GENERAL DESCRIPTION
George Wilkinson is the quintessential example of a foreign designer in America during the mid-19th century. Born in the metalworking center of Birmingham, England, Wilkinson trained at the Birmingham School of Design in the 1830s, served an apprenticeship, and went into business for himself in the 1840s. In 1854, he was brought to America by the Ames Co. of Chicopee, Massachusetts. Three years later John Gorham hired Wilkinson as his firm's chief designer. Because his pay rate was almost three times what his other designers earned, John Gorham must have valued Wilkinson's abilities highly. Over forty tears later one writer stated that Wilkinson "became to the metal industry of the United States during the period of its most rapid growth what Josiah Wedgewood [sic] was to the pottery industry of England during its rise, about a century earlier."
With the exception of several months during 1860 when he went to New York to join in the short-lived firm of Rogers, Wendt & Wilkinson to make silver for Ball, Black & Co., Wilkinson remained at Gorham as head designer. Upon the firm's incorporation in 1865, he was granted twenty-five shares of stock and was elected to the Board of Directors. In 1870 he became general superintendent of the plant, a position he maintained until his death in 1894.
Before Wilkinson's arrival at Gorham, its best products tended to be derivative of other Rococo Revival work being done in the United States. It is not surprising that Gorham was turning out objects which were close in style and form to other producers, because John Gorham is known to have commissioned designs from outside sources in the 1850s. He and his competitors probably had to rely on the same small group of designers for ideas due to the scarcity of of such professionals. When Wilkinson arrived, however, an entirely new look was given to Gorham products. Past its prime as a fashionable style, the Rococo Revival was phased out and replaced by Neoclassical concepts. Objects believed to have been designed by Wilkinson during the late 1860s, including Lady's flatware (1991.101.1.1 1991.101.1.2, and 1991.101.2), exhibit a propensity for bold shapes decorated with cast or engraved Neoclassical elements, juxtaposed with large areas of unornamented surface. Wilkinson's powerful designs, unlike anything being made in Europe at the time, proved both popular and influential. Because other designers and silversmiths could easily view Wilkinson's finished work when it was displayed for sale, and because he worked with John Wendt in 1860, making silver for Ball, Black & Co., Wilkinson's style spread rapidly throughout the industry.
Adapted from:
- Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 321.
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updated format and wrote rule (JBA)
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George Wilkinson was a top designer at Gorham, board member, and stock holder until his death in 1894.
Source: Welcome Arnold Green, engraving from The Providence Plantations for 250 Years, 1886, Wikimedia Commons, accessed July 13, 2016.
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General Description
George Wilkinson is the quintessential example of a foreign designer in America during the mid-19th century. Born in the metalworking center of Birmingham, England, Wilkinson trained at the Birmingham School of Design in the 1830s, served an apprenticeship, and went into business for himself in the 1840s. In 1854, he was brought to America by the Ames Co. of Chicopee, Massachusetts. Three years later John Gorham hired Wilkinson as his firm's chief designer. Because his pay rate was almost three times what his other designers earned, John Gorham must have valued Wilkinson's abilities highly. Over forty tears later one writer stated that Wilkinson "became to the metal industry of the United States during the period of its most rapid growth what Josiah Wedgewood [sic] was to the pottery industry of England during its rise, about a century earlier."
With the exception of several months during 1860 when he went to New York to join in the short-lived firm of Rogers, Wendt & Wilkinson to make silver for Ball, Black & Co., Wilkinson remained at Gorham as head designer. Upon the firm's incorporation in 1865, he was granted twenty-five shares of stock and was elected to the Board of Directors. In 1870 he became general superintendent of the plant, a position he maintained until his death in 1894.
Before Wilkinson's arrival at Gorham, its best products tended to be derivative of other Rococo Revival work being done in the United States. It is not surprising that Gorham was turning out objects which were close in style and form to other producers, because John Gorham is known to have commissioned designs from outside sources in the 1850s. He and his competitors probably had to rely on the same small group of designers for ideas due to the scarcity of of such professionals. When Wilkinson arrived, however, an entirely new look was given to Gorham products. Past its prime as a fashionable style, the Rococo Revival was phased out and replaced by Neoclassical concepts. Objects believed to have been designed by Wilkinson during the late 1860s, including Lady's flatware (1991.101.1.1 1991.101.1.2, and 1991.101.2), exhibit a propensity for bold shapes decorated with cast or engraved Neoclassical elements, juxtaposed with large areas of unornamented surface. Wilkinson's powerful designs, unlike anything being made in Europe at the time, proved both popular and influential. Because other designers and silversmiths could easily view Wilkinson's finished work when it was displayed for sale, and because he worked with John Wendt in 1860, making silver for Ball, Black & Co., Wilkinson's style spread rapidly throughout the industry.
Adapted from:
- Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 321.
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