John Crawford

Because this is such a common name, the relevant John Crawford has become erroneously confused with namesakes such as the House of Commons stonecarver John Crawford (1830–1861) and has also been claimed as the father of the painter Thomas Hamilton Crawford (1859–1947). In fact, none of them seem to have been related to each other, except by name. Crawford has also on occasion been separated from the successor firm named after him, John Crawford & Co., modellers and gilders, 126 Kent Road, Glasgow, but they were indeed linked. 1

John Crawford (c. 1849–1919) and his brother George first advertised as woodcarvers and gilders in 1873. 2 John trained at the Glasgow School of Art and with J. & G. Mossman from around 1880, and a year later he and his brother were described as master woodcarvers, employing two men and two boys. 3

From the early 1890s, he began showing carved panels and a Renaissance-style overmantel 'of meritorious workmanship' in local exhibitions, and in 1895, he lent machinery to Glasgow's first Arts and Crafts Exhibition, which provided a practical demonstration of mechanical woodcarving. 4 During the 1890s, he produced carvings for the reredos of Skelmorlie Church (1893) – whose architect, John Honeyman called him 'our best Gothic wood-carver' – and carried out work for architects William Leiper and James Salmon, including on the latter's new family home, Rowantreehill, in Kilmalcolm (1898). 5 From 1898 Crawford taught woodcarving at the School of Art. 6

Crawford exhibited at the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition, carving an elaborate horseshoe-shaped screen designed by Salmon to be used eventually as 'an arch in a hall, or to frame a fireplace recess'. 7 The Art Journal commented: 'our illustration does not do justice to the cunning technique of the carver; but it shows the daring and originality of the designer ...' The review explained that Crawford and his brother George were 'employed chiefly in carving for the Clyde ship-builders, and many a Glasgow carver has been trained in their workshops'. 8 The screen was exhibited two years later at Turin and Budapest. Around the same time he also carved figurative newel posts and additional woodwork for 12 University Gardens, Glasgow, designed by Salmon & Gillespie. Later, in 1911–12 he contributed the 'simpler foliated bosses' to the new roof of Glasgow Cathedral. 9 From around 1890 to 1904 the Crawfords worked from premises at 16 Houldsworth Street, Glasgow and by 1907 from 126 Kent Road. After John Crawford's death, his daughters sold the business to long-time employees James Crawford (possibly a cousin), and William McIntosh, who expanded to make memorial brasses and carry out modelling. They continued the business under the name John Crawford & Co., at the same address, until around 1939. 10