Cyril Arthur Farey (1888–1954) was a British

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

architectural illustrator An architectural illustrator is an artist who creates imagery for the design professional that accurately portray the details of an architectural project. These images are used to communicate design ideas to clients, owners, committees, customers, ...

. Known most widely for his detailed pencil and watercolour perspective depictions of architectural and engineering landmarks in the first half of the 20th century.

Early life and education

Born in London in 1888, he was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

and served his articles in the offices of architect

Horace Field Horace Field was a London-born architect. His work was often in a Wrenaissance style, as well as other post-gothic English historical revival styles, with influences from the Arts and Crafts movement and Richard Norman Shaw. His commissions incl ...

between 1911 and 1913, attending the

Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme ...

and the Royal Academy School of Architecture. Winner of the RA Schools Bronze Medal in 1911, Farey subsequently won the Tite Prize in 1913, the Soane Medallion in 1914, and in 1921 both the Edward Stott Travelling Studentship prize and the Royal Academy Gold Medal. He was nominated as an Associate of the

Royal Institute of British Architects 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 ...

in 1918 and became a Fellow in 1941. During the First World War he served in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

, attaining the rank of captain. Farey also worked for a period in the offices of Sir

Ernest Newton Ernest Newton (12 September 1856 – 25 January 1922) was an English architect, President of Royal Institute of British Architects and founding member of the Art Workers' Guild. Life Newton was the son of an estate manager of Bickley, Ke ...

RA, before setting up his own architectural practice.

Career

He became perhaps the most renowned British architectural draughtsman of the twentieth century, providing commissioned illustrations for numerous leading architects including

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 memori ...

and

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

and was considered along with

William Walcot William Walcot (10 March 1874 – 21 May 1943) was a Scottish architect, graphic artist and etcher, notable as a practitioner of refined Art Nouveau (Style Moderne) in Moscow, Russia (as Вильям Францевич Валькот). His t ...

to be one of the preeminent architectural draftsmen of the period. Farey travelled extensively in Europe and was commissioned to provide technical illustrations for both Frank Lloyd Wright's 1923 Tokyo Imperial Hotel and the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

. Other illustrations he is known for include: * Lutyens' unrealized design for Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. * Depictions of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

and the City of London during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, where he volunteered as a member of the Fire-Guard Watch protecting the cathedral from incendiary bombs. He partnered with Graham Dawbarn and in 1924 they provided the winning design for classroom and administrative structures of

Raffles College The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

in Singapore. From 1947 he partnered with son Michael Farey and John J Adams.

Selected architectural work

* 2 Wildwood Rise,

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentiet ...

, (Won second prize in a Country Life competition in 1913) * Bukit Timah Campus,

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

(Former Raffles College buildings - opened in 1928)
St George's Church Hall
(1929), (

Grade II Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, 2006),

Headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

, Harrow. * St Mark's Church, Teddington (1939) * St Peter's Church (1941),

Grange Park, Enfield Grange Park is a suburban part of Greater London in the London Borough of Enfield, United Kingdom. It is served by Grange Park railway station. Grange Park is located between Enfield Town to the north Bush Hill to the east, Southgate and Wor ...

* All Hallows' Church (1941), North Greenford,

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

Publications

* "Architectural Drawing, Perspective, and Rendering" Published with A. Trystan Edwards in 1931

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farey, Cyril English watercolourists English illustrators Architects from London People educated at Tonbridge School Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1954 deaths 1888 births British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Service Corps officers