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Basic Biographic Details
Name:
George Ashdown Audsley
Designation :
Architect
Date of Birth:
Exact Date
Exact DOB:
06/03/1838
Year of Birth :
Circa Year of Birth :
Date of Birth Before (Year):
Date of Birth After (Year):
DOB (1st 'Or' Year):
DOB (2nd 'Or' Year):
Date of Death:
Exact Date
Exact DOD:
21/06/1925
Year of Death:
Circa Year of Death:
Date of Death Before (Year):
Date of Death After (Year):
DOD (1st 'Or' Year):
DOD (2nd 'Or' Year):
Town of Birth :
Bio Notes :
George Ashdown Audsley was born in Elgin on 3 June 1838. He was articled to Alexander and William Reid of Elgin c.1852 and at the end of his apprenticeship in 1856 he moved to Liverpool. His RIBA nomination papers do not give any information on his early years there, but from American sources he is known to have spent some time with the City Surveyor John Weightman and with John Cunningham with whom he was briefly in partnership.
In 1863 he formed a partnership with his elder brother William James Audsley, born in Elgin in 1833, who had also been articled to the Reids; in the early years their practice included key-making as well as architecture. The Audsleys designed a significant number of buildings in and around Liverpool, mostly Ruskinian but their Racquet Court (1879) was Thomsonesque Greek and their synagogue Moorish. The last of these brought the commission to design a church on St Petersburgh Place, London in association with the Jewish architect Nathan Solomon Joseph in 1877-79, and a London office was opened in 1881, partly to deal with their numerous publications. Both brothers were admitted FRIBA on 12 June 1876, their proposers being Edward Robert Robson and Robert William Edis of London and Joseph Boult of Liverpool.
The Audsleys' career as authors of books on architecture and design began in Liverpool with the publication of the 'Guide to the Art of Illuminating and Missal Painting' (1861) and the 'Handbook of Christian Symbolism' (1865), both of which had pioneering chromolithograph plates. These were followed by 'Cottage, Lodge and Villa Architecture', published in Edinburgh in 1868, again with chromolithographed plates. By the early 1870s they had become leading exponents of the Japanese in the 'Keramic Art of Japan' (1875) and 'The Ornamental Arts of Japan' (1882-84), these being related to their client James L Bowes who was an important collector. Their 'Outlines of Ornament in the Leading Styles' published in London in 1881 and in New York in 1882 led to a visit to New York in the following years and a chance meeting with the Milwaukee art collector Frederick Layton on the voyage home. Layton asked them to sketch out an art gallery which was built in 1885-87 and supervised by E Townsend Mix. Carried out partly in timber and terracotta, it was perhaps the finest expression of Thomsonesque Greek Revival designs outwith Thomson's own oeuvre. One of the Audsleys made a visit to the Midwest in the summer of 1889, sailing for home on 20 July.
In 1892 the Audsleys removed their practice to New York. This move may have related to the success of their publications there, but it also seems to have been connected with the commission from a consortium of English investors to design the sixteen-storey Bowling Green Building at 3-11 Broadway, built in 1895. This had a very modern pilastered treatment at the upper floors and high-quality detail at the lower floors. Other commissions included the Gothic church of Edward the Confessor in Philadelphia and the English church at Grasse in France. A substantial part of their practice in America related to organs, George having become interested in organ building at St George's Hall in Liverpool, probably during his period with Weightman, to the extent of having a large and elaborate organ in his London house for musical evenings. In the USA he became the principal advocate of the concert organ, an instrument of such wide range that it could function as a full orchestra, his ideas on the subject being embodied in 'The Art of Organ Building', published in 1905. In his later New York years, George retired from architecture to devote his time wholly to organ building and publications, working chiefly with his son Berthold rather than his brother William who retired or died c.1910. He settled in a large hilltop house in Bloomfield, New Jersey where he died on 21 June 1925. His profession was given as writer and organ builder rather than as architect.
Bio Notes continued...
Additional Notes
Addresses
The following private or business addresses are associated with this person:
Private Addresses
Private Addresses2 classic
Address
Class
Date From Char
Date From Type
Date To Char
Date To Type
Notes
Bloomfield New Jersey United States of America
Private
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Business Addresses
Business Addresses2 classic
Address
Class
Date From
Date From Type
Date To
Date To Type
Notes
14 Cook Street Liverpool England
Business
New York New York United States of America
Business
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Employment and Training
The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this person (click on an item to view details):
Employers2 classic
Name
Name Link
Date From
Date To
Position
Notes
John Weightman
205701
After 1856
Before 1863
Assistant
in Liverpool City Surveyor's Office
Audsley & Audsley
200208
In year 1863
After 1895
Partner
A & W Reid
200175
c. 1852
In year 1856
Apprentice
Cunningham & Audsley
200512
c. 1860
In year 1863
Partner
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RIBA Proposers
The following individuals proposed this person for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):
RIBA PROPOSERS2 classic
Proposer
Proposer Link
Date Proposed
Notes
(Sir) Robert William Edis
200377
1876/06/12
for Fellowship
Edward Robert Robson
200830
1876/06/12
for Fellowship
Joseph Boult
205700
1876/06/12
for Fellowship
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RIBA Proposals
This person proposed the following individuals for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):
RIBA PROPOSALS2 classic
Person
Date Proposed
Notes
Patrick James Byrne
1882/01/09
for Associateship
James Ledingham
1885/06/08
for Associateship
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Buildings and Designs
This person was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):
Buildings and Designs2 classic
Building Name
Date Started
Town, District or Village
Island
City or County
Country
Notes
Cawdor Castle
In year 1874
Nairnshire
Scotland
Proposals for the infilling of the N courtyard to creat 'King Duncan's Hall' - not executed
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References
Bibliographic References
The following books contain references to this person:
Bib ref classic
Author
Title
Date
Publisher
Part
Notes
Withey, Henry F and Withey, Elsie Rathburn
Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased)
1970
Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc (originally published in 1956)
Facsimile edition
Placzek, Adolf K (ed)
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects
1982
New York: The Free Press/Macmillan Publishing Company
Grove Dictionary of Art
Grove Dictionary of Art
Jervis, Simon
The Penguin Dictionary of Design and Designers
1984
Dictionary of American Biography
Dictionary of American Biography
Walker Art Gallery
The Audsleys: Victorian Pattern Designers (Walker Art Gallery Exhibition)
2003
Liverpool: Walker Art Gallery
Buhrman, T Scott
George Ashdown Audsley, LL.D.: An Appreciation
1925
George Ashdown Audsley, 'The Temple of Tone' (New York: J Fisher & Bro, published posthumously) p247
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Periodical References
The following periodicals contain references to this person:
Period ref classic
Periodical Name
Publisher
Date Circ
Edition
Notes
Building News
1890/03/07
*
Alexander Thomson Society Newsletter
1992/01
no 3
Alexander Thomson Society Newsletter
2000/09
no 27
American Art Annual
1925
v22
Obituary
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Archive References
The following archives hold material relating to this person:
Arc ref classic
Archive Name
Source
Source Cat No
Building Id
Item Name
Notes
RIBA Nomination Papers
RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum
100005
F v5 p48 (microfiche 88/D7)
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