Collection Summary
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Thomas, Dylan, 1914-1953
Dylan Thomas Art Collection
1937-1956, undated (bulk circa 1942)
38 items
The collection consists of twenty-seven
caricatures and sketches by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Also included are portraits
of Thomas, a watercolor, and an illustrated print, all by other artists.
English
Art Collection AR-00273
Acquisition:
Purchase, 1968
Access:
Open for research. Please note that a minimum of 24 hours notice is required to pull
Art Collection materials to the Ransom Center's Reading and Viewing Room. Some materials may be
restricted from viewing. To make an appointment or to reserve Art Collection materials, please
contact the Center's staff at art@hrc.utexas.edu. Researchers must create an online
Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival
materials.
Use Policies:
Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential
information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and
regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information
pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in the collections without
the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of
action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an
individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a
reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University of Texas at Austin
assume no responsibility.
Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the
owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information
please see the Ransom Centers' Open Access and Use Policies.
Biographical Sketch
For a biographical sketch of the Welsh writer and poet, see the finding aid for the
Dylan Thomas Collection (MS-4203).
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of twenty-seven caricatures that include quick, sometimes narrative,
sketches by Dylan Thomas. The drawings were formerly in the
possession of Peter Price, who knew Thomas in London during World War II when they
were working in films with Ivan Moffat and John Banting. The four men began
sketching while drinking in a pub together around 1942. One sketch of Stephen
Spender is by John Banting. Also included are portraits of Thomas by Alfred Janes, Mervyn Levy, and Gordon Stuart. A print by Peter Grippe illustrates one of
Thomas's poems, which Thomas wrote in his own hand into the copper plate; an artist's proof of this etching can be found in 21 Etchings and Poems (AR-05368). There is one work by an unidentified
artist.
The collection is organized into two series: Series: I. Original Works by
Dylan Thomas, and II. Works by Other Artists.
The Ransom Center holds additional works by, about, and of Dylan Thomas in the
following collections: Dylan Thomas Collection (MS-4203), Dylan Thomas Literary File
Photography Collection (PH-02774), George Barker Art Collection (AR-00014), Zdzislaw Czermanski Art Collection (AR-00057), Peter Evershed Art Collection (AR-00083), Rosa Freedman Art Collection (AR-00094), T.E.
Hanley Art Collection (AR-00114), Stephen Longstreet Art Collection (AR-00165), Ivan Opffer Art Collection (AR-00197), John Bromfield Gay Rees Art Collection (AR-00219), and Oloff
de Wet Art Collection (AR-00058). An artist's proof of 87.80 can be found in 21 Etchings and Poems (AR-05368).
Index Terms
People
Banting, John, 1902-1972.
FitzGibbon, Constantine, 1919-1983.
Grippe, Peter, 1912-2002.
Janes, Alfred.
Levy, Mervyn.
Moffat, Ivan.
Moore, Marianne, 1887-1972.
Priestley, J. B. (John Boynton), 1894-1984.
Rota, Bertram, 1903-1966.
Sitwell, Edith, 1887-1964.
Spender, Stephen, 1909-1995.
Stuart, Gordon, 1924-2015.
Thomas, Caitlin.
Thomas, Dylan, 1914-1953.
Subjects
Bars--1940-1950.
Portraits--1940-1960.
Places
City of London (England).
New York (N.Y.).
Document Types
Pencil works--1940-1960.
Caricatures--1940-1960.
Etchings--1930-1940.
Paintings.
Photolithographs.
Sketches--1940-1960.
Item List
Series I. Original Works by Dylan Thomas,
circa 1942-1952
Flat Files
68.6.1
Indigent Chef,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.2
A Man After Money,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.3
Man Enjoying Chu Chin Chow,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.4
Edith Sitwell,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.5
A Priestly Creature [J.B.
Priestley smoking a pipe],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.6
Suspicious Man Having a Drink,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.7
Untitled [bird-like caricature
of man's eyes, nose, and hair],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.8
Untitled [man in hat],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.9A
Untitled [man with bow tie or
cravat],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.9B
Untitled [man's head],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.10
Untitled [three persons in
hats, one holding cup],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.11
Untitled [person wearing round
hat with bow tie or cigarette],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.12A
Untitled [man wearing fedora
and bow tie],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.12B
Untitled [abstract person],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.13
Untitled [abstract man wearing
a bow tie],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.14
A Prig,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.15
I've debated
him,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.16
Three caricature sketches: A
Man After Money; Indigent Chef; Man Enjoying Chu Chin Chow,
circa 1942.
Serigraph, 15.9 x 50.8 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.18
Dear Sir [illegible] [self
portrait],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.19
Ivan at 6pm any evening,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 12.7 x 16.8 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.20
Thomas and Ivan
drinking at 12pm at The Gargoyle Club,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 12.7 x 16.5 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.21
Fire at 1 Golden
Square at 3am,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 12.7 x 20 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.22
1 Golden Square's
smoldering remains at 8am,
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 12.7 x 20 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.23
Untitled [abstract figure],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 20.3 x 12.7 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.24
Untitled [man with cigar and
glasses],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.25A
Untitled [man handing out money
at Betram Rota's offices],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 12.7 x 17.8 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.25B
Untitled [three men underneath
clock],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 12.7 x 17.8 cm.
Flat Files
68.6.26
Untitled [three men and a woman
entering a bar],
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 20.3 cm x 25.4 cm.
Flat Files
78.191
Queen Edith Sitwell and
Princess Marianne Moore on their first meeting,
1952.
Photolithograph, 12.4 x 19.1 cm.
Series II. Works by Other Artists,
circa 1937-1956
Flat Files
68.6.17
Banting, John, 1902-1972. Every night I think about my
dead friends (Stephen Spender),
circa 1942.
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 20.3 cm.
Flat Files
87.80
Grippe, Peter, 1912-2002; Thomas, Dylan, 1914-1953. The Hand That Signed the Paper Felled a City,
circa 1951-1953.
Etching, 50.5 x 42.9 cm.
Screen Storage
65.176
Janes, Alfred, 1911-1999. Portrait of Dylan
Thomas,
1953.
Oil on wood board, 111.8 x 83.8 cm.
Flat Files
65.20
Levy, Mervyn. Dylan Thomas,
1932.
Charcoal on cardboard, 33.7 x 24.8 cm.
Flat Files
65.21
Levy, Mervyn. Dylan Thomas Sleeping,
1946.
Charcoal on cardboard, 31.8 x 24.1 cm.
Flat Files
65.58
Levy, Mervyn. Dylan Thomas,
1952.
Charcoal on paper, 29.8 x 22.9 cm.
Flat Files
65.377
Levy, Mervyn. Dylan Thomas [portraits on recto and verso],
1946.
Charcoal and pastel on paper, 34.9 x 25.4 cm.
Flat Files
69.5
Levy, Mervyn. Dylan Thomas,
1948.
Charcoal on paper, 31.1 x 24.8 cm.
Flat Files
95.3.2
Levy, Mervyn. Dylan Thomas,
1944.
Charcoal on paper, 33.7 x 25.4 cm.
Flat Files
67.54.1
Stuart, Gordon, 1924-2015. Dylan Thomas,
undated.
Oil on canvas attached to card board, 44 x 38 cm.
Flat Files
67.54.2
Unidentified artist. Constantine Fitzgibbon's House,
undated.
Watercolor on paper, 21.3 x 27.6 cm.