Unusual Artifacts: The Hermes Frog Door-knocker, 1932

Frog Door Knocker
Gertrude Hermes, 1932
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Gertrude Hermes, the designer of this attractive brass door knocker, was primarily known as a wood engraver and sculptor but she was also a notable painter, printmaker and book illustrator.

This charming frog door knocker is one of a series of doorknockers that Gertrude designed for her friends as fun gifts.  Hermes was, notably, the first woman engraver to be elected to the Royal Academy in 1963.

Hermes' preferred subjects, in sculpture and prints, were animals and children. She executed these with the same strong, but fluid, style that she has demonstrated here.