Nathaniel Hubert John Westlake FSA (1833–1921) was a 19th-century British artist specialising in stained glass.[1]
Nathaniel Westlake | |
---|---|
Born | Nathaniel Hubert John Westlake 1833 Romsey, England |
Died | (aged 88) Brighton, England |
Other names | N. H. J. Westlake |
Occupation | Artist |
Nathaniel Westlake was born in Romsey in 1833.[2][3] He began to design for the firm of Lavers & Barraud, Ecclesiastical Designers, in 1858, and became a partner ten years later, making the firm Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, of which he became sole proprietor in 1880.[4] The firm was then known as Lavers & Westlake.
A leading designer of the Gothic Revival movement, his works include The Vision of Beatrice (1864), commissioned for an exhibition of stained glass held at the South Kensington Museum (renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1899).[5]
In 1896, Lavers & Westlake were commissioned to reglaze two central lights in the great hall windows at Mary Datchelor Girls' School, Camberwell. The subjects were Lady Jane Grey discourses with Roger Ascham and By Industry and Perseverance, symbolising the importance of female endeavour in higher education. Other windows included On the way to Chapel, Physical Exercise, The Kindergarten and The Classroom. The windows were removed from the school in 2010 after it was converted into a series of apartments.[6]
Westlake published under the name of "Nat Hubert John Westlake".[7] He contributed an article on mosaics to the Catholic Encyclopedia.[3]
There is a plaque on 20 Endell Street, which was Westlake's home during the 1880s, next to the offices of Lavers and Barraud.[20]