in Fine Prints of the Year between 1923 and 1935. The selection for 1931 was Place of Wailing, Jerusalem - Wailing Wall.
Percy John Delf Smith, RDI( Royal Designer for Industry), was a member of the Royal Society of Arts.
A painter, callingrapher and book designer, he studied in London and exhibited at the R.A. He worked in Palestine (1931-32)and the United States, During World War I, Lieutenant Smith served with the Royal Marines Artillery in the trenches on the western Front
in France and later in Belgium. He lettered several warship plaques, one in Beccles Town Hall for the Minesweeper “HMS Brave”.
He established the Dorian (later Dorno) Workshop & Studio, served as a consultant to Heinemann, and specialized in typographic design. He continued to pursue his work as a visual artist alongside his career as typographer and calligrapher. Among his most notable projects was the four year commission for the lettering of the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge. He was a Fellow or member of a number of professional societies of artists, as well as of the Society of Calligraphers and the Double Crown Club.
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