Eric Gill 1882-1940
Naked Pigmy Looking up to Naked Girl; Man on Tree and Naked Girl Below, 1927
woodblock carving with gesso
height 8 inches


Literature
Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde, Golden Cockerel Press, London, 1927, p426 (Man on Tree and Naked Girl Below)Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, Golden Cockerel Press, London, 1929-31, p691 (engraving of Naked Pigmy looking up to Naked Girl)Christopher Skelton, Eric Gill: The Engravings, The Herbert Press, London, 1990, (engravings reproduced pl.426 and pl.691)

Gill produced the present carvings for the Golden Cockerel Press book publications; a co-operative venture with an aim to producing fine printed books illustrated with wood-engravings. Man on Tree and Naked Girl Below was executed in 1927 for Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde' and Naked Pigmy looking up to Naked Girl was executed in 1930 for 'The Canterbury Tales'. The years spent working on these wood-engravings were to be the most prolific of Gill's career and offer an insight into his expert craftsmanship.