Church of St Oswald, Hotham, East Riding of Yorkshire
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Church of Saint Oswald, Hotham, East Yorkshire YO43 4UFRecommended by
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Six windows in the Nave and ChancelArtist, maker and date
Designed by Douglas Strachan and executed by James Scullion, 1938-43Reason for highlighting
These six windows, by the great 20th century Scottish artist Douglas Strachan, form one of his least-known commissions. Grandly and formally composed, hieratic, handsomely coloured and magnificently drawn and painted, they are now something of a period-piece, but wonderfully rewarding down to the smallest details. There are other works by Strachan at East Rounton and nearby North Cave, both in Yorkshire.
Artist/maker notes
Robert Douglas Strachan (1875-1950) was born in Aberdeen and initially trained as an artist. Indeed Strachan admitted later in life that he had been slow to realise that stained glass would be the best outlet for his artistic vision. It was a vision that enabled him to become the foremost British stained glass artist of the generation after Christopher Whall. From 1909 to 1911 he was head of the Crafts Section at the recently founded Edinburgh College of Art, before handing over to his brother, Alexander, through pressure of work. His windows are found throughout Scotland and England, and are recognisable for their bold use of colour, and strong sculptural design and use of lead. Overseas he is renowned for his windows at the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Sources:
In Praise of Douglas Strachan by Peter Cormack, Journal of Stained Glass, Vol. XXX, 2006
Arts & Crafts Stained Glass by Peter Cormack (Yale University Press for The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2015)
ECA Glass Alumni Exhibition Catalogue, pages 11-12