Arthur Shoosmith OBE (1888 - 1974) was an English architect who emigrated to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and worked for a time on behalf of the well-known English architect

Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memoria ...

Early years

Shoosmith was born in 1888 in

St Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and grew up in Russia and Finland.Arthur Shoosmith (1888-1974)
Artfact.com (attributed to ''

Oxford Art Online Oxford Art Online is an Oxford University Press online gateway into art research, which was launched in 2008. It provides access to several online art reference works, including Grove Art Online (originally published in 1996 in a print version, ''T ...

''). Retrieved 2012-01-29. He was educated in England before attending the

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

in 1911.

Career

Shoosmith won the

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

's Soane Medallion in 1920. He took up work as the representative in India of

where, until 1931, he supervised the construction of the

Viceroy's House The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. Operating from Lutyens' New Delhi office, Shoosmith then designed St Martin's Garrison Church in Delhi, now described as a "real highlight" and "one of the finest buildings of the twentieth century".Robert Fermor-Hesketh (Ed.), ''Architecture of the British Empire'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1986), p. 184. The church was built using three-and-a-half million red bricks but very modern for its time, square and almost windowless. The soldiers claimed it was like a fortress, excellent to defend in an emergency. It was completed in 1930. He was awarded an OBE in the 1930 New Years Honours. Shoosmith's other building which he designed himself was the Lady Hardinge Serai, a guesthouse in Delhi, completed in 1931.Shoosmith, Arthur Gordon
Encyclopedia.com (from ''A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture''). Retrieved 2012-01-29. He returned to England in 1931, where he spent the remainder of his career in teaching, before retiring in 1957.
University of Waterloo Library (citing ''Grove Art Online''). Retrieved 2012-01-29.

References

External links

The building of St. Martin's Church (St Martin's Church website)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoosmith, Arthur 20th-century English architects English emigrants to India 1888 births 1974 deaths