A new art documentary film about the life and work of John Piper was launched on Sunday at the Goldmark Gallery in Uppingham, alongside a new biography of John and Myfawny Piper by Frances Spalding.The film features appearances from two residents of Oundle. Reverend Ian Browne’s extensive knowledge about John Piper is called upon to discuss the stained glass windows in the School Chapel. Oliver Gent, 16, was cast to appear in costume, biking down country lanes as the young John Piper.

Entitled An Empty Stage, the film is a Goldmark Gallery production, directed by Charles Mapleston. It is the seventh art documentary to be commissioned by Mike Goldmark, owner of the gallery.

“BBC art films usually support commercial ventures, rather than try to serve educational purposes. It is a shame that a small shop in Uppingham, rather the BBC, is left to make these films. It is important to do this while we still can, while the people who have the knowledge are still around. Future generations would be rightly angry if we hadn’t taken the time to record this while we could,” Goldmark said.

John Piper was a 20th century artist of great versatility, whose work in stained glass alone would mark his significance. The windows in the apse of the School Chapel were Piper’s first stained glass commission. Dedicated in 1956 in the presence of the Queen Mother, they were hailed as a triumph. In her new biography, Frances Spalding wrote, “Nothing comparable with these windows had been attempted in England before: at one stroke, Piper had married an ancient medium with contemporary art, the medieval with the modern.”

As a result of the Oundle Chapel commission, Piper went on to design windows for the Coventry and Liverpool Cathedrals, parish churches, prominent schools and Oxbridge chapels.

A DVD of An Empty Stage is available from the Goldmark Gallery.