The Crace Ceiling Panel

The Crace decorating firm founded in 1768 and wound up in 1899, was a family company spanning four generations specialising in high-end interior decorating and important bespoke commissioned furniture.  There is a surviving copper plate for Frederick Crace’s engraved business card c.1820, which describes him as ‘House and Decorative Painter, Paperhanger and Gilder to His Majesty’, along with ‘Glass, Staining Glazing etc’.

At Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire, A.W.N. Pugin and J.G. Crace were active in 1849-50 in refreshing the Gothic revival interiors for the Earl Somers. Although Pugin’s sketches for this commission clearly indicate his input into the design process, including furniture, he visited the house only once after it had been completed by Crace and his team, and was critical of what he saw.

The ’Crace’ Ceiling Panel is taken from the Dining Room coffered ceiling at Eastnor, and is typical of the hand painted and gilded stylised naturalism that is common to their decorative work of that period.