David Jones (1895-1974), poet and artist, was born in Brockley, Kent. His mother was an
Englishwoman but his father hailed from Holywell, Flintshire, and Jones retained a strong
Welsh identity throughout his life.
He attended Camberwell Art School between 1909
and 1914 and Westminster Art School in 1919. During the First World War he served as a
private with the 15th (London Welsh) Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers on the Western
Front.
In 1921 he became a Roman Catholic. During the same year, he met the sculptor and artist
Eric Gill and joined his community of artists in Ditchling, Sussex. During the period
1924-28, Gill and Jones spent long periods at Capel-y-ffin, Breconshire, where they had
established another community. Jones's wartime experiences had a profound influence
on his work both as an artist and writer.His first and most famous written work,
'In Parenthesis', published in 1937, provides a vivid portrait of the experiences of a
number of ordinary soldiers between December 1915 and July 1916, ending with their tragic
slaughter at Mametz Wood.
Hilary Pepler's Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry says "Pepler was voted out of the Guild of St
Joseph and St Dominic in 1936 for employing a non-Catholic apprentice and introducing a degree of mechanization.
He made a big bonfire of St Dominic's Press material on Ditchling Common. Some locals with foresight retrieved David
Jones's prints from the flames... "!
David Jones
Easter scene (cum floribus et palmis - with flowers and palms), a mural painted by Jones in 1923
Garden enclosed (1924). A stylised view of the back garden at Hopkins Crank. The figures
in the painting represent Jones with Petra Gill
Painting of Petra Gill, daughter of Eric Gill
The orchard
The crucifixion
Jesus Mocked
Madona and Child in the landscape of the Sussex Downs 1924
Vexilla Regis, 1948 is a comparatively large work, rendered with the interlacing of lines and the accretion of colour
characteristic of Jones’s technique during the late 1940s and 1950s. The image is rich in detail and invites close scrutiny.
Its Latin title (“the standards of the King”) hints at the underlying iconographic complexity, referencing his experience
at the battle of Mametz Wood, during the first battle of the Somme in France in 1916
Restoration work being carried out on the "Easter scene" in 1982
Restoration work being carried out on the "Easter scene" in 1982
Restoration work being carried out on the "Easter scene" in 1982
Restoration work being carried out on the "Easter scene" in 1982
David Jones
The book cover for "In Parenthesis"
"In Parenthesis" illustration
Garden enclosed showing the original a view of the back garden at Hopkins Crank