English oak Gordon Russell 'Lygon' dressing table

English oak Gordon Russell Lygon dressing table. Rectangular top with moulded edge over one shallow central drawer above kneehole, flanked to each side by a pair of drawers all with brass ring handles, the fronts with chip carved thumb-nail moulded detail, the sides, panelled, all on chamfered and slightly tapered legs. Bears the original Gordon Russell ‘Lygon’ printed label beneath the central drawer inscribed in ink

‘THIS PIECE, a Dressing Table in English Oak. No 267. was designed & made throughout in The Russell Workshop in Sep 1925, Designer S. Gordon Russell, Foreman E. Turner, Cabinet maker G. Cook’.

English, dated 1925

Gordon Russell - The Arts & Crafts Movement - The Cotswolds

Gordon Russell emerged as one of the first modern designers of the twentieth century.  Gordon moved to the Cotswolds as a boy when his father bought the Lygon Arm in Broadway (subsequently it became one of the most renowned country hotels in England).  Moving to the Cotswolds opened his eyes to the Arts & Crafts Movement and the works of pioneer designers and architects Ashbee, Lutyens, Gimson & Voysey - Gordon did not receive any formal training and was self taught through reading and observation of traditional skills.  He was a strong believer in the blend of hand and machine as a way of making affordable furniture for the “decent, ordinary man” - a direct comparison to the Movement’s strict no machinery ethos.  Having survived active service in WWI he established his business in Broadway in 1922 - this dressing table was made in his workshops 3 years later and called the 'Lygon' after their family home and hotel in Broadway.