The extensive archive of works by Bryan Cyril Thurston is highly eclectic in terms of the artistic techniques and the content. The Swiss-British artist and architect donated a large part of his artistic oeuvre to the Swiss National Library in 2010.
Bryan Cyril Thurston was born in Leiston (Suffolk, UK) in 1933. He studied architecture in London, graduating with a diploma from the Royal Institute of British Architects. He has lived in Switzerland since 1955, initially working for Otto Zollinger and other architects and later spending a long time at Eduard Neuenschwander architects. In 1976, he set up and ran his own architecture and painting workshop in Zurich. He also co-founded the working group “Wind”. Alongside his work as an architect, Thurston’s artistic oeuvre remains an integral part of his activity. Thurston takes inspiration from other artists, with some of his works containing references, for example to Le Corbusier and Stanley William Hayter.
Thurston’s fascination with unspoiled nature is a common feature of his “organic architecture” and visual art. In many of his naturalistic and abstract works, there are clear geographical and geological references. Recurrent elements in his oeuvre are Scottish and English landscapes and islands, and Swiss mountains and plateaus – in particular the Greina plateau, which was a frequent motif and the subject of his political activism.
Content and scope
- The archive consists exclusively of works on paper (around 4,000 sheets) and a small number of printing plates.
- It mostly comprises prints, collages, watercolours and drawings in various styles.
- There is an additional bundle of over 250 sketchbooks and artists books.
- The archive is supplemented by a large amount of documentation, including draft publications, personal notes and audiovisual documents spanning the period from 1955 to 2021.
Other works by Bryan Cyril Thurston can be found in the Kunsthaus Glarus and in the ETH’s Collection of Prints and Drawings in Zurich. Thurston donated his whole collection of architectural plans to the Institute for History and Theory of Architecture, also at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich).
Research and access
- The archive of Bryan Cyril Thurston is described and catalogued in detail in the HelveticArchives database.
- Further information on the Bryan Cyril Thurston archive is available on request.
- Originals can be consulted on site (by appointment).
Last modification 07.10.2024
Contact
Swiss National Library
Prints and Drawings Department
Hallwylstrasse 15
3003
Bern
Switzerland
Phone
+41 58 462 89 71