This watercolour by the acclaimed 20th-century British perspective artist Cyril Arthur Farey (1888-1954) is one of over 25 in the RIBA Library’s holdings and the only original drawing representing Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel in Tokyo (1916-1923, demolished in 1968). Created in 1929, the image was reproduced as the frontispiece for the first issue of 'Architectural Design' (1930). Contrasting light and dark colours – a hallmark of Farey’s rendering technique – create depth and texture, while the overall composition captures the decorative modernity of Wright’s entrance courtyard design with its innovative combination of carved lava 'oya' stone, reinforced concrete, and brick. Farey’s inclusion of rickshaws, 'kimono' clad visitors, and blossoming cherry trees are whimsical conceits suggesting its Japanese context.
Image: Drawing of the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan, 1929; image from RIBApix (number RIBA12143)
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Artist: Cyril Arthur Farey
Credit: RIBA Collections
Article by Kurt Helfrich, RIBA
30 January 2015
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Drawings
Collection of drawings by Cyril Arthur Farey, 1888-1954, including a perspective of the courtyard facade, Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, 1929 [DR53/8].
Call/Ref. no. FAREY [located at the V&A] -
Periodical article
Architectural Design & Construction (renamed Architectural Design after December 1946).
November 1930. Vol.1, no.1, frontispiece -
Book
Farey, C., and Edwards, A. T., 1949.
'Architectural drawing, perspective & rendering : a handbook for students and draughtsmen'
London: Batsford
Shelved at 72.064 // FAR [77PP] -
Book
Stamp, G., 1982.
'The great perspectivists'
London: Trefoil
Shelved at 72.064:742.03(41/42) // STA [Reference]
