Paintings, Prints & Drawings — 1979
Blue Ball Yard/St. James's
Richard Downer's etching depicts the Stafford Hotel's rear entrance on Blue Ball Yard, with the stables on the left.
By the end of the 20th century, the hotel owned the stables and had converted them into rooms. The stables were occupied by craftspeople when Downer made this print. The hotel staircase descends to tunnels leading to very large cellars, which continue underground to St. James's Palace. While half the cellars belong to the palace, the hotel owns the other half.
A designer, illustrator and typographer, Downer is probably best known as one of Britain's leading architectural illustrators. During his career, the artist was a fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers as well as President of the Society of Typographic Designers.
- Category:
- Paintings, Prints & Drawings
- Object ID:
- 79.409
- Object name:
- Blue Ball Yard/St. James's
- Artist/Maker:
- Downer, Richard
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1979
- Material:
paper, ink
- Measurements/duration:
- H 435 mm, W 231 mm (plate), H 577 mm, W 396 mm (paper)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
Downer, Richard
- Image credit:
© Richard Downer
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.