The Unknown Artist by Georgina Davy
In January 2025, the Landmark Trust commissioned two professional artists to each create a piece of work inspired in some way by the Painted Chamber at Calverley Old Hall.
This commission was a way of us being able to share these incredible sixteenth-century wall paintings which form part of the Calverley Old Hall holiday let more widely, giving visitors to the Community Space the opportunity to reflect and feel inspired by the artwork on display.
Hear from artist Georgina Davy as she explains the inspiration behind her piece and shares her artistic process of creating her work, ‘The Unknown Artist’.
The Unknown Artist by Georgina Davy
'The Unknown Artist', installed at Calverley Old Hall's Community Space
On discovering this commission, I loved the idea of responding to a room, especially a room of such mystery, magic and importance. I was at once drawn in by its creatures and motifs that fade away and reappear around you. I was greatly energised to respond to the room in some way, but also creatively challenged by it, quite unsure how anything an Artist could make could possibly compare to its beauty. The fact that The Painted Chamber is steeped in so much mystery drew my attention to its creator. After researching its history, I became fascinated by references made to an Unknown Painter. The fact that such a rare and magnificent room left no clues to its creator, who to this date remains anonymous, made me want to bring them to life, to try and credit them for their achievement in some way.
I started to think about creating a historically inspired garment with fantastical elements woven throughout. A rich interwoven tapestry of paint and textiles, a garment as a portal to the past, viewed through a future lens. Could it be an Artist's Smock worn by The Unknown Painter? Or a theatrical Jester-like coverall left behind by a long since passed reveller, perhaps invited to a secret gathering in the mysterious room. Artist, Jester or Nobleman, I decided it would be fitting for the owner of the garment to also remain a mystery, known only to the room.
As well as imbruing mystery into this theatrical garment, it was important to me that the work could also be tangible to a modern audience. I tried to bring a vibrancy and energy to the cloak’s appearance through layers of contrasting patchwork, paint and vivid neon wool. It was important to me to make the garment out of natural fabrics. I used a combination of 100 percent Linen and Linen Cotton blends, and to embark on the alchemic process of working with natural dyes. The soft rose and earthy beige colours you see on the garment are hand dyed from the madder root, oak leaves and walnut shell husks.
Georgina’s work incorporates colourful woollen additions alongside painterly linen patches
I decided to reference the segmented painted panels in The Painted Chamber through my garment where segmented fabric pieces also sit next to one another. I have a great fondness for old fashioned sign painting and I approached painting the garment motifs in this way, enjoying how parts of the patterns fade in and out of the cloth just like the time worn wall. On this project I enjoyed contrasting warm candlelight colours with bright and vivid shades of wool. I greatly enjoy working with wool. Wool is a very relatable material, homely, honest and non-threatening, very much comforting. I enjoy mixing this everyday material with other materials to see how they relate and complement each other. It was also important to me to try to leave storytelling clues within the cloak for its audience to discover. Look closer and see what you can decipher.
About Georgina
As an only child with an inbuilt fascination to bring human and non-human presences to life, often in fantastical ways, the idea of The Unknown Painter of Calverley Old Hall’s Painted Chamber really chimed with me. As an Artist who works with fabric, costume and storytelling, I am greatly inspired by the surreal fashion collections of Elsa Schiaparelli, the vibrant wool-based ingenuity of Kaffe Fassett and the gothic literary worlds of the Artist Mervyn Peake.
Originally dissuaded to enter the world of Fashion and Textiles, I have been unknowingly making my way back to fabric through the route of Fine Art ever since. Looking at the world of fabric and textiles from different angles gives me great joy. I am an Artist who now works to widen the imaginative potential of costume. I am interested in making costumes that hint clues to their origins. My previous commissions involve expansive thinking about how to enliven museum spaces, often within the realms of costume and large-scale puppetry. I aim to make work that the public haven’t seen in a Museum context before. To date I have made such works for The Roald Dahl Museum, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Great Ormond Street Hospital and The Yorkshire Museum. For more about me visit my website: georginadavy.co.uk
