Eric Gill: The Inscriptions

David Peace was fascinated with art from an early age, an inclination he attributed to his steelworker ancestors. He was introduced to wood engraving at Mill Hill School, a boarding school in London, and sent one of his first pieces to Eric Gill. Gill sent a postcard in return, and an obsession was born. Despite the considerable influence Peace had on the status of glass engraving in twentieth-century England, he never practiced engraving as a primary career, instead working for most of his life as a town planner in Staffordshire and Cambridgeshire. He nevertheless found time to develop his skills and status in the field of glass engraving, becoming Master of the Art Workers' Guild in 1973 and Chairman of the Guild of Glass Engravers in 1975. His talent attracted attention and commissions, the most illustrious of which was his collaboration with the artist Sally Scott on the eight panels on the western porch of Westminster abbey, combining her figurative work with his lettering. The beauty of these panels led to further commissions, which he obliged as much as possible until his death in 2003.