The artists are the brothers, Frederick Marriott (b. 1860 - d. 1941) and Frank Pickford Marriott (b. 1876 - d. 1935). I have learned they are often confused with one another. Pickford (Frank) lived in South Africa and his art can be found at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum in Port Elizabeth. As children, they were born in Britain and lived in Australia. Pickford moved back to England and at the age of nineteen went to college and studied art. He became a teacher of art in England but lived in South Africa (and taught) for awhile. His brother, Frederick (Peter) Marriott is listed as having been a sculptor and engraver. At the age of fourteen, Frederick studied pottery and was granted a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Art in 1879. Frederick also painted (and etched) traditional landscapes.
The two brothers collaborated together in a similar style when it came to art. Among their most impressive pieces are those that are made with genuine mother-of-pearl. They worked in gesso as well and combined the two to make stunning Pre-Raphaelite/Art Nouveau themed portraits. The older brother, Frederick, explained his methods in an article called, "Unpublished Notes on Gesso by Frederick Marriott". The process they used involved boiling shells in different colors to get certain hues. Then the shells were polished to reflect the saturation of the colors. The shell pieces were shaped, cut and affixed to tracing paper to see how to position the pieces and how the light would fall on them. Then raised gesso would be added and the gesso covered in gold leaf or platinum leaf.
To perfect these paintings, the process was extremely labor intensive. Much emphasis was added into the details.
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| "The Annunciation" by Pickford Marriott (possibly both brothers), gesso and mother-of-pearl on panel. From the auction site Bonhams. |
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| "The Faithful Knight in Equal Field subdues his Faithless Foe" circa early 1900's, by Frederick Marriott. |
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| "The Angel of Night", 1904 by Frederick Marriott. |
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| "St. Cecilia", 1903 by Frederick Marriott. Clearer/larger version here. |
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| Unknown panel found via pinterest. |
A very beautiful high resolution painting can be found at the Queensland Art Gallery: "Love in her eyes sits playing" 1902 by Pickford Marriott.
The brothers' works remind me of the symbolist painter, John Duncan. There's a 'King Arthur' mythology look to their styles with a good amount of Pre-Raphaelite themes.
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| Tristan and Isolde, 1912 by John Duncan. |
Overall, the brothers have a very beautiful way of capturing light using a natural material like mother-of-pearl. I have not really seen artwork with such an unusual medium and am happy to have stumbled upon them. They really knew how to work with textures and patterns in unique materials as well.
References:
British Paintings
Mapping the Sculpture Project
Bonhams
ThePotteries
