#edwardbawden

Some good charity book finds in St Albans yesterday: The Complete Adventures of Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans and Design - Edward Bawden/ Eric Ravilious. Took a packed lunch this time and steered clear of £5.50 sausage rolls. 👍 . . . #stalbans #ludwigbemelmans #edwardbawden #ericravilious https://www.instagram.com/p/B16EmvSnGMe/?igshid=1av19rjlrfbql

EDWARD BAWDEN: the Palace Pier is a fairly constant backdrop to my daily morning swims in Brighton, and so I was interested to take a closer look at the wonderful linocut that is currently on display @pallanthousegallery in ‘An Outbreak of Talent: Bawden, Marx, Ravilious and their Contemporaries’. Bawden actually made two editions of this elongated print: one in 1958, and another nearly twenty years later. You can tell them apart as the earlier version has the word ‘PALACE’ in black, and the later one has it in black. It was apparently too big for a press so he had to walk all over it to ensure the ink took to the paper. Our copy was bequeathed by David Medd, an architect who knew Bawden and amassed a significant group of his prints. I got to know David as he used to visit the Gallery and map out the position of every work in the exhibitions. He did this in various institutions and I think they thought he was mad. But we struck a correspondence after I was called down to the desk one day, and he ended up bequeathing us his collection. It turned out that he and his wife Mary were hugely influential schools architects. His obituary described him as having revolutionised school design, replacing Victorian gloomth with light-filled rooms designed around the pupils that were influenced by the principles of Alvar Aalto. You can see why he would enjoy the playful imagery of Bawden, but also the appeal of his approach to architecture. (Clearly there’s a lot of artistic licence). As an aside, I have Bawden’s copy of ‘Brighton’ a book by Sacheverell Sitwell, with the faintly written words ‘Edward’s copy’ in the front. #brighton #edwardbawden #bawden #linocut #modernbritishart #pallanthousegallery #printmaking (at Pallant House Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFcv5HKFckq/?igshid=1jg1ywj65vx9z

Travellers’ Verse Edward Bawden Bawden’s first book after WW2, commissioned as one of the New Excursions into English Poetry series. Bawden autolithographed this at the Curwen Press, where he had also started work on The Arabs. He found the whole process of lithography bewildering at first and managed to persuade Harold Curwen to come out of retirement to advise him. An attractive book, but in a way a warm up for the Arabs, which is far superior (imo). #edwardbawden #travellersverse #thearabs #curwenpress #haroldcurwen #autolithography https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt2vztagMMP/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1w9lexysyil76

Edward Bawden Documentary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC-Wf-NdknY&ab_channel=InexpensiveProgress

TRAVELLERS’ VERSE: over the past few months the only travel most of us have been able to undertake has been virtual: through books, films, and in our memories. Of course, whilst that’s problematic for the travel industry, it’s a blessing for the planet. This year, I had trips planned to Seville and Tbilisi in Georgia that didn’t happen, but this pause has been no bad thing. It’s made me think that the last time civilians were so restricted from travel was in the Second World War, unless they were servicemen and women being sent into fields of war. At that time, Fredrick Muller Ltd published a series of poetry anthologies edited by W.J.Turner and Sheila Shannon, which paired poetry with original lithographs by contemporary artists. They were a handy size and provided a luxurious colour book at low cost. The artists included major figures in Modern British Art such as John Craxton, John Piper, Michael Ayrton and William Scott. Edward Bawden was commissioned to create a series of images to decorate a book of ‘Travellers’ Verse’ chosen by M.G.Lloyd Thomas. It brings together verse by poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Milton, Lord Byron, William Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, George Ellliott, Lord Mary Wortley Montagu, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lawrence Durrell, and Anne French, Countess of Winchelsea. Bawden’s images take us on a journey from Norway, to Rome, Venice to Athens, onto Constantinople/Istanbul, into the Middle East and beyond. Bawden had travelled to Iraq and Iran as a War Artist, recording the Marsh Arabs, so he had some first hand experience, but really these images are completely fantastical - and suited to the imagination, as with the exoticism and orientalism of some of the verse. It is escapism of the first order, but these are delightful images. And as they are lithographs, they are effectively ‘original’ prints - here displayed on a Japanese fabric I bought in Kyoto. #edwardbawden #illustration #travel #modernbritishart #poetry #instabook #bookstagram #design #travelbook #travelbooks #travelwriter #1940sart #bawden (at Brighton and Hove) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCQWeWTlYQN/?igshid=178yjg18angk6

Life in an English Village Edward Bawden Bawden and Noel Carrington’s exploration and celebration of the English Village, and it’s post-war role. Bawden’s lithographs were based on Great Bardfield, his home, and feature local tradespeople. His friend John Aldridge sits in the pub whilst the local Bobby nips in for a half. The chair on the cover is placed off-centre, yet when the shadow is taken in then the composition is neatly centred, a designers touch! Swipe left to see more! #edwardbawden #noelcarrington #village #lifeinanenglishvillage #greatbardfield #curwenpress #autolithography https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs7rKbHAzrG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=vn31kt6jvsu

Pictures from Persia Cecil Keeling A collection of lithographs taken from Keeling’s drawings whilst serving during WW2. They are not the obvious war images but of the troops, crowds, cafes, beggars and everyday details, even washing in a tent. The comparisons with Bawden are evident and the two illustrated the Queen’s Beasts later in the early 50s. Published in 1946 and lithographed on the plate at Cowell’s. #persia #cecilkeeping #lithography #cowells #edwardbawden https://www.instagram.com/p/Btaj0QzAQNG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1nq3ayoed0jzd

Hold Fast By Your Teeth Edward Bawden A collection of nine fantastical tales hand written and illustrated for his children, Joanna & Richard. Ruari McLean had one tale, Take The Broom, issued as an Xmas gift, with the colour separations I believe completed by Sheila Robinson. The collected edition was issued in 1963 and printed at Cowell’s in Ipswich. Completely bonkers tales, but his wonderful drawings are just marvellous. Swipe to see more #edwardbawden #holdfastbyyourteeth #lithography #edwardlear #ruarimclean https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs2dGZ8At6m/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=nz7bvr95m7oc